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What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

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Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#131

Post by omegant »

ColinDabritz wrote: post #101
FireBeyond wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ask for the medikit (only physicians are allowed to use it)"? Are you sure? As a paramedic, I know of several cases where it's been used by paramedics and even EMTs. In fact, realistically (though not for a moment to denigrate physician knowledge, and training, etc), arguably most of the equipment in a commercial airplane medikit is -more- familiar to a paramedic than a family practitioner or indeed any physician wh…

Perhaps it was imprecise language, I would use 'physician' more broadly. I imagine he means "trained medical personel" e.g. and not the untrained flight staff.

My apologies I was writing on the move and I wasn´t too precise. In fact is anyone with medical training, paramedic, nurse, or physician.

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#132

Post by omegant »

mbreese wrote: post #82
larrys wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Always wanted to be a commercial pilot. My wife also is a physician). Curious, what is type procedure to verify that someone really is a physician? The OP doesn't mention if a license was checked or otherwise. He relates having to speak to a someone on the ground before he could use the kit but doesn't indicate if any check of credentials was made.

A similar thing happened to my wife (an MD). She was asked by the crew if she had any sort of hospital ID. There turned out to be ~3 other doctors on board, so she wasn't needed, but they did ask for some kind of confirmation that she was indeed a doctor.

Yes you have to ask for professional ID.

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#133

Post by felideon »

miles_matthias wrote: post #31

Okay, I'll share random doctor flight story - last week some family friends were flying to Hawaii for vacation, and a man across the isle said he had been on vacation for several weeks and didn't bring enough heart medicine. He said he would just get some more when he got home, but halfway through the flight he slumped down in his chair, unresponsive. There was a doctor on the flight that used a stethoscope to find t…

> Also, is it legal to just put a blanket on the guy, pretend he's sleeping, and then deal with it when you get to your destination?

Not to sound insensitive, but I wonder what the alternative would be? Declare him deceased and then do what? See this comment elsewhere:

"If possible never declare a decease onboard , first you could be wrong!, and it is a bureaucratic mess. Is better to keep trying CPR till the emergency team can take care of the patient."

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4973578

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#134

Post by omegant »

larrys wrote: post #79
omegant wrote: post #22

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…

(Always wanted to be a commercial pilot. My wife also is a physician). Curious, what is type procedure to verify that someone really is a physician? The OP doesn't mention if a license was checked or otherwise. He relates having to speak to a someone on the ground before he could use the kit but doesn't indicate if any check of credentials was made.

Well is not so glamourous after all. A friend of mine is currently working in Oman, he has told me that there are tons of american pilots working there as the salaries can be double than in the states. For young pilots the salary can be as low as 1000$/month. So there is lot of emigration in this profession. If you really would like to enjoy flying, just try soaring!. Much more safe than paragliding (more expensive too and less convenient). Only the plane and your ability to extract energy from the atmosphere. Awesome!. Of course being in North America you must try a flight in a warbird!

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#135

Post by omegant »

JshWright wrote: post #76
omegant wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't have inmediate access to a physician via frequency(lime AA seems to have which is great), but surely the ground team would find the airport team if necessary. Mind you that even if you have access to the medical kit, you are not going to use it properly, I have some general knowledge but I can not distinguish an heart atack from a simple pass out. You could easily complicate a simple issue. I carry on my Iph…

I'm trained as a paramedic. I routinely make those sorts of assessments (much more frequently than most physicians, in fact). It's unlikely you carry anything in your medkit that I don't carry in my ambulance. My question is mostly if the 'physcian' requirement could be circumvented if someone with medical training (other than a physician) were in contact with a physician on the ground. If, for example, I were to exp…

I just checked and you are completely right, is any one with a medical training and a professional ID as an accreditation. It is just we call for a doctor as a generalization, but is wrong and we should be more precise.

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#136

Post by TillE »

mkuhn wrote: post #130
georgemcbay wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Is there an aeronautical engineer on board," One of the top 5 questions you don't want to hear over the loudspeaker while flying on a supersonic jet.

Now I am intrigued and want to hear the other four.

#1 would probably be asking for a pilot. There have been a number of tests on simulators, and pilots licensed for smaller aircraft have a surprisingly low chance of being able to land a commercial jet.

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#137

Post by randomchars »

walshemj wrote: post #119
logjam wrote: post #74

I was half-dozing on a Southwestern flight when a stewardess came on the PA system calling for any physician to identify themselves. I spoke up, and the crew directed me toward the back. They already had this incredible medical kit opened in the aisle. I mean they had everything ....ACLS drugs, defibrillator, suction, a complete mini-pharmacy, and what looked like a few plastic-7 wound and/or trauma kits at the least…

Would not they check the passenger list for Dr's first? I remember being told that this was an occupational hazard for Phd's that you might be assumed to be a MD Dr.

I think that's the reason why. Also if there's no physician on board but there's an EMT/nurse, you wouldn't know that from the passenger list. Plus it's entirely possible that even if there's a doctor, she isn't listed as one.

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#138

Post by omegant »

JshWright wrote: post #96
FireBeyond wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Law and regulations vary, but essentially you can "practice" under the license of a physician (and in fact, throughout the US, that's how EMTs and Paramedics operate, through an agency or county Medical Protocol Director). Everything in that bag is likely able to be used autonomously by a paramedic - it deals with acute care, not chronic, which unsurprisingly is what paramedics are used to dealing with: * childbirth…

Yeah, I was looking to clarify if there was some sort of medical control available. I know for a fact that some airlines do have an on-call physician (the medical director for my paramedic program was one years ago, in addition to providing state-wide medical control for all flight based EMS services), I was just curious if the OP's airline did.

We have medical service, and they are called in an emergency if necessary(is not like they are in standby just for a plane to call them), but usually we first ask for a doctor onboard. It seems that AA first call their doctor as a procedure, it has surprised me, but it´s pretty logical if you ask me.

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#139

Post by randomchars »

georgemcbay wrote: post #88
Dove wrote: post #51

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…

"Is there an aeronautical engineer on board," One of the top 5 questions you don't want to hear over the loudspeaker while flying on a supersonic jet.

What's the other four?

Re: What happens when you are the doctor on the airplane?

#140

Post by vacri »

I used to work with a consultant paediatric neurologist who had the call go out on a trans-pacific flight for a heart problem. She was hesitating before responding because the last time she had anything to do with hearts or adults was in medical school 20 years earlier, and was frantically running through what she could remember of cardiac medicine. Just as she made up her mind to respond she was beaten to the response... by a cardiologist.
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