Peter Orton is a pilot and an aviation medical examiner at Aviation Medica, a private medical clinic he established at London Stansted airport
What does your job involve?
Providing medical care to aviation- related personnel. This includes pilots, cabin crew, airside workers and local lorry, coach and taxi drivers. I also provide facilities for other health-care workers such as travel health, counselling and occupational health and offer general practitioner services to aviation-related personnel.
How did you get this job and what qualifications did you need?
I have a great interest in flying. I started gliding on Scottish mountains and won my private pilot licence at Andrewsfield airfield near London Stansted airport.
I developed an interest in aviation medicine, continued as a local general practitioner and then became Civil Aviation Authority aviation medical examiner at London Stansted airport.
Requirements are an established medical career, aviation medicine qualifications and an interest in flying, such as being a pilot.
What are the rewards and challenges of your job?
The rewards are that you get to care for people and help with health problems.
You are also immersed in the culture of the aviation environment and the medical aspects of flying and working with a professional and motivated team to provide medical care to the client.
But it can sometimes be difficult to balance the pilot, corporate and safety aspects of aviation medicine, and maintaining a personal and professional service to the clients is always a challenge.
What have you learned over the years?
Once you have a vision, you have to plan, plan and plan to meet it. You should try to work with a team of people who have a similar vision and look at the whole picture, rather than parts of it.
Do not take on too much at once. Pace yourself and continue to look at yourself to learn.
What has been your biggest achievement?
Becoming a specialist in aviation medicine has given me additional career development that I wouldn’t have had if I had remained in general medicine.
I’m pleased I have maintained simultaneous careers in medicine, education and research as well as established an aviation medicine company, Aviation Medica, at Stansted, and progress my pilot career with additional ratings.
What advice would you give others about following in this career?
Aviation medicine is both a vocation and a career. You need to be realistic about the opportunities since aviation medicine appointments are few and infrequent. All you can do is prepare and train well to be in the best position when an opportunity arises.
It’s also important that your interest in aviation medicine is through a motivation towards caring for people and flying, rather than financial rewards.
You also need to recognise that aviation is a 24/7 environment and often necessitates work at unsociable times.
- flight.workingweek@rbi.co.uk
Source: Flight International
