ParamagicFF
Forum Crew Member
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Are you able to PM me? I'm new to the site and unable to send PMs it seems. I'm in your area and have some questions I'd like to run by you.
HEMS/Flight Medic Salary (US)?
- Thread starter CWATT
- Start date
Are you able to PM me? I'm new to the site and unable to send PMs it seems. I'm in your area and have some questions I'd like to run by you.
CANMAN
Forum Asst. Chief
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You have mail
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We've had a few folks leave or get offers from FFL, their starting pay for medics (a few years ago) was under 50k. My base is over that and my district is far from wealthy. It's shameful, no wonder they can't keep medics.
Ensihoitaja
Forum Captain
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And you never get a set schedule or base. I'm amazed they keep any employees.
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I am also told (grain of salt here) that it's a seriously RN heavy program and there is little advancement opportunity for paramedics. We're seeing more and more double RN crews, which would be fine if the the RN crews got some field exposure. If you sit on scene with my trauma patient for 15 minutes in the ambulance, we aren't going to call you anymore.
VentMonkey
Family Guy
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Any trauma patient? Every trauma patient? I can’t recall how you all say CO works as far as RSI goes, but that is one procedure I’d hate to feel rushed along at, let alone as if the GEMS crews wouldn’t utilize us because of that.
Clearly, I’m not privie to your system, but it just seems like a broad brush to paint with.
There are, and have been numerous calls over the past few months where sitting on scene, thinking it through, and safely and efficiently working with everyone on scene did so much more than had we’d felt, or been rushed along for the soul purpose of time savings when time savings was of no benefit to the particular patient at hand.
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We can and do RSI. I should have added more. I mean 15 minutes to put the monitor on and start an IV on a patient that already large bore access. Not a good reason to wait around with a trauma patient. I get that it takes time to secure things in the aircraft, but we pride ourselves on having the patient ready for transfer when they arrive, and should we not I'll get a phone call from our medical director, who is theirs as well. Handoff, put the monitor on, go. The medic/RN crews get it, the double RN crews who profusely tell us that "we're just used to the ICU" seem not to. I am far from anti-nurse and recognize the serious value they bring to the program. Unfortunately this program does not help with the scene management issues as far as we can tell.
Summit
Critical Crazy
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FFL definitely prizes their RN/P dual certs from what I've seen when running double RNs, but usually I see its usually RN + P crews (markedly cheaper to operate payroll wise).
I was told I'd be a good candidate RN once I had enough years of experience because I also have EMS experience.
Woah.. I just realized I have passed my 5 years of critical care (FFL minimum hiring standard for RNs). But now I don't think I want to go to rotating shifts. I'm spoiled.
I was told I'd be a good candidate RN once I had enough years of experience because I also have EMS experience.
Woah.. I just realized I have passed my 5 years of critical care (FFL minimum hiring standard for RNs). But now I don't think I want to go to rotating shifts. I'm spoiled.
VFlutter
Flight Nurse
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I feel comfortable flying RN/RN however there are many nurses whom I would not want together in the back of a helicopter. It can be a hard transition for some ICU nurses with no ER/prehospital experience and if so those are not the ones whom should be flying double RN. There should be no issue with experienced flight RNs so.
What airframe does your HEMS service fly? I can do pretty much anything in-flight in my BK but the 407s are a completely different story.
What airframe does your HEMS service fly? I can do pretty much anything in-flight in my BK but the 407s are a completely different story.
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I was consistently impressed throughout my HEMS career with how well and how quickly most ICU nurses adapted to the prehospital environment.
But I mostly worked for very prehospital-oriented programs. I think it is at least as much a reflection of the culture and training of the HEMS program, as it is the individual.
But I mostly worked for very prehospital-oriented programs. I think it is at least as much a reflection of the culture and training of the HEMS program, as it is the individual.
Summit
Critical Crazy
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AS350 B3e because they gotta fly over 14ers (and sometimes land on them)
Yep and RN pay isn't much better, it is typically only 10-15 thousand more a year. Most of the nurses that they try to recruit from us would be taking a 30-50% pay cut. I made more as a new grad RN in the ED than most of those flight nurses (the exception being those who's time with FFL/AL is measured in decades).
They pulled that when I was in fire, and 15 minutes was far from the longest time they took to package, so we stopped calling them. If I can have the patient in the hospital before you would have lifted off then you are not benefiting my patient (5 minutes to take off, 10 to fly to us, 15-20ish to package...). And it's not just in the field, I've been at some outreach sites and we had to call for them to transport to our main campus and they wanted 30 minutes to package a patient who was already intubated on push dose ketamine/versed and very ready for transport. The lack of urgency is ridiculous, its not a matter of getting the patient ready for transport, its just that everything is done at a snail's pace.
It's not just trauma. Strokes, headbleeds, septic neonate s/p Norwood (that is on my list of cases I will never forget, and not because of the patient)... the list goes on. I have been on the EMS side, been in outreach sites sending patients, and receiving them in our main campus. There are some great crews here, but the majority don't have a sense of urgency.
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Lately we have had more issues with just general flusterness. I really like flight, I appreciate their community outreach and their absolute willingness to participate in SAR operation. I just wish there was more emphasis was placed on prehospital operations. But I guess for that money I'm not sure I'd be bound and determined to move forward with much personal growth.
Ensihoitaja
Forum Captain
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Jeeze. We never use them (or any other HEMS agency) so most of what I know is from friends that work/have worked there.