0:00

Oddly enough, and this is gonna sound so

0:02

funny, I am a baseball field person,

0:06

like I look for a baseball field every

0:08

time we take off.

0:09

Oh look there's a baseball field.

0:11

Maybe it's the softball player in me, but I

0:13

love to see them from up high.

0:16

That's Asia B. She's thirty

0:18

years old, lives in Maryland, and

0:21

technically speaking, she's a critical

0:23

care transport nurse at a large pediatric

0:26

hospital in Philadelphia. But

0:28

Asia's version of critical care transport

0:30

nursing is quite unique because

0:33

she's what's referred to in her line of work

0:36

as a flight nurse.

0:37

Yeah.

0:38

So, a flight nurse is someone who

0:40

essentially goes and picks up patients

0:42

in aircraft that can either be a helicopter,

0:45

it could be a fixed wing, or any

0:47

of those kind of vehicles that fly.

0:53

In honor of International Nurses Day,

0:55

I spoke with Asia about her job

0:57

as a flight nurse, why she fell in

0:59

love with such a risky career, and

1:02

how she balances the demands of such

1:04

an intense job with motherhood

1:06

and everything else she's got going on in

1:08

life. And if you've never

1:10

heard of flight nursing, you're not alone.

1:13

Because prior to taking this job. Neither

1:16

had Asia, but as an experienced

1:19

er nurse and a self described thrill seeker,

1:22

Asia knew the moment she heard that you

1:24

could take care of patients while soaring through

1:26

the air that she'd found the job for

1:28

her. There was only one

1:30

little issue. She'd

1:32

never been in a helicopter before.

1:39

Tell me about that first flight you took. Were

1:42

you nervous?

1:43

So we got a page and they send you an alert

1:45

saying this is dispatch, this is the patient and.

1:48

They're like, yeah, you guys are going to go up for a flight today.

1:51

And I was like what.

1:53

They're like, yeah, you're going to go up in the helicopter

1:55

today.

1:56

And then, as she explained it, things

1:59

started getting really She

2:01

and her team take the elevator to the top floor

2:03

of the hospital and then walk out

2:05

to the helipad. It's cold

2:07

and it's windy, and her adrenaline

2:10

is pumping.

2:11

And then the nurse who had came with that

2:13

crew is like, oh, is this your first flight.

2:16

I'm like, yup.

2:17

She was like oh okay, Like here's the you know, I'm gonna

2:19

show you the parts of the helicopter. Stay in the front,

2:21

don't walk towards the back.

2:22

It's kind of like when you're having a baby. They're telling you

2:24

all.

2:24

These things and you're like, I can't focus, like

2:27

and then I must have got too far away.

2:29

She was like, stay close, member. I was like, oh god, I forgot

2:31

already.

2:37

Fortunately for Asia, the first

2:39

flight was to bring her out to a patient

2:41

that they were picking up for transport, so

2:44

she could focus on the flight itself, get

2:46

over those first flight jitters, which

2:49

for her immediately faded the

2:51

minute the helicopter took off.

2:53

I thought it was gonna be a lot more bumpy,

2:55

but it was very smooth. It was. It was amazing.

2:58

It was just amazing being like that high up.

3:01

As you can imagine. Being a nurse

3:03

and a helicopter is a heck of a lot different

3:06

from nursing in a hospital. For

3:08

one thing, it's really tightened here.

3:10

So a helicopter is definitely a confined space.

3:13

It is so small, even though I'm

3:15

only five feet, can't even like stand

3:17

up inside of it, that's how small it is.

3:19

And unlike a hospital that has a well stocked

3:22

supply room and all the machines and monitors

3:24

and nurse could need the limited

3:26

space of a helicopter means

3:28

Asia and her team need to pack wisely

3:31

and bring only the essentials.

3:34

Our resources are pretty much what

3:36

you bring in your pocket. So we wear something

3:38

called a flight suit and it has about

3:41

like twelve bockets on it and

3:43

you can stick things in it.

3:44

I have like flushes.

3:45

I am like my alcohol swaps because

3:48

there's not a lot of moving, Like you can't go reaching

3:50

in a bunch of bags and doing a bunch of moving

3:52

around.

