Rachel Benbow

Chief Nursing Officer of IMG Europe

Previous work experience

Acute medicine, A&E and Military Nursing

How did I get into medical case management/flight nursing?

I joined the RAF reserves 462Sqn as the thought of nursing in the air was a challenge I didn't think I would find elsewhere. Following my deployment with the military I fell in love with Aviation medicine and wanted to continue this. On returning to the NHS, I joined a private repatriation company to do ad hoc flying in addition to my NHS work. Before I knew it I was leaving the NHS to become a full time case manager and flight nurse.

Education

My military Aeromedical evacuation training was excellent and I completed the CCAT course when I joined a civilian repatriation company. My studies at the Liverpool School of Tropical Disease also given me excellent insight into the challenges travellers can face in the more unusual destinations.

What do I enjoy most about being a flight nurse?

Meeting new people, hearing their stories, having to think on my feet and learning all the time about how anything and everything including medicine is done overseas.

What were my most challenging repatriations?

I wouldn't say the most challenging but the most embarrassing was not being able to see a massive Hercules air craft in the distance across the air field due to a heat haze, the ambulance crew and I couldn't see it so we thought it hadn't landed yet! So, we waited and waited to collect a patient from an aircraft, eventually air traffic control told us where it was and we found it. By this time it was dark...I encountered some very grumpy air crew and a pretty exhausted patient having sat waiting for us in heat over 50C, I never did live that one down.

What important character traits are needed as a flight nurse?

• Lateral thinking
• Assertiveness
• Politeness
• A big smile, there are worse things you could be doing

Top Tips

Google earth your destinations from airports, to hotels and hospitals - this is a great tool. It will mean you know you are in the right place and which direction to walk in when you get out of the taxi. It increases your confidence and your safety when you at the very least know where you are going.