POSITION PAPER
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMS PHYSICIANS
FLIGHT PHYSICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM—CORE CONTENT*
Stephen H. Thomas, MD, MPH, Kenneth A. Williams, MD, for the 2002–2003
Air Medical Services Task Force of the National Association of EMS Physicians
Medicine in April–June 1993 as a
contribution of the 1992 Air
Medical Services Task Force, has
been updated in 2002 by the
National Association of EMS
Physicians (NAEMSP) Air Medical
Services Task Force. The current
Task Force members gratefully
acknowledge the work of the pre-
vious document’s authors: Jon R.
Krohmer, MD, Richard C. Hunt,
MD, Nicholas Benson, MD, and
Russell B. Bieniek, MD.
a) Rotary-wing transport
b) Fixed-wing transport
c) Special issues of interna-
tional transport including
transport via the airlines
PURPOSE
The purpose of this core content is
to provide physicians with a com-
prehensive education in all of the
components of air medical trans-
ports, including fixed- and rotary-
wing transport. It is designed
specifically to provide a physician
with the knowledge and skills nec-
essary to function effectively dur-
ing air medical transport of critical-
ly ill and injured persons. The
intent of this document is to pres-
ent an outline for the core content
of a flight physician training pro-
gram. It does not define the neces-
sary or optimal level of staffing for
air medical transports.
4. Indications for, and advan-
tages/disadvantages of, air
medical transport with over-
view of the relevant literature
for trauma and nontrauma
indications
5. Crash statistics, causes, and
efforts to improve safety
6. Economics of air medical trans-
port programs
GOAL
Upon completion of the program,
the flight physician will be pre-
pared for the safe and efficacious
transport of a critically ill or
injured patient by air. The flight
physician also will be knowledge-
able in the medical and administra-
tive aspects of the air medical pro-
gram.
7. Overview of national air med-
ical associations and relevant
resources (e.g., the Air Medical
Physician Association hand-
book, Commission on Accredi-
tation of Medical Transport
Systems standards, and “Best
Practices” publication); aware-
ness of the specialty of “aero-
space medicine,” a subspeciali-
ty of preventive medicine, and
the relevant knowledge and
resources available
This document, initially pub-
lished in Prehospital and Disaster
Dr. Thomas is at Boston MedFlight and in
the Division of Emergency Medicine,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massa-
chusetts; and Dr. Williams is in the
Department of Emergency Medicine,
Brown University, and the Air Medical
Physician Association, Providence, Rhode
Island.
DIDACTIC INFORMATION
History and Purpose of
Air Medical Transport
Approved by the NAEMSP Board of
Directors May 28, 2002. Received June 8,
2002; accepted for publication June 8, 2002.
Aircraft Operations, Air
Traffic Systems, and FAA
1. Development of air medical
transport in military and civil-
ian settings
Address correspondence and reprint
requests to: Stephen H. Thomas, MD, MPH,
Department of Emergency Services, MGH
Clinics Building, Room 115, 55 Fruit Street,
Boston, MA 02114-2696. e-mail: <thomas.
stephen@mgh.harvard.edu>.
1. Federal Aviation Administra-
tion (FAA) regulations
2. Models of program structuring
a) Hospital- vs. non-hospital-
based
b) Vendor relationships
c) Transport brokering
a) General knowledge of
parts 91 and 135
b) VFR and IFR operations
c) Legislative controversies
d) No national regulation of
medical care
*This document was initially published as:
Krohmer JR, Hunt RC, Benson N, Bieniek
RB. Flight physician training program—
core content. Prehosp Disaster Med.
1993;8(2):183-4.
3. Purpose of air medical trans-
ports
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