3:53

Not to mention, they're up there flying

3:55

through the air. It's just her a

3:57

partner and the pilot doesn't

4:00

know how to do something. She can't page

4:02

someone on another floor to come help. So

4:05

this means that a flight nurse like Asia

4:08

has to be on top of their game.

4:10

One of the things that I always tell new nurses

4:13

in the moment, it'll come

4:15

to you.

4:16

And that trust Asia has in her skills,

4:18

that confidence in herself to rise

4:20

to the moment stems

4:23

from her training as an athlete.

4:25

I played softball in high school.

4:28

I used to get on the dirt and I used to be like, I

4:30

hope a ball doesn't come to me right, because you don't

4:32

want to make a mistake. You don't want an error. You're worried

4:34

about these things. I'm like, I hope a ball

4:36

doesn't come to me. And my softball coach, she

4:38

said, if you're on this field and you hope the ball

4:40

doesn't come to you, then we have an issue.

4:43

And it's kind of the same thing in nursing.

4:44

When you first start out and you're a new nurse,

4:47

you're like, I hope I don't get a hard patient.

4:50

I hope I don't get an IVY today.

4:51

You know, it's one of those things where that that

4:54

is a notice that you need to step your

4:56

skills up, because when you go to work, you should

4:58

be saying, no matter what comes in that door

5:00

today, I know that I'm going to be able to handle.

5:02

It, especially as a flight nurse.

5:04

No matter what page we get that day,

5:06

I know that when I get up in that helicopter, I'm

5:09

going to be able to do this.

5:10

If you can hear a sense of conviction in

5:13

Asia's voice when she talks about nursing,

5:16

there's a reason for that because

5:18

nursing has always been Asia's

5:20

goal.

5:21

Yeah, this is one hundred percent

5:23

plan A for me. I always wanted to be

5:25

a nurse. I went to a high school

5:28

that was called a vocational high school, so they let

5:30

you study some type of vocation,

5:32

and my vocation was practical nursing,

5:34

which you got to graduate with your LPN.

5:36

From high school. So I did that program

5:39

and I was like, yeah, this is it, and then.

5:41

From there I went straight to college

5:44

and got my four year.

5:46

Degree right away and it

5:48

the rest's history.

5:49

I one hundred percent once I started

5:52

in it, just even that first day, I was like, this

5:54

is what I want to do.

5:55

This is definitely my calling.

5:59

So no, this isn't one of those stories

6:01

about a wayward soul trying out a bunch

6:03

of different jobs before finding the one

6:05

that suited them.

6:08

This is the story of a woman who knew

6:10

deep down exactly what she

6:13

wanted to do in this life and

6:15

then committed herself holy to turning

6:17

that dream into a reality. So

6:20

when Asia shows up to work, she's

6:22

not hoping to pass the time playing on her

6:24

phone. She's there

6:27

because she has a job to do, her

6:29

dream job.

6:30

We have this thing in nursing, which is kind of

6:32

I think all nursing.

6:33

It's called a.

6:33

Superstition where you don't say it's quiet

6:36

in here or on board, because

6:38

when you say those things, things commit and

6:40

I'm the one that's gonna walk in like, guys, it's

6:42

so quiet in here, because

6:45

I'm like, we're doing this, We're

6:47

gonna turn this up in here today.

6:49

And people are like, Asia, why did you say that?

6:51

I'm like, because we're just sitting here bored,

6:53

like we need things to do. And so

6:56

I am one hundred percent the person.

6:57

Like I hope we get a flight today.

7:01

When we come back from the break. Asia's

7:04

pager goes off.

7:13

A strong work ethic, takes

7:15

pride in a job well done.

7:18

This is the kind of person you need.

7:20

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7:25

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Get to know Express go to expresspros

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7:44

We're back with Asia B, who shows

7:46

up at her dream job as a critical care

7:49

transport nurse, not knowing exactly

7:51

what that day is going to look like. One

7:54

minute she might be working in the hospital and

7:57

the next she's speeding down I ninety five in

7:59

the back of an ambul or putting

8:01

a stint in a patient while soaring over Washington,

8:04

d C. And a medical helicopter. And

8:06

for Asia, that uncertainty, that

8:09

big question mark at the beginning of each day

8:12

is one of the best parts of the job. But

8:15

it's a job not without risks.

