In the air or office, St. Luke’s employee brings passion to vastly different roles

Peanut butter and jelly. Socks and shoes. Pen and paper.

All of those things seem to naturally go together.

But instructional designer and pilot? Those two occupations seem to be pretty opposite – on the surface, anyway.

Welcome to Rick Vincent’s world.

“I’m kind of a unicorn and I have been my whole career,” said Vincent, who has been in his instructional designer role for nearly five years. “People think I’m crazy because they don’t seem related.”

“I create courses … in required training for people in the company. I also do a lot of work for leadership … in creating courses to help employees reach their goals.”

That’s his “day job.”

His “side gig” is being an Air St. Luke’s pilot.

Prior to joining St. Luke’s, Vincent had been a commercial pilot. That information made its way to the staff at Air St. Luke’s about two years ago and Vincent was offered a job as a part-time fixed-wing pilot.

“I just got really excited,” he said. “I went and asked for permission from St. Luke’s and we came up with a schedule that would work.”

Vincent said he doesn’t often interact with patients in his role as an instructional designer. But as a pilot, he and other crew members are often trying to treat and save patients who have experienced a traumatic event.

“It gives me a chance to get in an airplane and interact with patients and nurses and paramedics,” Vincent said. “It’s really amazing. I get to see everything in play. … And you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ I work with some pretty cool people.

“It’s rewarding, you’re going and helping save a life. (Then) I have to go back to my day job.”

Certainly, that day job could be a bit mundane after an adrenaline-fueled flight, right? Not necessarily.

“It’s more challenging, in some ways,” Vincent said. “Every problem is new and complex, trying to figure out something that works for a learner that will engage them is actually really difficult. People will say, ‘Well isn’t flying a plane really difficult?’ Yes it is … but in some ways an hourlong flight to McCall can be easier than that instructional design problem.”

And Vincent knows performing both of his roles for St. Luke’s can make differences in their own ways.

“You definitely get that wonderful feeling when you make that perfect landing and everything else,” he said. “There’s that immediate reward. … creating a course – I’ve had stuff that goes out to every person in the company, so you have a lot of impact.”

Tayler Smith can vouch for that – and the impact that Vincent, in turn, has had on the instructional design team. Smith oversees that team.

“He’s very talented as a designer,” Smith said. “When we hired him, we had an initiative within our department to grow our video capabilities. Video is really good for telling stories. … Rick kind of grabbed that bull by the horns. He took that video thing and ran with it.”

Smith said Vincent was instrumental in lobbying for a dedicated studio space, which has vastly improved the quality of the videos the team produces.

“Before, about 15% of our work was video, and now it’s nearly half,” Smith said. “A lot of that is thanks to Rick.”

In turn, Vincent is thankful that Smith was open to the idea of allowing him to have two unique roles in his career at St. Luke’s.

“He’s really the one who has made it possible,” Vincent said. “He really believes in me.”

Said Smith: “St. Luke’s supports people’s development and the opportunity to be their best selves, whatever that looks like. I think Rick’s situation allows him to be his best self.”

Vincent couldn’t agree more.

“I feel like I’m at the height of my career, because of what St. Luke’s is allowing me to do,” Vincent said. “I get this chance to fly patients around in an airplane and I also get the chance to develop courses. … I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Check out the video below, created by Vincent, about one Air St. Luke’s experience.