Nurses’ responsibilities in the aerospace environment

Abstract

Objectives: to characterize the nurses who work in the aerospace environment and to identify their most frequent responsibilities during the pre-flight, flight, and post-flight periods. Methods: a quantitative, exploratory-descriptive research, conducted using a survey through Google forms®, from January to April of 2018, with 50 nurses from aerospace services in Brazil. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: predominance of male participants (64%), mean age of 37 years, with a mean working time in the aerospace environment of six years, in helicopter (54%), and in the southern region (42%). The main pre-flight, flight, and post-flight activities were, respectively: verification/testing of equipment functionality, nursing care for patients, and replacement of supplies and equipment. Conclusions: In the aerospace environment, nurses’ work are primarily organizational and victim care actions, during all phases of the flight.