From Sympathetic Storm to Success: My CFRN Journey

By Heidi, Flight Nurse/Owner of Rotor Wash & Wear

It hits like a flash flood. One minute, you're fine; the next, the world narrows down to a single, pulsing threat. This is the sympathetic nervous system taking the stick. Adrenaline is dumped into your circulation like jet fuel, shunting blood away from non-essential systems like the gut and the frontal lobe. Your heart rate ratchets up, your palms sweat, and your vision tunnels. Every fiber of your being screams fight or flee. It almost seems silly—this test isn't going to kill me—but you can't convince the brain otherwise. It’s a beautifully violent, involuntary process designed to save your life during a trauma scene, a sudden engine failure, or a cardiac arrest.

But what about when the threat is purely cerebral?

For hours, that physiological storm was my reality. My focus was locked—a Code 3 in my own mind—but the energy drain was immense. Then, the moment arrives. The computer screen goes blank, the single word PASS appears, and in an instant, the system flips. The torrent of adrenaline stops. The parasympathetic system, the great rest-and-digest regulator, finally kicks in. The tension bleeds out of your neck and shoulders. The clammy heat subsides. You feel a sudden, profound lightness—the kind you feel when a high-stakes call is definitively over, the patient is stabilized, and you’re headed back to base.

The Hardest Handoff

That physiological experience, that intense storm followed by the dizzying calm, is exactly what I lived through taking the Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN) exam. Walking into that testing center felt like preparing for the hardest hand-off of my career. The weight of the material, the sheer depth of knowledge required for transport medicine, felt overwhelming. I studied until I couldn't look at a textbook, feeling the pressure build day after day.

But I'm not writing this to give myself a pat on the back. I’m writing this for every medic, every nurse, and every pilot staring down their next professional summit—whatever that may be. I'm writing this because the mental fatigue, the doubt, and the stress are real, and they are universal.

When you put your heart, mind, and soul into something, you can achieve it, no matter how hard it seems. You’ve already proven you can handle the most complex clinical situations on the planet.

Believe you can.

Now that the storm is officially over, it really does feel like I’ve earned the title of "chaos certified rescue ninja." If you've been through this battle, you might want to celebrate with this little reminder 😉: Funny CFRN Sticker

Set your sights high, study hard, and we'll see you in the air.