Dave Branton, Flight Nurse

Being there

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Nursing is about being there. When the rest of the world is snug in their beds, somewhere there's going to be a nurse pacing the halls looking, making sure that patients are okay."

Where I work

I am a Senior Flight Nurse for Keewatin Air. About 100 people work for the company. The main office is in Winnipeg but we have a Reservation Centre in Rankin Inlet and two Medivac bases in Churchill and Rankin Inlet. We fly primarily in Nunavut.

We do occasionally fly into the communities of northern Manitoba. When I first started with the company in 1998, we were primarily a Medivac company. Now we still move people in Medivacs on scheduled trips but we do charters too.

Customer service

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Part of my job is customer service. We're a private industry and you always have to be aware that in addition to a patient or someone who requires care, you're dealing with that person's family. You're dealing with that person as a customer.

"The health centre who has called for the Medivac, they're a customer. It all gets back to the Government of Nunavut who again are our customer, so customer service is a huge issue."

Who flies

I work with two other nurses on my rotation. Usually we fly alone, so there's one nurse for each aircraft and a back-up nurse in case you need a second pair of hands. Sometimes the health care centre will ask us to bring a doctor. Or we'll bring a midwife along if it's an obstetrical case.

It depends on what I am going to need to provide the patient with care. For the most part, there are only three of us on a flight: the Captain, First Officer and myself.

Team Work

I look after the medical end but we all work together as one integrated team. Information comes to dispatch. They make our ground arrangements, hotel arrangements and schedule an ambulance if we need one. Dispatch does the flight planning and tells us whether or not it's safe to fly or not.

I can't do my job without the pilots flying me and dispatch can't do their job without us being able to go pick up the patient. There's a lot of give and take. We can't do our jobs without each other.

Diverse Environment

Depending on where you're going, it can be challenging getting to and from the aircraft. Sometimes I have to take a truck across a frozen lake to get to the health centre or bring a patient across by boat. One time the only way we could transport the patient was by skidoo. It can be unpredictable at times.

Being out there in -40 with a howling wind can present its own challenges, like keeping the patient warm but also keeping your equipment warm and safe.

Active kids

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I've got a daughter who's 13 and a son who is 11. My daughter is crazy about horses and enjoys skiing, dancing and hanging out.

"My son and daughter are both into judo. They both practise and my son competes. And he does soccer and swims. They're really busy kids."

Manitoba life

The people in Manitoba are great. It's cost effective to live here, compared to Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver or the States. I've lived in a lot of different places and this is a great place to be. It's safe.

People are friendly enough that they don't shy away then you approach them. If I had one complaint, it would be the roads. All in all, it's really not a bad place to live.

Active lifestyle

As a family, we ski -both cross country and downhill. We go to La Barriere Park, Windsor Park, the Whiteshell, Birds Hill and Frost Fire.

When the weather is decent, I do a lot of cycling. I also do a bit of fencing.

Balance

My wife and I are both nurses, so work can really invade our private life. We could talk shop all the time at home, but we try not to. We do talk about work. We can't get away from it. We spend so much time at work that you can't help but talk about it.

We both enjoy what we do, but agree that if work is a part of who you really are, then you have a problem. I believe work is there to help you gather the resources to do the really important stuff.

My personality

I'm a fairly flexible individual. I would like to think I'm fairly bright. I want to be all I can be both at work and for my family. I've always aimed for being the best at anything I did.

It's a good thing and it's a bad thing. Sometimes I set my limits or my expectations too high. Yet sometimes I need to set them high so I can achieve that standard.

Unpredictable work

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Because we're working up North, it can be pretty unpredictable. I remember taking a patient out of Pongassi and the nearest airstrip was in Little Grand Rapids - wintertime, winter road. We had a patient with a breathing tube in place and the road was really bumpy.

"The biggest challenge was hanging onto the ventilation bag. As you hit bumps you didn't want to pull the breathing tube out. We ended up crawling along at 10 kilometres an hour. It took us an hour and a half to get to the airstrip by which time the physician and I, both of our hands were aching."

