FULL CIRCLE
By Ed DeWitt
It was all part of her plan. Seventeen years after a life-changing experience aboard a STAT MedEvac helicopter, Trista Weiss, RN, UPMC senior professional flight nurse II, now works for the very team that she credits with setting her on a path toward a career of service.
Trista’s journey in health care started with a scary bike accident. “I have both an older and younger brother, and when we were growing up, we all competitively raced BMX bikes,” she said. “When I was 8, we were training for some races. We were riding down our street and my brothers were ahead of me, and I was trying to catch up. I lost control of my bike. I’m not sure what happened. I just remember my steering wheel kind of going crazy, and next thing you know, I was unconscious.”
The way Trista’s bike landed resulted in her face breaking the fall. She was still unconscious while her family called for help. STAT MedEvac was deployed from Greensburg, Pa. “I woke up in flight, and I remember them starting an IV,” Trista said. “They told me I was going to be all right. They said it was going to hurt a bit, but I remember them being really compassionate.”
Thankfully, the result of her bike accident was a concussion and a lot of road rash. She avoided any serious brain injuries. “I ended up being fine and even went on to race again that season, but ever since that point, I knew I was going to be a flight nurse.”
The motivation from that accident stayed with her as she grew up. In high school, Trista began to map her career, because she knew what she wanted to do. “I researched the requirements. I knew I had to go to a four-year program and get my BSN. Then I had to have three years of critical care in emergency nursing to be eligible to apply for STAT. As a result, I had a countdown of sorts in my mind.”
To help prepare and to start getting experience as early as she could, Trista landed a job at a local nursing home assisting with patient care. “I worked there throughout my senior year. I worked about three to four eight-hour shifts on top of going to school full time.”
After graduation, Trista attended Carlow University’s BSN program and worked as a patient care tech in the resource unit at UPMC Presbyterian. “I floated throughout the hospital, and I got an idea of things that I found interesting and things I didn’t find so interesting and what type of nursing I gravitated toward.”
It also was during this time that Trista was able to gain experience in the intensive care unit, serving in crossover support roles and learning various patient care skills. This led to her being hired to the ICU before she graduated nursing school, which was a big part of her plan. “I transitioned right into the surgical ICU and then about a year later to the cardiothoracic ICU. I liked taking care of cardiac patients and giving sick people the ability to have a longer life or helping them become able to receive a transplant.”
After those three years of critical care, Trista was able to apply to STAT MedEvac. She’s been an integral part of the team for the last six and a half years. STAT MedEvac is one of the largest single operated, dispatched air-medical transport systems in the United States. It is the critical care transport system for the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pa. and operates 18 helicopter base sites in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.
As a professional flight nurse, Trista has what she calls an “alphabet soup” of duties, including first aid and CPR. She also has advanced certifications and training in cardiac life support for neonates, children, adolescents, and adults. Serving on each flight is a pilot, a nurse, and a medic. Trista normally works two 24-hour shifts per week alongside a team of doctors, nurses, and paramedics — the care team partners on the ground.
After all the years of training and planning for a career with STAT, Trista said the experience has been everything she hoped. “I love my job. It is so gratifying when you know that your actions have helped someone who is very sick. There have been so many times where I’ve said, ‘This is why we do this.’ Sometimes it is bringing someone back to life, but often it is the simple calls and showing compassion and giving a family some level of reassurance that we are doing the best we can, and we are going to give their loved one the best chance possible.”
As for her future in health care, while a lot of different thoughts cross Trista’s mind, she knows she is in the right place for now. “I’ve thought about becoming a nurse practitioner or going back to school, but when I think about what makes me happy, it is truly this. I don’t feel like I am missing out on the next thing. I looked forward to this goal so many times, and even when there are rough shifts, I remind myself that this is what I prayed, wished, and hoped for. I made it. Here I am. I am so grateful.”