Should EMS Receive Discounted Airline Tickets?

[MMiz]

In light of Carrie Fisher suffering a heart attack on a plane, I wonder if the airline industry would be served by offering an EMS discount for airline tickets.

What do you think?

 

[Operations Guy]

Nope no need to. Airlines actually have full emergency kits and there own medical control that crews can call to talk them through an emergency and what to do. Also just because Carrie Fisher had a heart attack it shouldn't effect how airlines operate. There are regular people who have heart attacks on planes and no one cares but just because a person who is famous and used alot of cocaine has one it should force a operational shift?

 

[LanceCorpsman]

I wonder if they would bump us up to first class if we are in our uniform? Just so everybody knows I'm an EMT.

 

[StCEMT]

Nope. I mean I appreciate discounts (shoutout to my one true love, chik fil a) and I do go to those places more when at work because hey, college sucks and it aint cheap. However, I by no means expect it, don't care when they don't give me one, nor do I think it needs to be the norm. It's a job. Sure, it allows me to help people and I appreciate the little goody bags, but at the end of the day its just how I enjoy paying my bills. I love what I do for many other reasons than the discounts. If they want to offer it, great, if not, that's cool too.

 

[SeeNoMore]

Nope no need to. Airlines actually have full emergency kits and there own medical control that crews can call to talk them through an emergency and what to do. Also just because Carrie Fisher had a heart attack it shouldn't effect how airlines operate. There are regular people who have heart attacks on planes and no one cares but just because a person who is famous and used alot of cocaine has one it should force a operational shift?

This seems kind of judgemental to me. Plenty of folks engage in activities that increase their risk of illness. I would also imagine that people do indeed care when regular people have heart attacks on planes.

In any event, I see no reason to offer any kind of discount or additional consideration to EMS. It's just a job. Leave your uniforms at home. If an emergency occurs , offer to help if you are so inclined. I would rather take my chances with crew members + medical command or just waiting and avoid throngs of EMTs responding from first class. Maybe that's just me.

 

[DesertMedic66]

No I do not think they should offer discounted tickets.

I wonder if they would bump us up to first class if we are in our uniform? Just so everybody knows I'm an EMT.

I have flown in uniform and we were not upgraded (there were ~20 of us in full uniform though). We got to bypass the TSA screening process and the pilot allowed us to board the flight before everyone and also exit the flight first. The pilot shook our hands and we were all given a bottle of water and kept our blankets (overnight flight).

 

[AtlasFlyer]

If the airlines wanted more 'medically trained' people on their planes, they'd just increase the medical training of their cabin crew.

Flight attendants are trained to pretty much EMR-level standards during new-hire training. (I was one for 7 years, and I was also a FA instructor.) They're all CPR trained and know how to use the onboard AED.

So to directly answer the question, no airlines don't need to offer "discounts" to EMS.

 

[akflightmedic]

I was on an international flight which had a small fire. Maybe we should make sure firefighters are on board and offered discounts.
One time, the bathrooms were non-functional...was a damn emergency for EVERYONE. If only they gave plumbers a discount...

Several times my service has sucked...now only if they had Chick-Fil-A workers to step up and cover the gap, maybe a discount?

LOL...as a guy who has flown 1M+ miles, has the highest tier available with Emirates, Delta and United...I can say emphatically that the airlines have ZERO reason to discount any seat and there has ALWAYS been help available. I do not expect a discount at the fast food joints, I sure as heck would NEVER expect one at an airline where demand for flying is an all time high, seats are full or overbooked and there is ZERO incentive for them to discount anything.

A savvy lawyer could even make the argument that the airline "employed" the EMT by offering a discount PRIOR to services being needed. Thereby, all liability could be passed to the airline along with a huge hit to their bottom line. I think they enjoy the Good Samaritan Laws and intend to keep it that way.

 

[phideux]

I never considered any kind of flight discount because I'm a Medic. But I did answer one of their pages for medical assistance on an overseas flight once. Nothing to it, airsick complaint, but by stepping up Air France gave me 150 Euros to spend in the Duty Free shop. They do carry anything you need as a Paramedic on the plane including a monitor and drugs

 

[Bullets]

No. The staff is plenty trained. I also am not in favor of stopping to help when I'm off duty. Though on a flight to Munich the guy sitting next to me choked on a snack and did the heimlich. Crew gave me a thank you, $50 for the duty free shop and a bunch of air miles.