Phone call

The process starts when dispatch gets a patient referral from Centralized Intake in Rankin Inlet. I get basic information from dispatch: name, date of birth, vital stats, suspected diagnosis and where the patient is going.

I call the health care centre and speak to the nurses to find out what they think is wrong, what interventions they have done. We talk about treatment I'll need to administer and if a parent or family member will accompany the patient. It all happens very quickly.

Preparing for trip

Depending on the patient, we need different things on the plane. If the patient is critical, I may need to call the second nurse for support. If the patient has been bleeding excessively, we may need to pick up blood from a health care centre. For infants, we need to have an incubator on board.

Do I need a stretcher? Will I need a ventilator or equipment for a breathing tube? I make a list of what I need to take with me, especially because some places are remote with few resources.

On call

My work is completely on-call. I can be called out at anytime of the day or night. Those 4:00am calls in the middle of February when the wind is blowing and it's -35 are really hard to get up for.

There are three nurses on my rotation but you still never really know when the phone will ring. Sure as anything, the moment I plan something or get into something, I'll get a call. If I have dinner plans or go to see a movie, I can almost guarantee my pager will go off.

Days differ

My schedule is very flexible but your schedule depends on the company you work for and the type of flying you're doing. Sometimes I'll work a 14 hour day, other times a 24 hour day. The pace and stress level varies. Sometimes on my rotation, I'll fly every day.

That's what happened on my last rotation and the level of acuity was pretty high. We had a lot of sick patients. We all got tired over time and it was pretty stressful.

On the other hand, sometimes you can go days without a call.

Think on your feet

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"You're always thinking on your feet. You always have to be expecting the unexpected. You never know what's going to happen. You might try to plan for every contingency but something will always pop up outside the box.

"Equipment will stop working, there'll be a malfunction someplace or your patient will take a turn for the worse or the escort will decide to have a really bad day. You're always learning on the job. There's not a trip that goes by that I don't pick up something. On the job training is continuous."

Equipment at minus 30

The best technology often is the simplest answer but not necessarily the best solution in my line of work. Equipment needs to function at -30 or in the back of a sled. We keep it simple.

We have a handy little gizmo called an I Stat that gives us a little bit of blood from a patient so we can read their basic chemistry.

There's an allure to the computerized stuff but that allure fades very quickly if it is unable to withstand the rigours of a less than pristine environment.

Creative and flexible

To be a flight nurse, you need to be creative, outgoing and flexible. If you are too rigid in the way you do things, see things or want things to be done, this job will drive you crazy because you're working in a very imperfect environment with imperfect machinery and imperfect people.

You need to be analytical, good at problem solving and most definitely creative.

Communication

Eighty percent of nursing is communication. Writing clear, concise assessments and communicating in person and on the phone are really important skills to have.

As a nurse I have to be able to work easily with people. I need to understand what my patient tells me, verbally and nonverbally.

I need to communicate a sense of calm, which helps me convince that individual in a short period of time that I'm competent and that they'll be safe with me.

Making a difference

I was transporting an elderly man and his wife who had been ill home from Winnipeg. We were flying low and it was clear, so when we started to see the landmarks, they perked right up.

I could see in their faces they were so happy to be going home. She didn't speak English but said two words to me when we landed: "Thank you". That was one of the coolest things in the world.

Nursing career

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I kind of fell into nursing. I was working as the Executive Director for the Manitoba Fencing Association. I had a bicycle accident and required being off work for several months.

"During that time my wife was in nursing at the University of Manitoba. I started reading her textbooks when she was in class. I ended up going to a couple of her classes.

"One thing let to another and I applied and got into Health Sciences and found that I really liked it."

Different jobs

I graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and History. I was in Phys Ed for awhile before that but switched faculties in my third year. I was a jock, so it seemed natural to go into Phys Ed, but my training got in the way of my education.

I had no plans when I graduated. I've done all kinds of different jobs. I was a lifeguard, worked at a potato chip factory - I was even a life insurance salesman for awhile. My last job before switching to nursing was being the Executive Director of the Manitoba Fencing Association.

