Managing Fatigue in EMS Flight Operations:


Challenges and


Opportunities, “It is an absolute: sleep loss will reduce alertness and perfor‐ mance . . . the most important factor to promote performance, alertness, and safety is optimal sleep.”


The airline’s AMP accomplished its objective of mitigating the effects of fatigue in three major ways: 1) sched‐


ule improvements, 2) education and 3) strategies for optimal sleep and alert‐ ness. In air medical transport there is a need, in some cases, for a more enlight‐ ened approach to scheduling. The NEMSPA survey referenced earlier showed that roughly 53% of the EMS pilot bases work three‐day shifts, fol‐ lowed by three night shifts, and fol‐ lowed by about six days off. A little


more than 37% work seven days shifts followed by seven days off, followed by seven night shifts. A major differ‐ ence in these two schedules is obvious‐ ly the number of consecutive night shifts required, with the longer number of night shifts presenting a potential for increased cumulative sleep debt – something pilots and managers should certainly be aware of. An ongoing


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