Feasibility of Air Transport Simulation Training: A Case Series

• We created a complex simulated case scenario for neonatal flight nurses.
• New flight/transport nurses were oriented using high-fidelity simulation.
• We identified latent sources of medical error with novice neonatal flight nurses.
• Human factors analysis was performed to improve flight transport with neonatal flight nurses.

Limited clinical site availability and an increased need for clinical training experiences often make it difficult for prehospital health care providers to complete new and annual training requirements. Medical simulation provides an alternative learning environment that provides trainees the opportunity to acquire and perfect new clinical skills without compromising patient care. The following is a detailed description of an air medical transport simulation of a neonate with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy requiring transport to a higher level of care. Patient parameters were altered during flight to simulate potential complications unique to air medical transport. Use of this training strategy is particularly beneficial for low-volume, high-risk patients, and these lessons can be applied across all age patient groups, making the experience broadly applicable.