I am currently the Program Manager for Vanderbilt LifeFlight Air Medical Transport. I oversee the operational and clinical practice of the staff. We have a large team consisting of physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and critical care paramedics. I also serve as a faculty instructor and preceptor for the Emergency Nurse Practitioner Program (ENP) at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN).
I began my career at VUMC in 2002 in the Trauma ICU. At the time, I had recently transitioned out of active duty in the United States Army after 12 years. I am a Nashville native, I wanted to work for Vanderbilt. I had the distinct privilege of working with extremely talented staff and the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) students. This inspired me to apply to VUSN for the ACNP program. I transitioned to LifeFlight as a Flight Nurse in 2006 and started the ACNP program that fall. I graduated in 2008, after having to deploy to Iraq with my Army National Guard unit. I was able to complete my last two semesters of study while deployed. I returned to VUSN in 2016 for a post-masters as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Emergency Nurse Practitioner.
In 2019, I began working with the Office of Advanced Practice to develop a Flight Nurse Practitioner job code to credential and privilege our nurse practitioners. Since that time, LifeFlight has grown to 24 full-time flight nurse practitioners and one of the first air medical programs to fly with NP’s. We have also developed advanced protocols. We can perform the role of medical control and provide the advanced level of care to our patients while in transport. Our team transports over 4000 critical care patients annually, ranging from neonates through geriatric patients. We work with most departments within the institution and have collaborated to develop best practices for our group.
Some of the major challenges include developing the role of the flight nurse practitioner, since they do not fit into the standard roles within the institution. This is also the greatest opportunity for our team. We have been able to develop our practice and roles based upon best practices and set the national standards for flight nurse practitioners. Since our development, we have had multiple flight programs reach out to assist them in developing and implementing flight nurse practitioners.
I have been very fortunate to have great mentors and colleagues throughout my tenure with VUMC. This has allowed me many opportunities to help shape the future of flight nurse practitioners within our profession. I have been able to utilize this knowledge to assist my military counterparts in all services, as well as internationally with NATO countries. One of the greatest achievements I have accomplished was the work I did with the Bulgarian Military Medical Academy. Over the last 7 years, I have developed a medical simulation center, combat paramedic program, NATO Role 1 (initial medica/trauma care), and NATO Role 2 (advanced medical/trauma resuscitation) for the Bulgarian Armed Forces.
In my spare time, I enjoy being at home and traveling with my family. My wife, Bethany and I have a 22 year-old son and 11 year old daughter, who keep us very busy. We also have an 8-year-old golden-doodle and 2 year-old mix breed.