Aeromedical Nurse Practitioner ensures fliers are fit to fight
Maj. Michael Jensen, 355th Medical Group Aeromedical Nurse Practitioner, has spent his career taking care of a variety of patients. When the Air Force initiated an innovative solution to operationalize the Nurse Practitioner, he jumped at the chance to become an ANP.
While relatively new to the Air Force as a career field, ANPs serve a vital purpose by providing care to Airmen who take part in flying missions, thereby keeping them fit to fight.
“I was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base [Florida] and I did two years of family medicine and family health where my youngest patient was 8 and my oldest patient was 99,” said Jensen. “I then moved over to operational medicine where I was a primary care manager to the maintenance squadron at MacDill.”
During his time as a family nurse practitioner, Jensen’s frequent interactions with Flight Surgeons sparked his interest in the service they provide to the Air Force.
“In my conversations with flight medicine, I was always intrigued by their capabilities and the kind of multi-tool kit that they offer to the clinic,” Jensen said. “Not only do they take care of fliers, they also do deployment clearances and this kind of broad spectrum of taking care of a total force.”
When Jensen was selected to be part of the Flight Medicine mission, he reported to the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to begin ANP training.
“We went through a variety of different trainings,” Jensen said. “It’s the exact same course that the flight surgeons and aeromedical physician assistants go through, so we go through school and graduate with them as well.”
At the School of Aerospace Medicine, Jensen gained experience in multiple facets of flight medicine including flying inside of an aircraft doing different maneuvers to gain an understanding of the physiological stressors his patients experience as well as participating in an aircraft mishap course.
“There’s a mishap course that’s a part of the training,” said Jensen. “So if a plane crashes, we know how to respond and how to properly manage that kind of situation.”
After graduation Jensen was sent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., as a fully-fledged ANP. In this capacity, he has a broad range of responsibilities: taking care of fliers’ Mental Health Assessments and Periodic Health Assessments, managing sick call arrivals, and inspecting various squadrons’ work safety and occupational health exposures. He also performs deployment clearances and visits with commanders to discuss the readiness of their Airmen .
“This is one of the reasons I fell in love with flight medicine,” said Jensen. “It’s not only just taking care of patients, it’s also managing and making an overall healthy force.”
As the Air Force missions grow and change, the needs of the Airmen change. ANPs are multi capable providers serving on the multidisciplinary aerospace medicine team. ANPs ensure the overall health of the flying community and are capable of adapting to any mission.
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