51–60 of 201 posts
I must admit, some secret part of me always hopes I'll be in a situation on an airplane where they need an emergency perl script written . . .
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My wife told me about a famous dermatologist who flies in dread of getting that call and there being no other doctor available. When med school was 40 years ago, you're not necessarily going to be comfortable handling, say, a heart attack.
One of my paramedic instructors told me a pretty funny story. Apparently they were on shift one Saturday afternoon, when a call came through for a Code 2 (Cardiac Arrest) at a local racecourse. Anyway, it was about 15 minutes away so they took off in a hurry, all the while receiving notes on their terminal regarding the job. Apparently it went along the lines of this: Initial: Unknown Age, Cardiac Arrest, Racecourse…
If I had a dollar for every time a dermatologist or podiatrist tried to be 'helpful' on an emergency scene... I could probably buy a coffee at Starbucks... The same goes for 'nurses.' If an ER nurse wants to help out, that's great. Invariably though, it's a nurse at a nursing home or dialysis center...
I don't mean to imply these folks aren't skilled professionals, but prehospital medical emergencies are generally well outside their experience, and the confusion that arises from that can be dangerous.
My dad, an electrical engineer, was once on his way back from a conference with a Concorde flight full of other EEs. In the air, the stewardess asked, "Is there an engineer on board?" Everyone responded enthusiastically. She was forced to clarify, "Is there an aeronautical engineer on board," to disappointment all around. I must admit, some secret part of me always hopes I'll be in a situation on an airplane where th…
Why would electrical engineers fly to a conference on a Concorde? What good would an aeronautical engineer be _in flight_?
I have had several medical emergencies onboard as a pilot. One thing I constantly say to physician friends (my wife is a doctor), is that we (the crew) expect from them to make as fast assessment of the situation as possible. For example in my company we don´t have an online doctor to ask for help, so the volunteer has to take care of the situation. Recognizing the problem as soon as possible and prescribing the nece…
I have had several medical emergencies onboard as a pilot. One thing I constantly say to physician friends (my wife is a doctor), is that we (the crew) expect from them to make as fast assessment of the situation as possible. For example in my company we don´t have an online doctor to ask for help, so the volunteer has to take care of the situation. Recognizing the problem as soon as possible and prescribing the nece…
As a physician, thank you for this. Is there a standard medkit load out?
My dad, an electrical engineer, was once on his way back from a conference with a Concorde flight full of other EEs. In the air, the stewardess asked, "Is there an engineer on board?" Everyone responded enthusiastically. She was forced to clarify, "Is there an aeronautical engineer on board," to disappointment all around. I must admit, some secret part of me always hopes I'll be in a situation on an airplane where th…
That story seems _really_ fishy to me... Why would electrical engineers fly to a conference on a Concorde? What good would an aeronautical engineer be _in flight_?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would a diabetic person not travel with insulin?
Pretty much a collision of unfortunate events. We were at a work function until 2am in London and returned to our room to find it had been robbed. The thieves took his bag which contained his insulin kit. So now it's 3am GMT and he can't reach his doctor in the States. We're supposed to leave at 8am for the flight home. No pharmacy is open and even if they were, they wouldn't help him. Nurses at Heathrow couldn't hel…
Were I ever to become diabetic (and manage to figure out my fear of needles), I'm pretty sure I'd carry around spare insulin, like an epi-pen.
(Is it something that can be carried around trivially? Or does it need to be refridgerated? You know what, maybe I'll just eat healthier.)
My dad, an electrical engineer, was once on his way back from a conference with a Concorde flight full of other EEs. In the air, the stewardess asked, "Is there an engineer on board?" Everyone responded enthusiastically. She was forced to clarify, "Is there an aeronautical engineer on board," to disappointment all around. I must admit, some secret part of me always hopes I'll be in a situation on an airplane where th…
That story seems _really_ fishy to me... Why would electrical engineers fly to a conference on a Concorde? What good would an aeronautical engineer be _in flight_?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of my paramedic instructors told me a pretty funny story. Apparently they were on shift one Saturday afternoon, when a call came through for a Code 2 (Cardiac Arrest) at a local racecourse. Anyway, it was about 15 minutes away so they took off in a hurry, all the while receiving notes on their terminal regarding the job. Apparently it went along the lines of this: Initial: Unknown Age, Cardiac Arrest, Racecourse…
I'm assuming the patient wasn't a racehorse? If I had a dollar for every time a dermatologist or podiatrist tried to be 'helpful' on an emergency scene... I could probably buy a coffee at Starbucks... The same goes for 'nurses.' If an ER nurse wants to help out, that's great. Invariably though, it's a nurse at a nursing home or dialysis center... I don't mean to imply these folks aren't skilled professionals, but pre…
There are daft people in every field, but I would be delighted to have most of the derm residents and attendings I've met in an emergency (in fairness, I should note that this is a small sample, drawn from a couple top-tier hospitals, and biased towards people who do volunteer backcountry search and rescue).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The stricken passenger had the option of using the restroom, but for unknown reasons could not urinate. They stretched him out on a row of seats which seemed to help the pain, but from what I recall was unable to go until they reached the destination airport. The total trip time was about three hours.
Beyond a certain capacity the bladder is no longer contractile and must be catheterized to urinate. Happens every day in the OR or PACU.