CSM physician assistant students get hands-on experience on medical helicopter

OMAHA, Neb. – College of Saint Mary (CSM) physician assistant studies students learned first-hand how medical helicopters transport patients.  

Air Methods LifeNet of the Heartland, a medical transport provider, landed a helicopter on campus to provide tours and answer students’ questions.  

“Experiences like this bridge the gap between sitting in a classroom, hearing faculty talk and reading a textbook and actually putting into practice applicable knowledge,” said Matt Roesner, assistant professor of physician assistant studies. “It’s almost like a light bulb turns on for students because they see the real application of the information they’re learning in the classroom.” 

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies students are finishing their first year of classes and will begin their clinical experiences this month. 

“I really enjoy days like this because you understand the healthcare system in a different view,” said physician assistant studies student Deirdre Oetken. “We learn a lot in the classroom, but we’ve also had experiences like going to the operating room and learning how to scrub in and now seeing how a life flight works to learn how a patient gets to us and how the healthcare system goes beyond the hospital.” 

The flight nurses spoke to students about the type of scenes they land on, how far they can fly, what they gather for information when they’re at the bedside with patients, what they do in flight and what their shift hours are like. 

“It was really eye opening to see how important it is to work as part of a care team. Being a physician assistant means you’re going to be working with a good team of individuals, and that boosts the patient experience and makes them feel heard, seen and well taken care of,” said physician assistant studies student Ananda Lopez. “Having experiences like this really does set the scene for how important it is to be a good provider and make sure I know how to take care of my patients.” 

Roesner, who has a special interest in pre-hospital emergency medical services as a former paramedic, said the experience helps students better understand their role as physician assistants as part of a healthcare team. 

“As students enter their clinicals, especially those who will work in rural healthcare, they’ll interact with the helicopter healthcare providers,” Roesner said.  

The experience also exposes students to the different types of medicine that can be performed in a helicopter. 

“Since healthcare is so vast, it’s hard to know what you want to go into. Knowing what’s out there is a good idea,” said flight nurse Brittany Grandfield. “If they know they don’t want to go into the air medical field, knowing what we do bringing patients to them or taking patients away from them, is also really important so we can give that whole rounded care.”