Dr Cheryl Lau has followed her pursuit for retrieval medicine all the way from the UK, after visiting Melbourne during her studies and falling in love with Australia.
She worked in regional and rural areas across different states, before landing a job in Caboolture.
Dr Lau is one of seven new retrieval registrars ready to join the LifeFlight aeromedical rescue helicopter crew based in Brisbane.
“LifeFlight has a big reputation. I’ve worked with a lot of people at Caboolture and a lot of colleagues who have done time at LifeFlight,” Dr Lau said.
“I think the training itself has been the highlight of my career so far. I’m doing some things I never imagined I’d get to do in my life.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get winched, and I’m really excited about that.”
Dr Lau is one of 26 doctors about to head to their new bases across Queensland. But first, the new critical care doctors had to undergo a week of intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy, and complete Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET), rescue winching and clinical scenario training.
More than 180 medical professionals, including doctors, are employed by LifeFlight, making it the largest employer of aeromedical doctors in Australia.
LifeFlight HUET Manager Mick Dowling, said the doctors go through four scenarios in the simulator to equip them with the necessary skills to escape an underwater helicopter, in the unlikely event of a crash into water.
“Worldwide figures tell us that when an aircraft or helicopter goes into the water, it’s going to rotate over because it’s top heavy,” Mr Dowling said.
“In our simulation training, the occupants are put into a position that replicates the helicopter.
“The simulator allows us to teach them the skills to stay orientated, and once they have adopted those skills, they will have no problems finding exits.”
After been submerged, spun and lifted out of the water, the doctors took to the sky for winch training.
LifeFlight aircrew officer Brett Hansen, said the winching exercises taught doctors the vital life-saving skills needed to reach patients located in remote and often inaccessible areas.
“As a rescue organisation, winching is probably the most dangerous thing we do and it’s pretty crucial to how we operate,” Mr Hansen said.
The new critical care doctors were taken through winching individually, then in pairs and finally with a stretcher as part of the exercises.
“When operating in a confined area that we can’t land in, it’s crucial to have those skills,” he said.
The new recruits also put their pre-hospital clinical skills to the test at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy at Whyte Island in Brisbane, where they participated in several high-pressure scenarios.
Each simulation was designed to mimic a real-life, worst-case scenario the doctors may be confronted with, such as a multi-casualty car crash, a house party incident and a boating disaster.
LifeFlight’s Brisbane Airport base accommodates two air ambulance jets, with two other jet bases in Townsville and Singapore to ensure long-distance fixed wing aeromedical coverage. 
The jet crews helped 948 people in FY24, a 100 per cent spike from 473 in 2023.
The base is also home to an AW139 rescue helicopter, which helped 1,672 people.
The majority of LifeFlight critical care doctors’ work is performed on behalf of Queensland Health, tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland, within Queensland Ambulance Service.
