UT Health East Texas flight nurses give career presentation at UT Tyler
Nurses discuss qualifications, typical flights and in-flight treatment
TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The UT Health East Texas Air 1 medical helicopter landed on the UT Tyler Patriot Plaza on Tuesday morning.
It wasn’t an emergency. It was a moment for nursing students to get an up-close look at one of their career options. UT Health East Texas flight nurses gave a presentation on what it takes to their jobs.
Claire Kelley, the simulation lab director for UT Tyler’s nursing program, said the team from UT Health East Texas provided insight into what they do and what a typical flight involves.
“What does the helicopter look like, what kind of patients can they take on it, so that they can get introduced to different types of nursing besides just bedside nursing,” Kelley said.
The presentation was a look at a nursing career Kelley said students usually don’t get to see during their education and training.
“They don’t get exposed to this side of nursing when they’re doing their usual clinicals inside the hospital," she said. "You have to have lots of experience to be a flight nurse, so when your’re a new nurse, when you’re a nursing student, you don’t get exposed to this side of it.”
Level 3 and Level 4 nursing students attended Tuesday’s presentation. Kelley said those students are currently doing their ICU and emergency room rotations.
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