EMT to Flight Paramedic: A Comprehensive Career Guide

As a working EMT, you know that every second counts when responding to a medical emergency–even the slightest delay can literally mean the difference between life and death. In most cases, emergency medical response is the job of a crew in an ambulance. But how do paramedics save lives when an emergency is too far away or remote for an ambulance to drive to? They fly!

What is a Flight Paramedic?

A flight paramedic is a highly trained paramedic that provides care to sick and injured patients in an aeromedical environment on either fixed or rotor wing aircraft. Flight Paramedics (also known as Flight Medics, Air Medics, or Life Flight Paramedics) play a critical role in providing emergency medical services to remote locations. Whether saving lives in aero-medical emergencies, performing evacuations, or stabilizing and transporting patients to hospitals, air medics provide medical assistance where it would otherwise be impossible.

Flight Paramedic Duties & Responsibilities

The primary job of a flight paramedic, just like a regular paramedic, is to treat injuries and illnesses. By using helicopters as the primary mode of transportation, flight medics are able to get in and out of tight situations quickly. Because of the low flying altitudes, the travel risks are significantly higher than that of an ambulance. For this reason, flight paramedics are trained in flight safety and protocol on top of their traditional emergency medical training.

Common responsibilities for flight paramedics include:

• Flight to and from emergency medical situations (though not piloting)
• Treating wounds and injuries in the field
• Administering medication, injections, and IVs
• Patient assessment and stabilization
• Maintaining medical supply inventory
• Inspecting first aid equipment
• Communication with remote medical control and doctors while treating patients
• Performing advanced medical procedures such as intubation, ventilator management, line placement, and general anesthetics and paralytics

What Is the Difference Between a Flight Medic and a Flight Nurse?

The responsibilities of a flight medic are actually very similar to that of a flight nurse. Both focus on safely transporting and stabilizing patients after emergencies and administering varying medical procedures and treatments. However, a flight nurse requires a nursing certification and may have greater authority to administer a broader range of IVs and medications than a flight medic. According to the IAFCCP, the combination of a flight paramedic and a flight nurse is the most common crew configuration for emergency medical flights across the United States.

Types of Aeromedical Services

You may hold the title of “flight paramedic,” but what you do on shift depends heavily on the type of service (i.e., employer) that you work for. There is always variation in the aeromedical field, including the following service types:

• Hospital-Based: These facilities establish and maintain their own, in-house air medical programs that are an extension of their services. In some cases, employees may even work inside the hospital while not responding to calls!
• Municipal: A city, town, county, or state may identify the need for an air medical program and stand up an agency, similar to a fire department, to fit the needs of their population.
• Private: There are numerous private, for-profit services across the nation, including some of the largest air medical providers in the world.

How to Become a Flight Paramedic

If you’re an EMT or paramedic who has a taste for adventure and is seeking the promise of adding thrilling challenges to your career, becoming a flight paramedic might be a perfect fit. To achieve your career goals, you should be able to:

1. Differentiate between working as a flight paramedic and passing the Certified Flight Paramedic (FP-C) Examination.
2. Identify professional and educational opportunities to best prepare yourself for the application process.
3. List the general application requirements for flight paramedic jobs.
4. Prepare a competitive cover letter and resume.
5. Demonstrate traits of an ideal candidate to hiring managers during interviews.

Because medical emergencies can happen at any time, flight medics have to be on call 24 hours a day. They typically respond to scene calls, such as bad car accidents or fires, and transfers, where a critically ill patient needs to be moved to a facility providing a higher level of care.