AirMed nurse Janie Ford: A 24-year veteran of the U.'s in-air ambulance service fulfills childhood dream
For Janie Ford, being a nurse was an aspiration she'd had from the day she was born. What she didn't anticipate was that her career as a nurse would take her even higher.
Neighbors at her childhood home could bet on a little Ford combing the neighborhood in search of Halloween candy dressed not as a witch or a princess but in a white nurse's dress.
A nurse was what she wanted to dress up as every Halloween and be when she grew up. When she was just a toddler her toys mirrored her future ambition.
Ford remembers fondly the new doctor/nurse kit under the Christmas tree every year since she was 3 for the little girl who knew since the day she was born she wanted to be a nurse.
But, according to Ford, she would have done things differently.
She would have become a doctor if she thought of it as an option. While she was growing up and even during nursing school she thought being a nurse was as high as she could go in the medical field.
"It wasn't until I finished nursing school I met my first female doctor," Ford said. Until then, she said, "I didn't know I could go to medical school."
That meeting led Ford to start working on premed studies. But by then, she was the mother of four.
"I just had my twins and I was in my chemistry classes and I realized my kids would be 14 by the time I finished my residency."
Ford went to work as a nurse and she has kept working as an RN for 30 years. Twenty-four of those years has been working in what Ford's co-worker Brian Simpson considers "a very big specialty in nursing."
Ford and Simpson are flight nurses and work as part of the 119-person elite crew who make up AirMed, a University of Utah Medical Center-based air ambulance service.
The crew includes medics, nurses, flight coordinators and pilots.
Ford joked that she became a flight nurse because she has "a short attention span." But on reflection she added, "I like the autonomy. And making really quick decisions for sick people."
All joking aside, both Simpson and Ford agreed that to gain a position on the AirMed crew, one has to be dedicated. "And," Ford said, "you have to really want it."
Recently, there were two open positions on the team. They were flooded with qualified applicants.
Getting the credentials for the job is the easy part, said Ford. Above and beyond the requirements are having excellent communication skills and being a team worker.
Ford said to qualify to be a flight nurse, a person has to not only be an RN but also have a minimum of three to five years of critical care experience. In addition, flight nurses must be certified in several life-support systems.
On top of that, Ford added, the competition is stiff and most nurses have 10 to 15 years of experience before becoming a flight nurse on the AirMed crew. AirMed personnel also have a strict policy on weight due to flight restrictions. Ford describes the diet and training and to meet weight requirements as being much like a prize fighter's routine before a weigh-in.
"But," she said, "it's absolutely worth it. I've been doing this job for 24 years and I am not bored. I truly love this job. And I have a chance to give really good care to my patients every single time I fly." (source) |
