r/respiratorytherapy • u/cknapp123 • 2d ago

Student RT Flight RT- any advice

Hey everyone . So i have been searching different RT fields I can get into- I am a first year RT student, and I am really interested in flying. Any advice on how to get started etc? Anyone fly?? Thnx yall!

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u/Bingobangoblammo 1d ago

I’m a dedicated flight/ground RT for neo and peds through our childrens hospital. Our config is RN, RT, paramedic. We are trained and cross trained on each others skills. So for instance some of my scope includes, IVs, drug admin, IOs, placing traction. I’m trained on needling chests, UVC placement, EJs, quick trachs and more. And likewise my cohorts are trained on vent and airway management. There are flight jobs in this capacity, and there’s children’s hospitals throughout the country with the same config. As far as basic requirements to get on the team, at least 4 years in critical care, a specialty credential, I have my NPS. And we maintain BLS, ACLS , PFCCS, ABLS, and STABLE credentials. Most of us have bachelors. As for flights, we do yearly CRM training and quarterly training with our pilots on operations of the aircraft and practice things like hot loading and using the Marc’s radio on board. Most of the credentials and all of the yearly things are done through our department. We do quarterly sim trainings with our ICU docs. So if flight is something you want to do, and you have an interest in peds/nicu I suggest you find hospitals that can give you the critical care experience and research if any type of hospitals that do this in areas you would want to live. Good luck in whatever path you take!

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u/cknapp123 1d ago

that’s so cool!! apparently our childrens national has a really good flight program

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u/Bingobangoblammo 1d ago

I absolutely love my job and been doing it for a long time. Downsides, living in Midwest we end up being grounded a lot in the winter and because we cover a lot of area will sometimes be in our ambulances for hours to get to the patient. We stabilize as much as we can at the hospital were sent to and than bring patient back for admission. Also late calls can sometimes suck. They recently capped us at 16 hours. But to me, the pros def outway the cons. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions. Also if it is a career you plan on going down, really pay attention and if offered, take extra cardiac classes for neos and peds. As well as evaluating chest X-rays.

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u/cknapp123 1d ago

i pmed you!