8:17

Do you have a son, right?

8:20

I do. He's a five year old and my son's

8:22

name is Tate.

8:24

Does your son worry about you going up

8:26

in the helicopter?

8:29

He's My son is five, so

8:31

I don't know if he actually has grasped the

8:33

idea that I am like that it's so

8:35

dangerous in his mind. You know,

8:37

when you're that young, Oh the beauty of innocence.

8:40

You just don't understand. This

8:42

is dangerous. Mommy's job is dangerous.

8:46

Medical flights often occur in

8:48

poor conditions and challenging locations,

8:52

and while the industry has taken measures

8:54

to increase the safety of their work, risks

8:57

still abound. In fact,

9:00

just days before I interviewed Asia, a

9:03

medical helicopter went down in Nevada,

9:06

killing everyone aboard. And

9:09

then when I was editing this piece,

9:11

a few weeks later, another

9:14

medical helicopter went down in Alabama.

9:18

Asia is not ambivalent to the risk

9:20

of her job. She knows

9:22

that every time you go up there

9:25

is that chance. But

9:28

she also knows that it's part of the job,

9:31

a job that she feels destined to

9:33

do.

9:34

I think that one of the things for nurses,

9:36

most nurses, nurses who care, are they're

9:39

just so like selfless, right because

9:41

the reality is we're here to help people, and

9:43

so in our mind that's always our like,

9:45

that's always at the forefront, So we don't really you

9:47

can't really think of anything else in those moments.

9:51

As a mom herself, Asia knows

9:53

the stakes. She knows

9:55

that oftentimes she's seeing

9:57

families in their absolute worst moments,

10:00

seeing mothers and fathers in

10:02

the midst of a living nightmare.

10:05

The thing about and they're saying that kind of fascinates

10:08

me, I think is that you are literally taking

10:10

care.

10:11

Of someone at their most vulnerable time.

10:13

You have the power

10:15

to kind of be the difference between a

10:18

good experience how they deal with this

10:20

like most stressful time in their life, or

10:22

adding more stress and making it terrible for

10:24

them, right, and especially I think being

10:26

a pediatric nurse, this

10:28

is your most prized possession,

10:31

right and now you are literally as

10:33

a mom, feeling so helpless

10:35

in this situation and you have no idea what

10:37

to do, and I hear I come, and I'm like, I

10:39

know more than you about your kid. Right, No one likes

10:41

to hear that, But I think in those

10:44

moments like empowering parents and being

10:46

able to be there for them in their toughest time

10:48

is probably like the best.

10:50

If my patient leaves and doesn't feel

10:53

like I've helped them or held their

10:55

hand through this, what was the point?

10:57

Then there's just really no point.

11:05

So here's the thing. Well, this

11:07

episode is about Asia,

11:09

It's also about nurses everywhere.

11:12

It's about those millions of men and women

11:15

who put on their nurses scrupts each day

11:17

and do their jobs, no matter how difficult

11:20

or exhausting or downright dangerous

11:22

it might be. At the height

11:24

of the pandemic, entire cities

11:26

came to a standstill as people

11:28

banked pots and pans and

11:30

screamed in praise of nurses and

11:33

doctors and other frontline workers. Maybe

11:36

you were one of those people who, at seven

11:38

o'clock every night shouted out

11:40

your window or stomped up and down

11:42

on your fire escape in praise

11:45

of our frontline workers, in

11:47

praise of our heroes. And

11:50

as things returned to a sense of normalcy.

11:53

I'm wondering if we can't find

11:55

some way to continue thinking those

11:57

people, people like Asia,

12:00

who we turned to in our times of need.

12:09

If you'd like to thank Asia, you

12:11

can check her out on our website Motheringdemama

12:14

dot com.

12:17

For on the job, I'm Avery Thompson.