Role within the department
Coordinator of Aeromedical Retrieval and Transport programme for nurses and paramedics and Lecturer, Aeromedical Retrieval and Transport (non-medical)
Russell Clarke is employed as an Intensive Care Flight Paramedic with the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust (ARHT) and has been working in this role for the last 10 years.
Prior to this he completed 20 years' service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) as a Flight Medic which enabled him to carry out aeromedical evacuations all over the world. He had operational deployments to Bougainville, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. During his time in the Air Force he also assisted with natural and man-made disasters including the boxing day tsunami and the Bali bombings.
Russell is a senior clinical lecturer on the Aeromedical Retrieval and Transportation (AeroRT) postgraduate programme at Otago University. He has a completed a research Masters qualification through the same programme and now teaches on the Postgraduate Certificate for Nurses and Paramedics at Otago. He has extensive knowledge and experience in both primary and secondary aeromedical retrievals. He is passionate about the aeromedical industry and dedicated to improving aeromedical standards and systems in NZ.
Contact details
Email russell.clarke@otago.ac.nz
Research expertise and interest
- Teaching, especially in the pre-hospital field
- Emergency Management
- Paramedicine, Resuscitation
- Crew Resource Management (CRM)
- Aeromedical Retrieval
Russell has been involved in fixed wing and rotor wing aeromedical retrievals over the past 20 years with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). During his time in the RNZAF he completed operational tours of duty to Bougainville, East Timor, Iraq and the Middle East. He was deployed to the Bali bombings, Banda Aceh Sumatra following the Tsunami and numerous cyclones in the Pacific for aeromedical retrievals. Russell has completed aeromedical retrievals from all around the world including Antarctica while in the RNZAF. During his last four years in the Air Force Russell worked on a project that involved fitting out the RNZAF's Boeing 757 to enable it to carry multiple injured patients.