The crew pulled out a Lifepak 15 and a drug box with basically every medication I could possibly want plus some that were well beyond the paramedic scope, full airway bag ect. Though I wonder who is going to intubate and bag someone at 5200 feet

 

[DrParasite]

with everyone saying the flight staff are training, to what level of training do they receive? do they hold EMT certifications? paramedic? first aid and CPR? Do they get this training when they first get hired, and that's it? do they need to demonstrate any level of competency, and are they reevaluated annually?

If they are simply EMR certified (as @AtlasFlyer said), then they know nothing about the lifepack 15 and full drug box. it's nice to have, but unless you know how to use it, well, it's pretty much like an ALS equipped fire engine pulling up to a medical emergency with a bunch of EMRs..... they can be very nice and do what they are told, and have the equipment to save your life, but without knowing how and when to use it, they are mostly equipment carriers.

 

[NomadicMedic]

with everyone saying the flight staff are training, to what level of training do they receive? do they hold EMT certifications? paramedic? first aid and CPR? Do they get this training when they first get hired, and that's it? do they need to demonstrate any level of competency, and are they reevaluated annually?

If they are simply EMR certified (as @AtlasFlyer said), then they know nothing about the lifepack 15 and full drug box. it's nice to have, but unless you know how to use it, well, it's pretty much like an ALS equipped fire engine pulling up to a medical emergency with a bunch of EMRs..... they can be very nice and do what they are told, and have the equipment to save your life, but without knowing how and when to use it, they are mostly equipment carriers.

On line med control will talk just about anyone with a clue though the use of the basic equipment, and depending on your certification level, will authorize the opening of the EMK and allow ALS. Most flights have a heath care provider of some sort on board. And flight attendants are trained to the EMR level.

 

[NysEms2117]

I have to agree with @akflightmedic, plus in all the movies theres always a convenient doctor on board . Also what bullets said is true, as somebody with excessively limited ALS knowledge, I find it hard to believe any medic would do any kind of "advanced procedure" with no contact with MC, no idea how long it'll be to land, no way to find history(assuming the person is unconscious), and plenty plenty more.
@DEmedic do airlines have on-line medical control?

 

[NomadicMedic]

I have to agree with @akflightmedic, plus in all the movies theres always a convenient doctor on board . Also what bullets said is true, as somebody with excessively limited ALS knowledge, I find it hard to believe any medic would do any kind of "advanced procedure" with no contact with MC, no idea how long it'll be to land, no way to find history(assuming the person is unconscious), and plenty plenty more.
@DEmedic do airlines have on-line medical control?

Yes. If you're treating a real medical emergency, you can (and probally will) talk directly to the med control doc. All of the airlines that have an EMK (the als box) will have medical control available and they will coordinate with the pilot to get you on the ground. There's some great article about how airlines handle in flight emergencies and lots about the plans in place to account for the varied certification levels of health care providers on board.

Here's another (ugh!) JEMS article. http://www.jems.com/articles/2010/06/handling-flight-medical-emerge.html

 

[NysEms2117]

Yes. If you're treating a real medical emergency, you can (and probally will) talk directly to the med control doc. All of the airlines that have an EMK (the als box) will have medical control available and they will coordinate with the pilot to get you on the ground. There's some great article about how airlines handle in flight emergencies and lots about the plans in place to account for the varied certification levels of health care providers on board.

ooh i had no idea, i suppose it would get increasingly more difficult if your on international flights, due to language barrier, as well as possibly be flying over an ocean. does the MC doc work for the airline, or a hospital that they just pick?

 

[NomadicMedic]

There are companies that contract services to provide medical control for in-flight emergencies. When I was in Washington I recall seeing a help wanted ad from a service in Seattle that was looking for paramedics to act as call takers. I don't recall the name of the company however. I'm sure it was something ridiculous like "airMed" or something.

 

[EpiEMS]

ACEP has some decent write-ups, FWIW.

Interestingly (or perhaps not), there are many in-flight emergencies...but diversions are rare.

 

[StCEMT]

A plane sounds like an awful place to have to deal with a legit medical emergency. I fly in 7 days, don't yall be putting any bad juju on me now.

 

[CALEMT]

There's a reason why I drink beer before flights...

In answer to the question. No I don't think EMS should give discounts. Cops don't get them (hijackings) and firefighters don't get them (on board fires) so why should we?

 

[NomadicMedic]

ooh i had no idea, i suppose it would get increasingly more difficult if your on international flights, due to language barrier, as well as possibly be flying over an ocean. does the MC doc work for the airline, or a hospital that they just pick?

And English is the international language of aviation.