Specialties
Aerospace Medicine, as a broad field of endeavor, offers dynamic challenges and opportunities for physicians, nurses, physiologists, human factors specialists, psychologists, bioenvironmental engineers, industrial hygienists, environmental health practitioners, and other professionals.
Those in the field are dedicated to enhancing health, promoting safety, and improving performance of individuals who work or travel in unusual environments. Areas of interest range from space and atmospheric flight to undersea activities, and the environments that are studied cover a wide spectrum, extending from the microenvironments of space or diving suits to those of “Spaceship Earth.”
Aerospace medical practitioners serve flyers, passengers, space travelers, air traffic controllers, patients transported by air, maintenance crews, and even mountain climbers and undersea workers. The problems and challenges these people face are quite different from those faced by individuals who live and work only on the surface of the Earth.
The unusual nature of aerospace medicine’s needs requires that practitioners have unique expertise. Specialized education in any of aerospace medicine’s diverse facets enables professionals to develop and apply their capabilities. The diverse and expanding opportunities in the field make a career in aerospace medicine unusually attractive for health professionals.
“On this episode, we visit with soon-to-be retired Executive Director of the Aerospace Medical Association, Jeff Sventek. His insights from more than 30 years in the United States Air Force along with 15 additional years guiding the leading specialty organization for Aerospace Medicine culminate with the annual Scientific Meeting scheduled in Atlanta the first week of June. We will get a sneak peek of the meeting and ask about his vision for the future of the specialty.”
As examples, below are the bios of a few of AsMA’s members who are Aerospace Medicine Professionals:
Roland Vermeiren
Chuck DeJohn
Allen Parmet
Richard Leland
Aerospace Medicine Career
An Interview with AsMA Fellow and U.S. Astronaut Dr. Michael Barratt
Video provided courtesy of Lofty Ambitions Blog
(Anna Leahy & Douglas Dechow Interviewers/Videographers)
Aerospace Medicine Career
An Interview with AsMA Fellow and U.S. Astronaut Dr. Michael Barratt
Scholarships
The Aerospace Medical Association and several organizations affiliated with the Aerospace Medical Association offer several scholarships for students and residents pursuing careers in Aerospace Medicine. Go to the AsMA Scholarships webpage to learn more about these exciting opportunities.
Aerospace Medicine
Focus on clinical care, research, and operational support of the health, safety, and performance of crewmembers, passengers, and support personnel of air and space vehicles.
Aerospace Nursing
Specialize in air evacuation and transport of critically ill and acutely injured patients in military and civilian settings. Provide medical launch support for space programs, too.
Aerospace Physiology
Examine changes in physiological parameters associated with the aerospace environment. Train aviators in the proper use and limitations of life support systems, night vision goggles, flight suits, etc.
Aerospace Human Factors
Leverage principles of engineering and psychology to evaluate flight systems and how they interact with pilots. Analyze and design flight displays, ejection systems, etc., and study factors affecting aviator performance.
Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine
Study health and safety in the diving community and discover innovative applications for high-pressure oxygen, such as treating decompression sickness, carbon-monoxide poisoning, gas embolism, osteoradionecrosis, and problem wounds.