# Flight Medic vs Paramedic



## EMT B (Dec 13, 2012)

What is the difference between a flight medic and a street medic? i know its more training, but does the flight medic have a more advanced skill set?


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## Handsome Robb (Dec 13, 2012)

EMT B said:


> What is the difference between a flight medic and a street medic? i know its more training, but does the flight medic have a more advanced skill set?



They will generally have a wider scope of practice as far as skills and medications go. More training like you said, minimum requirements for flight medic jobs aren't tough to get (usually CCEMT-P or get it within 6 months of hire, 3-5 years experience and the alphabet classes) but to be competitive you can't just bring the minimum.

With that said, there are "street" critical care medics that function to that level. Just depends on the system they work in.


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## medicsb (Dec 13, 2012)

EMT B said:


> What is the difference between a flight medic and a street medic? i know its more training, but does the flight medic have a more advanced skill set?



Depends where you work.  I personally don't see what the big deal is with working flight.  It's pretty slow.  You still have to fly a bunch of BS.  If you're in an area where medics on the ground can actually get things done, then there isn't much for a flight medic or nurse to do other than baby sit for the flight.  

In PA and NJ, the scope of practice for a flight medic is identical to the ground medics.  It's the nurse that brings the additional procedures.  In PA, a flight medic can't push paralytics or any med not in their scope.  They can't do a-lines, etc., etc.   But, we all know that the medics will do those things and the medical directors know it but do not care as long as the documentation says the nurse did it.  

But, for sure, flight medics are expected to know more and are usually trained to do more, even if it isn't in their scope (see previous paragraph).  Most of the additional knowledge will be used on interfacility runs, which can be far far more challenging than scene calls.

Again, this is all dependent on the location, so my perception could change if I moved elsewhere.


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## Akulahawk (Dec 13, 2012)

At the minimum, the main difference between flight paramedic and street paramedic is that the flight paramedic has additional training in flight physiology. Some of the places that use flight paramedics have identical scopes of practice for air and ground. That does not mean that the flight paramedic is not a very well-educated individual. Many times, the flight paramedic has significant additional education beyond the street paramedic. Because of this additional indication that the flight paramedic does receive, some places do authorize a wider scope of practice for the flight paramedic. 

The flight paramedics can give you a much better feel for what there are additional education is and what is required for them to work on aircraft, than I can, as I am "just" a street Paramedic... with a lot of extra knowledge.


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## akflightmedic (Dec 14, 2012)

EMT B said:


> What is the difference between a flight medic and a street medic? i know its more training, but does the flight medic have a more advanced skill set?



For most programs it is way beyond "more training" and is actually a case of more EDUCATION.

I am not saying street medics are uneducated knuckle draggers, what I am implying is that to become a flight medic, it is very competitive. The wages are typically no more than the street medic in that area. The program however has the luxury of only choosing the top candidates and those will be the ones not only with a fair amount of street experience but also ones who have college degrees, ongoing degrees and certification in all of the alphabet soup courses and usually an instructor card on those same courses.

While yes there are street medics without the above who would make a kick *** flight medic, the question is why would a program choose them when they have dozens of others who do hold the above listed qualifications.

Programs need to be particular as their operations are either existing in a highly competitive market already or they are affiliated with well respected trauma centers or teaching facilities. It behooves them to only recruit the cream of the crop.

The skill sets while higher in a flight program is the typical scenario, this is not always the norm. There are several ground crew programs that have same skill set as the flight crew. Being part of a flight team means a lot of peer to peer interaction with some stellar nurses with tons of ICU/ER experience, Physicians and surgeons from all over, and of course general medical personnel from all walks of life. You need to be able to hold your own and discuss intelligently the patient care aspect and treatment plans. In addition to flight team duties, you have the benefit of routinely being exposed to ICU/ER, Critical care situations on a regular basis to the extent that you witness or participate in aspects of the care where a normal street medic would have been long removed from the picture. This situation by default almost increases your education and understanding of various disease or injury processes. Also being on the flight team means constant continuing education, both in house and out of house.

Again, in case anyone missed it, I am not saying street medics do not do these things or have these things, I am just saying it is far more routine and expected within a flight program. It is all about education and not "skills".


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