As a child, Dennis W. Jones, MSN, RN, dreamed of being a veterinarian, but his freshman year of college didn't go as expected; he ended up leaving school. It was 1972 and he landed a job at a local hospital as a nursing attendant, then called an orderly.

"It wasn't something I really wanted to do," Jones recalls, "but it was a job."

As the weeks and months passed, he began to realize he enjoyed making other people's lives better. He was fortunate enough to work closely with two male nurses, "pioneers" at that time, who inspired him to become a nurse. Over the next 4 years, Jones took classes while working, earning an associate degree and becoming an RN.

Today, he has bachelor's and master's degrees and hopes to pursue his doctorate. To that end, he is already in a learning environment - he is an instructor on the faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore.

Emergency Transport

Jones has worked for 15 years as a critical care transport nurse for Johns Hopkins Lifeline Critical Care Transport Service, the last 6 on the helicopter unit. Hopkins/STATMedevac responds to outlying hospitals in Maryland and beyond to safely transport patients to Hopkins.

A typical scenario, said Jones, involves the transport of a patient who has come into a local hospital's ED with chest pains, and is in need of immediate cardiac catheterization. Lifeline, with its pilot, nurse and paramedic, is then deployed.

"We pick up patients that feasibly could have been in the ED [no longer than] a half hour. For me, it's very rewarding, flying on a helicopter was the realization of a 25-year goal," Jones said.

Specialized Training

Because the copter takes off and regularly flies over waterways like the Chesapeake Bay, Jones received special training last spring in Groton, CT, where he learned to extricate himself from the aircraft should it "ditch" into water. Trainees had to escape from a special module, simulated to behave like a helicopter, submerged 14 feet in a pool of water and turned upside down, since helicopters are top heavy.

Not a strong swimmer, Jones was anxious at the onset of the training. However, after six escapes, the last time in the dark, he emerged from the experience with renewed confidence, aware his chances of surviving a "ditching" are now much greater.

As for his original dream of being a veterinarian, daughter Lauren is pursuing that dream; he has no regrets about nursing; it has taken him to places he never dreamed he'd go.

Jones and his wife Stefanie live in Baltimore County. They have four children: Patrick, Lauren, Hunter and Sydney.