Doctor on-board?

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Nabin

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I had been trying to read some specific topics on this but couldn't find anything other than a few abstract newspaper articles and few personal experiences. While this is not a common situation to find oneself in, but can we shed some light on what are the possible situations a doctor/med student/health professional may have to face on-board a flight? What resources will be available to use while inside a place? etc.. Let's also take into account professionals who have specialized in different fields and have long lost touch with handling emergency patients.

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The most solid thing I could find is this:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_G...50d9b89748625710700523941/$FILE/AC121-33B.pdf

So, there's not much that they are required to have. Some airlines may have more, but I wouldn't count on that.

As far as being a medical professional - even ones who haven't seen an emergency in a long time should be able to tell which patients are sick enough to recommend the pilot land the plane. Beyond doing basic CPR and handling the few drugs in the kit - I wouldn't plan on doing anything more like sticking knives in throats. There is a Good Samaritan of the Sky law, but if you're grossly negligent you can still get sued. Thus you better be able to defend your actions in court if you start going real hog wild.
 
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The most solid thing I could find is this:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_G...50d9b89748625710700523941/$FILE/AC121-33B.pdf

So, there's not much that they are required to have. Some airlines may have more, but I wouldn't count on that.

As far as being a medical professional - even ones who haven't seen an emergency in a long time should be able to tell which patients are sick enough to recommend the pilot land the plane. Beyond doing basic CPR and handling the few drugs in the kit - I wouldn't plan on doing anything more like sticking knives in throats. There is a Good Samaritan of the Sky law, but if you're grossly negligent you can still get sued. Thus you better be able to defend your actions in court if you start going real hog wild.

Thanks. The pdf you shared is pretty detailed in what we can have an access too. I posted this topic somewhere else too to reach out to more. Here's a link and there are some raw points to take here as well.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/doctor-on-board.1168161/#post-17070666
 
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I'll preface this by acknowledging that this thread is dead beyond all resuscitative measures, but it is kind of an interesting topic and I'm rather bored.

I actually attended a CE lecture on this exact topic ("Medicine at 30,000 Feet" or something to that regard) and found it pretty fascinating. The take home points I gathered are as followed:

1. Generally, the flight attendant/possibly captain may ask if there is a physician, nurse, or other provider on board.
2. They'll give you some sort of fly-by-night ramshackle bag filled with various odds and ends, most of them useless in nature. (Think IV tubing, oxygen tubing, and BP cuffs that are literally disintegrating due to lack of maintenance coupled with extreme temperature and pressure changes)
3. They're required to have some degree of oxygen available, but it's strictly regulated since it's a pressurized gas, and historically pressurized gases don't bode well on pressurized aircraft.
4. There is a strong possibility they will ask you for credentials before allowing you to go all Dr. Sky Cowboy on their passenger(s).
5. They can essentially tell you, "Thanks, but no thanks" if you've been drinking/had the standard pre-flight Valium.
6. Your main function is to triage, and tell the captain whether or not you recommend diversion to a closer airport (they're also more than capable of telling you, "thanks, but no thanks" at this point as well)
7. The FAA really only cares about them having the basics, whether they are in working order/non-expired medications is a whole other matter.
And finally, and most importantly:

8. You may be compensated in money from the airline, x,000 free flight miles, free peanuts or delicious Biscotti cookies, or something of absolutely zero value. There is no balanced billing on Delta, sadly.

Sorry if any/all of this was covered above, as I didn't exactly click the link.
 
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I'll preface this by acknowledging that this thread is dead beyond all resuscitative measures, but it is kind of an interesting topic and I'm rather bored.

I actually attended a CE lecture on this exact topic ("Medicine at 30,000 Feet" or something to that regard) and found it pretty fascinating. The take home points I gathered are as followed:

1. Generally, the flight attendant/possibly captain may ask if there is a physician, nurse, or other provider on board.
2. They'll give you some sort of fly-by-night ramshackle bag filled with various odds and ends, most of them useless in nature. (Think IV tubing, oxygen tubing, and BP cuffs that are literally disintegrating due to lack of maintenance coupled with extreme temperature and pressure changes)
3. They're required to have some degree of oxygen available, but it's strictly regulated since it's a pressurized gas, and historically pressurized gases don't bode well on pressurized aircraft.
4. There is a strong possibility they will ask you for credentials before allowing you to go all Dr. Sky Cowboy on their passenger(s).
5. They can essentially tell you, "Thanks, but no thanks" if you've been drinking/had the standard pre-flight Valium.
6. Your main function is to triage, and tell the captain whether or not you recommend diversion to a closer airport (they're also more than capable of telling you, "thanks, but no thanks" at this point as well)
7. The FAA really only cares about them having the basics, whether they are in working order/non-expired medications is a whole other matter.
And finally, and most importantly:

8. You may be compensated in money from the airline, x,000 free flight miles, free peanuts or delicious Biscotti cookies, or something of absolutely zero value. There is no balanced billing on Delta, sadly.

Sorry if any/all of this was covered above, as I didn't exactly click the link.

LMAO
 
I was in this situation once, I heard "is there a doctor on board?" So I woke up and came down the aisle. After doing basic triage I realized I needed an anesthesiologist and asked if there was one available. Lo and behold, there was and he came up the aisle and asked what I needed. I replied, "Could you adjust that overhead light for me? Thanks."

*The above is just a joke*
 
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