Ms Charmaine Le Roux1,2, Dr Julie Myers1, Dr Anu Perera1
1University Of Otago, Newtown, New Zealand, 2New Zealand Flying Doctor Service / CARS, Christchurch, New Zealand
Abstract:
Aims: To determine the Professional Quality of Life of Flight Nurses in New Zealand.
Background: Flight Nursing is a specialised role, and it takes time to master the skills it requires, making long-term retention essential. When nurses experience their work as fulfilling, they are more likely to remain in the role. One of the ways to determine the lived experience of nurses is to measure their Professional Quality of Life. This is the first study to look at the Professional Quality of Life Flight nurses in the Aeromedical Retrieval service of New Zealand.
Methods: Online survey data was collected from a convenience sample of all Flight Nurses working in the Aeromedical Retrieval services of New Zealand, using the ProQOL V Health scale.
Results: All respondents reported either average or high levels of Compassion Satisfaction and Perceived support, the positive indicators of Professional Quality of Life. The majority reported average or low Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout and Moral Distress, the negative indicators of Professional Quality of Life. Themes around what influenced their experience in a positive way were identified as: the opportunity to help, autonomous practice, challenge and diversity, and teamwork, while frustration with management, long shifts, waiting times and inappropriate transfers were negative influences.
Conclusion : This study highlights the current lived experience of Flight Nurses in New Zealand as being more positive than negative. The findings support the use of the ProQOL V Health scale as an effective survey tool to determine the Professional Quality of Life of Flight Nurses.
Biographies:
Charmaine is a Registered Nurse, originally from South Africa where she completed her degree in Nursing Science and Post graduate certificate in Nurse education and diploma in Critical Care nursing. She started working in ICU in 2007. After 4 years of working on a cruise ship as a nurse, she moved to New Zealand and started work at Christchurch public hospital ICU in 2016 and joined the Canterbury Air retrieval Service (CARS)/ NZ flying doctor service in 2020. She completed her Masters of Health Science in Aeromedical Retrieval and Transport in June 2024. The research presented here was part of her Research project that contributed to her Masters degree.