Clothing
Clothing is an essential safety consideration. Some aeromedical teams wear helmets and fire-retardant clothing, whereas others, particularly those in very warm climates, do not. Aeromedical teams may require specialty transport personnel to conform to their clothing rules.
All teams, however, need to give attention to clothing. Attire that is appropriate and functional in the hospital may be hazardous during patient transport. Long or loose white coats, scarves, stethoscopes, or other clothing and accessories can become tangled in equipment or in restraints. Clogs, popular among health care workers, are absolutely not appropriate for transport. They do not provide adequate traction on uneven surfaces or satisfactorily protect and support the foot and are less than ideal for walking long distances in remote environments. Certain types of jewelry, such as dangling bracelets or necklaces, may become quite dangerous if caught in equipment or machinery.Clothing should be appropriate to the expected or potential environmental conditions, providing adequate warmth in the winter and preventing overheating in the summer. Depending on the team's mission(s) and geographic location, options include flight suits, jumpsuits, and a standard uniform. Some teams providing on-scene care in hot environments wear short pants and short-sleeved shirts, although consideration must be given to universal safety protection as well as prevention of potential transport related issues (skin protection from heat, burns, sharp objects). Many teams choose uniforms that include pockets for extra equipment.
Attention should also be given to appropriate eyewear. In addition to protection from prolonged sun exposure, protective eyewear is an essential component of standard precautions and can protect the eyes from debris when the team member is loading, unloading, or boarding a running helicopter.
In addition, team members need to be cognizant of the possibility, however remote, of prolonged environmental exposure and ensure that they have appropriate protective clothing with them. A 1-hour flight may become a several-day ordeal if the aircraft is required to make an emergency landing in a wilderness location during the winter. Hospital scrubs and a light jacket would be inadequate under such circumstances. Environmental exposure also can occur under less extreme circumstances, for example, failure of the heating or air conditioning system in an ambulance. A team member with hypothermia will be unable to care for the patient or assist team members. Clothing choices should recognize these possibilities. During cold weather operations, layered clothing may be the best solution, because it allows team members to remain comfortable across a range of temperatures. All protective clothing should also address the need to maintain standard precautions for protection of the crew from blood and body fluid exposure. Additional, more sophisticated protective equipment may be required for the transport of patients with toxic exposures or certain infectious diseases.