THE ROLE OF NURSES IN AEROMEDICAL TRANSPORT: A STUDY ON NECESSARY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

Aeromedical transport constitutes an essential strategy for ensuring continuity of care for critically ill patients, especially in a country marked by regional inequalities, structural limitations, and difficulties in accessing high-complexity healthcare services. In this context, the nurse’s role becomes central to maintaining the patient’s clinical stability during air transportation, requiring specific clinical, operational, and decision-making competencies in response to the particularities of the aeronautical environment. This study aimed to analyze the role of nurses in aeromedical transport, emphasizing the competencies, skills, and knowledge required to provide safe, effective, and humanized care. This is a cross-sectional field study with a qualitative approach and descriptive-exploratory nature, conducted in two specialized aeromedical transport institutions located in Goiânia, Goiás: Sete Táxi Aéreo and Brasil Vida. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews and objective questionnaires applied to nurses working in the service. The findings revealed that aeromedical care goes beyond technical and procedural dimensions, requiring expanded clinical reasoning, risk management, rapid decision-making, and adaptability to the limitations imposed by the air environment. The main challenges identified included physiological alterations caused by altitude, limited aircraft space, physical and emotional exhaustion of the team, and the continuous need for interdisciplinary work. It is concluded that aeromedical nursing requires specialized training, continuing education, and the strengthening of specific protocols, considering the existing gaps in professional training and in the national scientific literature on the subject.