Is there a doctor (or other medical provider) on the plane?

Nice coordination.
 
I waited for everyone a while after they called for volunteers, finally volunteered for an old guy that lost consciousness on the crapper.

All he got was some nitro for chest pain and O2.

Went back to my seat to find a young ER doc nearby.
 
NUEMT said:
Interesting stat that Dr. Lex gives out is that a Dr. is on 85% of flights statistically but only responds 48% of the time.
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But....a doctor of what? That is the more important question...
 
I don't hate flying. I hate how high the stupid person to intelligent person is while traveling. As such I enjoy sitting at a bar near my gate until the very last possible moment. Given this, my plan is to remain asleep, silent, and content.

The one time I was in a position to be useful, the flight crew refused to provide anything else aside from a BP cuff and steth even after they took my state cert to write down information. They also insisted I remain on the flight until everyone deplaned so I could hand the patient over to the airport FD, which made for a rather rushed connection. I think I'll just stick to being sedated.
 
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That reminds me. After we handed the patient off to local EMS (which took forever) the pilot looked at the mess we made and said, "We need a new medical kit before we depart." The remaining flight attendants (did I mention that the patient was a flight attendant?) weren't sure how to replace it and he said, "You better figure it out because we're not leaving without it." So the flight was delayed and I missed my connection. It would have happened whether I had helped out or not.
 
Tigger said:
I don't hate flying. I hate how high the stupid person to intelligent person is while traveling. As such I enjoy sitting at a bar near my gate until the very last possible moment. Given this, my plan is to remain asleep, silent, and content.

The one time I was in a position to be useful, the flight crew refused to provide anything else aside from a BP cuff and steth even after they took my state cert to write down information. They also insisted I remain on the flight until everyone deplaned so I could hand the patient over to the airport FD, which made for a rather rushed connection. I think I'll just stick to being sedated.
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Agree 100%. When I am off, I am off. In the legal society we live in today I will remain seated and continue to enjoy my Dos Equis. I also don't stop at MVC's to play ricky rescue either. If it's hair, teeth, and eyeballs I might call it in and continue to drive.
 
aquabear said:
I've done it once... and got 10,000 bonus miles for it.
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Northwest Airlines gave me a little certificate, 5,000 frequent flyer miles, and all the peanuts I could stomach.
 
CANMAN said:
Agree 100%. When I am off, I am off. In the legal society we live in today I will remain seated and continue to enjoy my Dos Equis. I also don't stop at MVC's to play ricky rescue either. If it's hair, teeth, and eyeballs I might call it in and continue to drive.
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In the unlikely event that I am sober, I'd happily help out for some free miles. Perhaps that makes me unethical. Perhaps it be nice to get paid more.
 
The only time I've heard that announcement was before I was even a first responder. We diverted and the paramedics took her.

As a rule of thumb I don't drink when flying (I dehydrate enough in the air without the diuretics). I believe very strongly in the ethical duty to act whenever safe to do so, not just in the context of EMS, but in any context. As such, I would help if I could, deferring to more advanced medical providers if available.
 
No, i basically never stop when off duty unless its in my town and no one else is on scene yet. On an airport, no because i usually have been drinking and my cert is only valid in my state, and im only an ALS provider when im with another ALS provider. So im just a regular jake when im flying
 
Federal law (At least I have been told by multiple medical directors) is that you are covered in the air, by medical director on the ground (airlines have them, so that they can have AED's and O2 on flights for medical emergencies).
The good Samaritan laws also protect us, even in EMS so that people will actually help on flights and not let the patients just die.

For me, I talked co pilot into diverting to Denver so that they did not end up having one more passenger than they started with. Mom was 7 months pregnant, and the baby came in the ambulance on the taxiway. We got the announcement from the pilot just as we hit 5,000' above ground
 
Lufthansa has (or had) a system by which physicians could register before the flight so they could be more discreetly called, and also would be covered by whatever liability insurance arrangement they had.
 
I was actually on a plane with a medical emergency a few weeks ago. On descent into San Jose, the flight crew made an announcement about it, however it was evident it was already under control. I was almost disappointed that there wasn't a "Is there a doctor on the plane" announcement and I didn't even get a chance to think about volunteering.

We landed, FD got on, and walked off with patient. I then barely made my connection.
 
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