For many adults and college students, the chance for international travel culminates years of planning and dreams. However, injuries and accidents can make their plans unravel, leaving travelers in need of an international transport nurse to advocate for them and help them return home safely.
An international transport nurse plays an important role in medical repatriation, a term that describes the need for medical services through the process of returning to the United States from a foreign country. The key is to return home before spending a long time under hospital care in a foreign country, something that can take a heavy toll on both your health and finances.
Medical Repatriation vs Evacuation
Hiring a non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) company that specializes in international medical travel and who provides an experienced nurse for your journey can help you get out of that situation. Here are some frequently asked questions that can help you decide if an international travel nurse is who you need.
Why Do People Hire An International Transport Nurse?
Imagine yourself or your child in a situation where they are under medical care in a foreign country. In that situation, you face many challenges. They include language barriers, quality of care issues, exuberant healthcare costs and the distance from home, friends and family. Not all travel insurance will cover medical costs. An NEMT company and international transport nurse can help resolve the situation and get you home.
The short answer is that they see you home safely. The nurse comes to where you are, works with local healthcare workers to get you released from the hospital, then provides any healthcare services you need by traveling with you on the flight back home.
In addition to the medical services, an international transport nurse also works with local healthcare workers as well as airport security and airline personnel. They can handle all the issues that come up, from navigating the airport and getting through security to managing your medications and providing care in flight.
What Qualifications Does An International Transport Nurse Have?
The kind of nurse you get depends on who you hire. At Flying Angels, for example, nurses have years of experience in emergency medical care and certification to provide medical services at high altitudes. They are extremely capable should a crisis arise.
A NEMT provides expertise in international medical travel. In the case of Flying Angels, the company has worked with thousands of patients through the years and has contacts in both the medical and transportation industries around the world. They arrange your flights, contact the airport ahead of time to make your travel go smoother and set up any ground transportation or accommodations you may need.
It’s important to read your own health insurance plan before leaving on a trip. Most policies will not cover the cost of getting home from a foreign country. There are medical travel insurance plans available, but be sure to compare costs and services and find the one that works best for you. Getting injured or requiring medical care while on a trip does not have to become a nightmare situation. By planning ahead and having contact information for a NEMT company, you can travel with the assurance that if something does go wrong, you have someone you can trust to help you get back home.
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Medical flights help you and your families travel safely after someone is hospitalized or may have limited mobility. Medical air travel arrangements can be scheduled with a flight coordinator who should be an RN with emergency and critical care experience. Registered nurses with extensive Critical Care/Emergency experience accompany you during travel from beginning to end, bedside to bedside.
They
differ from emergency flights, in which patients are flown directly to a
hospital by plane or helicopter.
Medical flights and medical travel are popular because they allow those with debilitating conditions, disorders, disabilities or injuries to have the comfort and security of a flight nurse accompanying them through the airport and during their flight.
How to Schedule Medical Travel
Flight nurses typically work with an agency such as Flying Angels that also employs an RN Flight Coordinator. They handle all the advance planning for medical travel, coordinating with airports, airlines, ground transportation and hotels.
The reason for seeking medical flights or medical travel differ by the individual. When using medical transport, patients have made the decision that they want support during their trip from a trained, qualified and experienced nurse.
In many cases, the patients are older travelers with a chronic condition. They could be visiting relatives, going on a family vacation to a distant location or relocating to a new home to be closer to family.
Whatever the case, medical flights provide you with the support you need. For example, airport personnel is contacted in advance so they know when you’re arriving. The flight nurse goes through TSA with you and works to make sure any medical equipment (such as a wheelchair or medications) are carried on properly. TSA notification cards can help to expedite the security checkpoint process in several ways as well as TSA PreCheck™.
The flight nurse helps you board the flight in advance to ensure you’re not waiting in lines or accidentally bumped into by another traveler. Your flight coordinator would have already chosen the best seat assignment for your situation and has arranged to have all the medication and supplies you need for the flight. RN flight nurses are experts at high-altitude healthcare which can also be referred to as aviation physiology. Medical flights and medical travel provide security and comfort to those who decide to work with a professional non-emergency medical transportation company.
Medical
emergency flights are sometimes referred to as medical flights, but the
difference is the “emergency” part.
Patients on an emergency medical flight are usually being taken from the scene of an accident or a natural disaster to a hospital. Emergency personnel provides medical care during the flight that focuses on preserving life until they can get to an intensive care unit. So, while the term medical flight might sometimes be used to refer to emergency flights, it typically refers to non-emergency medical transport. It’s a way for people to have peace of mind during their flight, knowing they will arrive safely and have help if any type of emergency does arise.
Airline nurses, also known as commercial flight nurses or medical escorts, provide care for patients using non-emergency medical transport. Their work involves traveling with patients on domestic or international commercial flights, providing medical care in transit and helping them better navigate through the airport. The job involves using specialized skills and understanding how to provide care at high altitudes.
Because of the specialized nature of the work, many nurses are curious about the earning potential in this field. While exact salary figures can vary widely, several key factors impact airline nurse salaries. These include experience level, certifications, the type of organization they work for, the frequency of travel assignments, and whether the routes are domestic or international.
Understanding these variables can help nurses evaluate whether this career is the right fit for their lifestyle and financial goals.
Average Salaries for Flight Nurses
While many different factors play a role in airline nurse salaries, the average salary those working in the United States is $109,709, according to Zip Recruiter. Annual flight nurse salaries range from $62,500 to $145,000, with most falling between $85,000 and $132,000. Top earners make $139,500. The flight nurse average pay range varies greatly, suggesting there is opportunity for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
Compare this to the average salary for a registered nurse working in a hospital, clinic or other medical care facility. Their annual media pay is $93,600, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Zip Recruiter reports the highest flight nurse salaries in these locations:
Nome, Alaska: $136,093
Berkeley, Calif.: $134,332
Aspen, Colo.: $132,607
Sitka, Alaska: $132,164
Justin, Texas: $129,574
Menlo Park, Calif.: $129,287
San Francisco, Calif.: $129,256
Stanford, Calif.: $128,903
Santa Clara, Calif.: $128,846
Salary is, of course, an important consideration. However, flight nurses enjoy additional perks that add value to the role. Perhaps most importantly, there is an important non-monetary benefit to consider: the opportunity to see new places, meet patients from diverse backgrounds, and take part in meaningful care outside traditional care settings.
For many, the job offers a blend of clinical impact and personal enrichment that is hard to match in hospital-based roles.
What an Airline Nurse Does
In many ways, the job of an airline nurse mirrors that of an emergency room nurse.
Nurses who work in an ER must manage diverse types of patients suffering from a wide variety of illnesses and injuries. They are trained to make fast, smart decisions in an often-frenetic environment.
Airline nurses have years of experience working in either an ICU or emergency room setting. The skills gained in these environments help them better perform their job as an airline nurse.
An airline nurse has many responsibilities. They assess a patient’s condition before traveling and then develop a transport plan to get the patient to their destination safely. They work with airline personnel to make the trip through the airport as seamless as possible. They also coordinate ground transportation on both ends of the trip.
Most importantly, they are specially trained to provide quality care for patients during the flight. They have expertise in the details of providing medical care at thousands of feet in the air.
An airline nurse can work in emergency situations. However, many work with patients who are ill or have had injuries, and must still take a flight. Others work with older or chronically ill patients who require professional medical care while taking a flight.
Growth in the field continues as more people become aware of the benefits of medical transport service. For nurses, it offers an exciting opportunity outside the typical environments of a hospital, physician’s office, or long-term care home.
