Patient Care

Patient Care

Air Evac Lifeteam employs more than 600 registered nurses and 600 paramedics who serve on its medical flight crews, with one nurse and one paramedic serving on each flight. Nurses and paramedics must have a minimum three years’ experience in a critical care or pre-hospital setting.

All medical crew members must be certified in:

  • Basic Life Support
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support
  • Pediatric Cardiac Life Support
  • Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) or International Trauma Life Support (ITLS)
  • Neonatal Resusciation

Nurses and paramedics must have advanced credentials within two years of being hired. Advanced credentials must include one of the following: Nurses - CEN, CFRN, CCRN; Paramedics - CCP-C, FP-C.

Ongoing competency standards are achieved through:

  • Skills Lab Training
  • Simulated Patient Care Experiences
  • Helicopter Safety and Landing Zone Instruction
  • Medical Director-led Training
  • Air Medical Resource Management

Flight nurses and flight paramedics selected to work for Air Evac Lifeteam are enrolled in a six-month Clinical Internship Program. The Clinical Internship offers didactic training, unique hands-on skills training, simulated patient care experiences, flight training and safety training.

Advanced critical care topics include:

  • Cardiac Emergency Management
  • Hemodynamic Monitoring
  • Flight Physiology
  • Rapid Sequence Intubation
  • Traumatic Brain Injury Management
  • Neonatal Resuscitation

Advanced skill level labs include:

  • Advanced Airway Management including Surgical Cricothyrotomy
  • 12-lead EKG Interpretation
  • Ventilator Management
  • Simulated patient care experiences with Air Evac Lifeteam crewmembers
  • Night Vision training scenarios

Medical Direction

Medical direction for Air Evac Lifeteam is provided by 15 medical directors located in states served by the company. The medical directors work together to develop the company's medical protocols and ensure medical crews are in compliance with the medical regulations in each area.

Human Patient Simulation

Air Evac Lifeteam has taken a leadership position within the air medical industry through its investment in and use of CAE Emergency Care Simulators as part of its initial clinical internship and semi-annual recurrent training. The adult and pediatric Emergency Care Simulators are life-sized computerized mannequins utilized for clinical skill set training from basic airway management to high level advanced procedures, such as chest tube insertion and central line placement. Simulation training provides scenario-based exercises that require critical thinking and hands-on critical patient care. Air Evac Lifeteam employs 22 Emergency Care Simulators throughout its service area, along with 10 Maternal and Neonatal Birthing Simulators.

The CAE Emergency Care Simulators represent an investment of more than $1,000,000 to ensure medical crews are well trained to provide top-quality patient care.

Clinical Fellowship

This unique program gives Registered Nurses or paramedics with at least two years’ experience the opportunity to participate in several activities designed in preparation for a career with Air Evac Lifeteam. Participants in the Clinical Fellowship program must be sponsored by one of the Air Evac Lifeteam bases. Nurses and paramedics are able to take part in the base skills days, complete the online education modules, learn organizational values and use the patient care equipment in a simulated patient care environment.