Stories From Children's Nurses in Flight: Exploring Experiences of Air Medical Transfers

Abstract

ObjectiveNurses are immersed in stories, and nurses who participate in flight transfers have stories to tell that may hold interest and offer insight for air medical professionals around the world. MethodsUsing a narrative inquiry methodology, 5 nurses working for a children's transport service in England were invited to tell stories from their experiences of air medical transfers. The aim of this article was to describe the meanings the nurses assigned to their experiences of flight transfers and to develop an interpretation of the narrative accounts, investigating the implications of the stories. ResultsThis study provides a record of nurses’ flight experiences within a predominately road-based children's transport service. The analysis considered the following topics: humor, parental presence on transport, and the joy and fear associated with the work. Implications for the training of nurses who fly were identified; it is recommended that the design of training should place the technical challenges of the work in the context of the emotional challenges. ConclusionThis article is a timely reflection on the social context of this new nursing experience for any situation around the world, which is seeing expansion of children's air medical transport provision.