Early in a trauma nurse ’ s career , it is important to learn how to communicate with the rest of a trauma team . Education is one of the keys to good communication . Having a solid foundation in healthcare and pathophysiology is imperative when collaborating and communicating with physicians and other trauma team specialists .
Learning does not stop when you graduate from nursing school . My real-world experience as a state trooper flight paramedic and ED RN , as well as national certifications in critical care , trauma , and emergency nursing , help me to keep up with the constantly changing field of emergency care .
Flight Nursing — Cpt . Mariah Pruett , NC , BSN , RN , CEN , CFRN , CPEN , TCRN , CCRN , Emergency Services / Trauma Nurse , 60 th Medical Group / Emergency Services Flight , David Grant USAF Medical Center , Travis Air Force Base , California
Flight nursing is an elite and highly competitive field . It is important to not just strive to be the best student you can be but to embrace all the experiences that you can early in your career . Those experiences become stepping stones for your knowledge and practice and set you up well for future endeavors .
It is important to have a plan for how you are going to get into this specialty . If being a flight nurse is your long- or mid-term goal , set short-term goals after graduation like finding a job in an ED and aiming for your CEN . After that , consider how you will acquire critical care experience , like working in an ICU , and how to make yourself a more rounded and competitive candidate . I encourage students to explore the possibility of the military , as military flight nurses enjoy great benefits while getting to see the world and take care of men and women serving the country .
Once you land a flight nurse job , make continuing education and striving for additional specialty certifications a priority . Most companies will expect you to earn a specialty certification in your field within a certain time frame if you do not have it upon hire .
Rather than looking at certifications as boxes to check , realize the knowledge there is to gain and how you immensely benefit your patients and yourself by studying and sitting for these exams . I first suggest the CEN credential and then the CPEN , Trauma Certified Registered Nurse ( TCRN ), and Certified Flight Registered Nurse ( CFRN ). Being a flight nurse is a thrilling and rewarding experience . I encourage anyone who enjoys a fast pace of work and thinking under pressure and who values a team approach to consider flight nursing .
Critical Care Ground Transport Nursing
— Douglas Frost , RN , CTRN , NRP , CCP-C , Critical Care Supervisor , Sunstar Paramedics , Largo , Florida
The critical care ground transport nursing specialty is not just a job , it is a really great career . Ground transport nurses see a wide and diverse range of patients , and we are given the autonomy to make critical decisions for them . It is a challenging and rewarding type of nursing . This career path takes a serious commitment to studying critical care .
To prepare for this specialty early on in your career or even while you are still in school , begin to study critical care as soon as possible . If you can , seek opportunities to practice in different disciplines within the hospital to get the experience needed to ride the truck . Some specialty areas that are great to gain experience in are ED , ICU , trauma , neuro , and obstetrics . If possible , cross-train as a paramedic and get as many other technical certifications as you can . The more certifications you have when trying to get a job the better .
A specific action I took and advise others to take once they land a critical care ground transport nursing position is to become board certified in critical care ground transport . Also , take the time to learn and practice using all the equipment , not just the ones regularly carried on the truck , such as the intra-aortic balloon pump ( IABP ), percutaneous ventricular assist devices ( PVAD ), and
38 NSNA IMPRINT n APRIL / MAY 2021 n www . nsna . org