Helen Stevens

I have only a year's flight experience currently as I'm quite new to this field. I am a mental health nurse and as such I have not been as busy as general adult nurses. However, my experiences so far have been challenging, but enjoyable. The role of the mental health nurse is invaluable in this context, but it does require more awareness as it's a very specialist area and can be very complex.

Previous work experience

I have been working as a mental health professional for the last 33 years and have a vast variety of experience, working within the NHS and the private sector. I spent ten years working within the PTSD field and have also within Acute & Adolescents, Acquired Brain Injury, Secure and Forensics including Prisons and secure units. I currently offer private home care for individuals that choose not to go to hospital or who require psychological support at home following discharge. Sometime I stay 24/7 or I may spend just a few hours a day with them assisting in daily life, depending on their needs. I also currently support a specialist hospital for clients with mental health needs that are being treated in CCU or the burns centre. My current work life is varied and very interesting as I am never too sure on what my next challenge will be.

How did I get into medical case management/flight nursing?

I had been working full time with clients at home and needed something a little more challenging occasionally. I sent some emails to various companies and the same day started my enrolment with one company. I have discovered that not many mental health nurses are doing this type of work currently, possibly due to lack of demand, but there is now greater awareness in all spheres regarding mental health.

Education

• RCN Flight Nurse Study Days annually
• Manual Handling Annually
• First Aid at Work
• ILS booked
• I am also planning to attend CCAT in the future (Clinical Considerations in Aeromedical Transport).

What do I enjoy most about being a flight nurse?

Meeting new people who are usually in a very difficult place mentally and being able to support and reassure them professionally that we are going to get them home. I thrive on feeling that I can make a difference on a day to day basis. I also enjoy the challenge of being in a different country where sometimes the simplest requests can be time consuming. Working closely with others.

What were my most challenging repatriations?

I've been lucky until now and not actually had any difficult repatriations, however, we did have a couple of situations with not being in the same cabin as our client and had to politely ask about in the cabin for a kind person to swap seats. Not everyone is happy to oblige!

What important character traits are needed as a flight nurse?

• Being assertive and confident
• Resilience and a sense of humour
• Appearing calm
• Effective communication
• Being able to distract and de-escalate at appropriate times
• Having common sense and problem solving skills is a must
• Adaptability.

Top Tips

• Ask for as much information as possible to be able to make an informed decision that you are happy with
• Nap when able as when you're with your client it may be a long stint!
• Review the flight schedules, ensure you're happy with it.