Math

I'm not a great mathematician. When I applied for nursing school, my applications were being considered at two schools. I was told I was going to need grade 12 math, which I didn't take because I was horrible at it. I started a summer course in math.

A friend of mine who is a math teacher spent hours tutoring me. After many migraines, ulcers and losing ten pounds, I found out halfway through the course that I wasn't going to need it. I dropped it like a hotcake.

Gaining experience

I'm a graduate of the Health Sciences School of Nursing. I went on to work in Labour and Delivery for a couple of years at the Health Sciences Centre, which was an awful lot of fun.

I made the jump over to intensive care and so I took the intensive care nursing program, which was another year. I worked in intensive care at HSC for several years. I came to flight nursing with adult intensive care and obstetrical experience.

Specific training

I've taken a lot of training, some of which is specifically oriented towards flight nursing and transport.

I have a lot of recurring recertifications I have to keep up with, like Pediatric Advance Life Support. I'm always going to workshops and conferences.

Keep flying

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I'd like to keep flying as long as I can. I'm getting a little long in the tooth for it. Most flight nurses are a lot younger than I am. As long as I'm healthy, as long as I can keep fit, yeah, I'll keep flying. It's fun."

Needs variety

The management gig as a Senior Flight Nurse is part of my duties. I fly a desk every now and then. I don't know that it's something I would like to do a lot of. I like the variety of being a Flight Nurse.

Being in the office for most of the day isn't what I love to do. I like the people aspect of management, working with other members of my team. The paperwork is not my favourite part.

Teaching

If I had to do something else, I think I'd look at teaching. I really enjoy working with younger nurses. They're a lot of fun, they bring a lot of energy to the work environment and they keep you on your toes.

You also really have to know your stuff. When they ask you questions that you don't have the answers to, you have to find out.

Personal philosophy

Every time you help somebody and aren't necessarily getting paid for it, you're making a difference in the world. If you're helping the proverbial little old lady across the street without being asked to, or being paid for it or being expected to, you're making a difference in the world.

I think we all do it. It's just a matter of degree, I suppose.

Job market info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official title for Dave's occupation is "Registered Nurse" and its NOC* code is 3152.

Manitoba Job Futures

Manitoba Labour Market Information - Who Hires?

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

 

Education

High School

Useful High School subjects*

- Biology
- Chemistry
- Math
- English

*Source: JobFutures.ca

For those out of school, Adult Learning Centres can help you get or upgrade your high school diploma, including adding subjects that are required for work or further education. All Manitobans are normally entitled to 4 free courses.

After high school

University of Manitoba

Faculty of Nursing

Red River College

Joint Baccalaureate Nursing

Nursing Diploma (Accelerated)

College Preparation for Nursing - ACCESS Nursing Southern

Brandon University

Faculty of Nursing

College universitaire de Saint-Boniface

Sciences infirmières
Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface offre, en collaboration avec l'Université d'Ottawa, une variété de cours en gerontology et en sciences infirmières

Assiniboine Community College - Brandon

Practical Nursing
Editor's Note: Discussions are taking place regarding credit for ACC toward the University of Manitoba B of N program.

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson

All Programs (PDF)
Bachelor of Nursing -pages 48 and 102
Preparation for Health Careers -page 40

Canadian Aerospace Medicine and Aeromedical Transport Association
Click on "CAMATA Education" for Aeromedical Training Program, Levels 1 and 2.

Skills

Useful Experience/Skills

- Multidisciplinary teamwork
- Personnel management
- Committee work
- Interpersonal skills
- Training staff
- Organizational skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Interest in helping people

Source: Job Futures.ca

There is not yet an Essential Skills* profile for this occupation.

*Essential Skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enables people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change.

Professional resources

College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba
A provincial organization offering support and advocacy to Manitoba's registered nurses.

Canadian Aerospace Medicine and Aeromedical Transport Association
A membership organization for professionals in aerospace medicine and aeromedical transport.

Manitoba Nurses Union
A labour organization for Manitoba nurses

Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions
A national organization that advocates on behalf of the nursing profession

Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
A professional organization supporting registered nurses

Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses
A national organization that supports critical care nurses through professional development and education.

Related careers

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