Saskatchewan air ambulance pilots, from left to right, Tammie Kulyk (pilot), Carly St. Onge (pilot), Crystal Lybeck (flight nurse) and Jen Rondeau (paramedic) pose for a photo. (Submitted photo)

By CJME News Staff

All-female air ambulance crew makes history in Sask.

Aug 12, 2019 | 10:31 AM

History was made in Saskatchewan last week after an air ambulance trip to Buffalo Narrows.

It was a day like any other for pilot Tammie Kulyk as she showed up for work on Aug. 2, but she realized the crew on the trip would be all-female.

“When we saw it, we were all pretty excited,” said Kulyk, who has flown with air ambulance for four years and been a pilot for 12. “It was just another shift, another trip.

“We just kind of had some fun and took a couple of pictures for ourselves and to share with our family and friends, and we went and did our job just like we always do.”

There are between 25 and 30 air ambulance pilots in the province, with Kulyk being one of the two female pilots, along with her colleague Carly St. Onge. There has never been an all-female crew in the history of Saskatchewan air ambulance.

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Kulyk said she has encountered crews where there have been two or three females, but never with all four members. Although it was another day on the job for the four women, Kulyk said the response has been overwhelming and is blown away by how far the news spread.

“So in a lot of ways it doesn’t seem like we should be that excited, (so) we’re kind of baffled by the response it has had,” said Kulyk. “But it’s very (exciting) and special to be able to inspire other ladies who are thinking about getting into a male-dominated industry.”

The spread of the news has also allowed some special feedback for Kulyk and her job.

“We’ve also had previous patients who have seen our photo and reached out to the medical crew saying, ‘You were on the flight that I was on this terrible day, and thank you so much for helping me.’ So that was pretty neat,” Kulyk said. “We don’t usually get that kind of direct feedback from people we fly.”

The 32-year-old pilot said air ambulance has a higher rate of working women than the industry standard, at around five to six per cent, and has never experienced anything that made her feel ‘less than’ at the job.

Although Kulyk said none of the crew members feel they go to work thinking they’re a female pilot or nurse, it’s special to be able to inspire and uplift other women.

“Don’t let being a woman stop you from going and achieving your dreams,” said Kulyk. “Just go do it.”