CareFlight Medical Services is an accredited training facility with the

• Australasian College for Emergency Medicine for Special Skills – Retrieval Medicine at the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Townsville.
• Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine which have accredited CMS for advanced training for all locations in Queensland.

CMS employs Regional Training Directors who are permanently located at the major bases to carry out established and ongoing training programs. These Directors work to successfully integrate the Group’s critical medical services and staff with its highly specialised air retrieval crew. Ongoing audit programs have been developed and incorporated into weekly training, further supporting the CMS Air Medical Retrieval Course undertaken by all CMS registrars on commencement of employment. In addition, individualised programmes have been set up to assist candidates prepare for FACEMII examinations.

What training must I undergo?

HUET Training

Medical staff must undergo a Helicopter Underwater Escape Training Course (HUET) with CareFlight Safety Services prior to commencement with CMS. This course must be renewed every two years.

Air Medical Retrieval Training

All medical staff then begin their six-month term with an intensive week-long induction course in Air Medical Retrieval. This includes specific operational training for both rotary wing (helicopter) and fixed wing (jet) operations.

Safety Training

Following the induction course, all staff must undertake a full day of specific safety training for rotary wing (through CareFlight Safety Services) and fixed wing services (through Royal Flying Doctor Service). Further location specific training is provided by the Training Officer of each aircraft operator prior to commencing any retrieval work.

Weekly Training and Case Reviews

During the day-to-day operations, medical staff are expected to participate in air medical retrieval training sessions one day per week and attend base safety meetings and case audit meetings.

Case audit meetings are held once a week to review all medical cases in the previous seven days. The data is de-identified and presented to the group of consultants, registrars, paramedics and available flight crew. CMS strive to create a supportive and constructive environment in which to review the work of the retrieval teams. Clinical discussions around these cases generate excellent learning opportunities.

Presentations for Group Discussion

At then end of each case audit meeting, registrars especially are asked to give a presentation to the group on a relevant topic to assist in the learning of retrieval and pre-hospital medicine. The registrars are provided with a series of questions they must address on each topic to ensures critical areas are covered.

Procedural Handbook

In addition, all registrars are required to complete a procedural handbook as part of their training. This allows supervisors and management teams to analyse overall workloads and individuals skills required for retrieval medicine. Again, this analysis is used to enhance training and to ensure optimum safety for the patient.

Scenario Based Learning

Through practical scenario based learning experiences, teams can be assessed on their ability to successfully respond to complex retrieval and pre-hospital situations. Medical staff have access to high fidelity simulators for such training including the Queensland Ambulance Service intensive care paramedic training program, where high fidelity simulation and professional actors are used to generate very realistic scenarios.

Rapid Response Road-Based Retrieval Experience

At some of our bases, CareFlight registrars are able to respond to emergencies by road with Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics in a rapid response vehicle. Through this real-time, pre-hospital response experience, registrars are exposed to the emergency medical service and its interaction with the hospital system.