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Becoming a LifeFlight Nurse
The minimum requirements to become a LifeFlight nurse are:
- 3 years ED/Critical Care experience (ideally at a Level I Trauma Center)
- Pediatric experience greater than 640 hours if not included in above experience
- State of Tennessee or National Registery: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P)
- Certifications including: BLS, ACLS
- One of the following: CEN, CCRN, and/or CFRN certifications.
- Either PALS or ENPC designation
- Either a Trauma Nursing Core Course or a Transport Nurse Advanced Trauma Course (TNATC)
The LifeFlight Team
Our helicopters utilize a nurse/nurse team. All rotor wing crew members are dual licensed with both RN and EMT-P or EMT multi-state licenses. Each LifeFlight nurse is required to take advantage of the many educational opportunities available at Vanderbilt Medical Center and elsewhere. Continuing education and continuous quality improvement are required for flight nurses including:
- biweekly chart reviews with Attending ED, Trauma, and Pediatric physicians,
- invasive skills lab every six months, and
- documentation of skills required to maintain proficiency.
In addition, many LifeFlight nurses provide safety and/or clinical classes such as Helicopter Utilization, Care of the Critical Trauma Patient, Care of the Critical Pediatric Patient, Care of the Critical Medical Patient, BTLS, TNCC, ENPC, EMSC, and several other national certifications, for the EMS and other medical communities of our service area. Classes may also be customized to the needs of your particular organization.