Becoming a Magpas Air Ambulance Doctor

The doctors that fly with Magpas Air Ambulance deliver a specialist area of emergency medicine called Prehospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM).This requires additional and specialist training and every year Magpas Air Ambulance welcome new PHEM Doctor trainees.

Doctor Natalie Lonsdale, one of our newest recruits, describes her experience, “Magpas Air Ambulance has an amazing reputation. It is an honor and a privilege to work and train with them.” There is also a rigorous training program, followed by a series of exams and senior PHEM supervised shifts to finally be able to fly as part of the Magpas Air Ambulance medical team.

Reflecting on her training and beginning months with the charity Natalie explains, “After finishing the regional training my brain felt like it was going to explode, but in a really good way! I had so much new knowledge and so many new skills that I was just excited and eager to start.

“I still remember my first day. We were called to two different cardiac arrest patients, both of which required the advanced, hospital-level care that Magpas provides. It was very busy, but the Critical Care Paramedic who I worked with that day helped me hugely and I was given lots of support afterwards too.

“Although Emergency Medicine and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine are closely related, the job is completely different. We are providing A&E level critical care to patients, but in challenging environments with limited kit and limited people. This makes the job much more complex and yet so much more rewarding. “I’ve been with Magpas Air Ambulance for 6 months now and it’s been an incredible journey so far. To offer A&E level care to a patient that is having the worst day of their life, and hopefully making it that little bit better, means the absolute world to me.”