Thirty critical care doctors have joined LifeFlight's aeromedical service and are now on the job in communities across Queensland.
The doctors have taken up roles in Wide Bay-Burnett, the Darling Downs, the Sunshine Coast, Maranoa and Brisbane after a week of intensive training at the LifeFlight Training Academy at Brisbane Airport.
The program tested them through clinical scenarios, winching, Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and sea survival.
Among the new recruits is Swedish doctor Stefan Sjödin, who swapped work near the polar circle for the coastal city of Bundaberg.
"I normally work in the northern part of Sweden, with not a lot of chances to work as a retrieval doctor," he said.
"To be able to work in a climate like Australia and work on a retrieval service, it was too good not to."
For retrieval registrar Neeban Balayasoderan, the job has been a long time coming. He first saw an aeromedical helicopter at work as a child, from the back seat of his parents' car.
"I was in the back of the car with my parents when we saw a significant car crash involving a few vehicles," he said.
"The helicopter landed and the crew came out, including the doctor and paramedic, to help the injured people. And by chance, quite a remarkable chance actually, the doctor on board was my cousin.
"I remember being really awestruck by the fact that a healthcare team could come outside of the hospital to the roadside and deliver care to people that needed it there and then."
During HUET, the registrars were tumbled upside down underwater in simulated helicopter ditchings and taught how to escape the aircraft safely.
LifeFlight HUET Manager Mick Dowling said the training built confidence as much as skill.
"Our mission is to have the doctors skilled with the confidence to be able to deal with any aviation situation that they may be faced with," he said.
"The common response we get from them after the completion is that it was challenging and uncomfortable, but overall, an amazing experience.
"It's highly unlikely the aircraft will be required to be ditched into the water; however, all crew are trained should they face that situation."
The doctors then moved on to winching. LifeFlight Deputy Chief Aircrew Officer Todd Seymour said the exercises covered being winched alone, winched alongside a rescue crewman or paramedic, and accompanying a stretcher into the aircraft.
"They're going to remote areas across Queensland and they could be in dense bushland or out to sea off a cruise ship, so it's important they're delivered the training they need to perform these roles to a high and safe standard," he said.
"No two days are the same for us at LifeFlight."
Clinical skills were tested at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy, where the doctors worked through simulated scenarios including a multi-vehicle collision. Queensland Fire Department personnel also showed them how to safely extricate a patient from a road crash.
LifeFlight is the country's largest employer of aeromedical doctors, with more than 180 medical professionals. The service helped 8,982 people in the past year, close to six per cent more than the year before, including 1,535 assisted by Brisbane-based fixed wing and rotary wing crews.
Most of the critical care doctors' work is carried out on behalf of Queensland Health, with missions tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland within the Queensland Ambulance Service.