Education Initiatives at LifeFlight
When caring for patients hundreds of feet in the air, LifeFlight clinicians must be ready for obstacles to come their way. If a patient experiences a sudden cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, or a rapid decrease in his or her condition, flight nurses and paramedics need to be ready to act quickly and make on-the-spot decisions in the back of a helicopter, airplane, or ground ambulance. That’s why for LifeFlight crews the learning never stops.
The practicing of skills needed to be a LifeFlight nurse or paramedic starts long before they put on the green flight suit. To even be considered for the position, an applicant must have a minimum of three years of specialty experience in hospital critical care units.
Once a clinician is hired, they begin their clinical orientation. New clinical team members receive between 500 and 800 hours of intensive, full-time orientation on a wide variety of medical and aviation disciplines, from altitude physiology to advanced trauma skills. LifeFlight’s critical care medical teams have an expanded scope of practice that allows them to bring the trauma center directly to the patient, delivering ICU-level care on scene. To reach this level of expertise requires hours of hands-on training with veteran crew members and clinical educators.
“Once you pass your final simulation, you’re off orientation. You learn so much, but you know you’re still just scratching the surface,” said flight nurse Jen O’Brien.
That’s why it’s not just new clinical team members who undergo trainings and proficiency checks. Throughout the year, veteran crew members continue to learn new skills and hone others. In 2024, LifeFlight facilitated more than 200 hours of training through its Critical Care Academy, an advanced training program designed to enhance the skills of both LifeFlight staff and clinicians at partner organizations. The Academy offers intensive modules to develop critical care expertise. The program focuses on situational assessment, procedural skills, critical thinking, and team-based approaches. Skills taught range from airway management to advanced cardiac and trauma care.
Much of the training happens in Bangor Savings Bank Simulation and Learning Labs at LifeFlight’s bases in Sanford and Bangor. The technology in these labs allows nurses and paramedics to engage in realistic and immersive patient care experiences. Training includes the use of high-fidelity human patient simulators, which are life-like manikins that react to medical intervention as if they were alive. Crew members can also engage in more specific training, such as brushing up on their skills caring for patients experiencing cardiac arrest and treating pediatric patients.
LifeFlight transports patients from all corners of Maine in all seasons of the year. To be prepared for anything that may come their way, new crew members learn winter survival skills during the year’s coldest months. Led by Craig Barrett, a LifeFlight paramedic and outdoor survival expert, crew members spend more than 32 hours learning skills including how to navigate by landmarks, use a map and a compass, build structures with materials found in nature, procure and filter water, assemble snares and find food, and start and maintain a fire.
“While all LifeFlight aircraft carry limited basic survival gear onboard, crew members need firsthand experience and knowledge to keep them safe in an emergency,” said Craig. There is also a psychological component to the training, addressing decision-making, vehicle damage, crew member or patient injuries, and staying mentally strong in a challenging situation.
LifeFlight crews are continually learning and practicing their skills. Caring for the people of Maine is a big responsibility, and one crews don’t take lightly.
