Definitely NOT the routine at USAir -- over there, it's as if they hand off "the patient" then run & hide. I swear that I have yet to even hear anyone say Thanks (other than that generic robo-thanks which every passenger gets at deplaining). I am not looking for a big sloppy wet kiss or anything -- just a simple nod would be a huge uptick.

I find the posts in this thread very interesting. Obviously the physicians, nurses, et al. are always on duty. Just curious, while I'm sure a pilot would not risk opposing, how much authority does a doctor have in the air? In other words, can you basically say, "get the plane down ASAP," and in doing so essentially force the pilot to comply?

My cardiologist father, who's flying DL tomorrow morning, has been called to offer medical help on AF (if I remember correctly, a large bottle of something grapey and alcoholic) and CO (25K OnePass miles), and I think a few more instances where I never heard about the compensation. Though this time, I'm almost worried about his possible interactions with blondes tomorrow...

I am not a doctor or an attorney but I assume the captain would have a discussion with a doctor and make the best decision, yielding about as much as possible judgment to the doctor. Obviously, a doctor can't physically force a pilot to land a plane. But Delta's (and OAL) risks would be in liability if a doctor said to land and they didn't and bad things happened.

When it happened to me the flight attendant asked me if we should land. I said "yes" and within 15 minutes we were on the ground. By this point we had brought the patient back to the galley. There was also a nurse on the plane and the two of us with one flight attendant stayed in the back in the galley with the patient during the landing which happened a whole lot faster than I thought it possibly could. The pilot came out to thank me for helping out after we had reached ATL.

What if a passenger dies?
 

Was on a KLM flight one time from AMS to the US when a passenger died. Diverted to KEF where the passenger was removed. I was not sitting anywhere near the elderly lady and did not see her.

But even with all the traveling I've done I've never been on a flight where a doctor was called. Strange.

I have been called on 4 or 5 times, but my "favorite" time was on a return flight CDG-MSP. I was sound asleep when my husband woke me saying, "Honey, they are calling for a doctor." HE'S A DOCTOR TOO!!! I looked at him with an incredulous expression on my face and asked why he didn't go help since he was the one who heard the call. He said, "You're much better at this stuff." OMG! That was a classic.

What happens if they call for a doctor on board and you're in your 3rd year of medical school and no other doctors are on board.
Can you get in trouble/kicked out of med school, or does this fall into the good citizens act (Seinfeld season finale...)? I've been trained and know more than most people but far less than fully qualified doctors.
The reason I ask is I fly DL on Saturday for the start of winter break from MSP to NRT and should any problems arise, I would love to offer my assistance if it didn't mean getting in legal trouble.

This is my family; I'm PM&R/Pain, my wife is a PCP so I always tell her she should go. She gets pissed as well when I say, what am I going to do, inject the neck/shoulder/knee/hip/back?

Of course, I'm the only one ACLS trained due to our ASC requirements :D

You'll be fine, Good Samaritin (sp?), as long as you are BLS/ACLS trained.
Remember MONAB (probably no M), slap O2 on via NC, pray that other medical professionals are on board. :D

Go ahead offer help. Be specific about your credentials.

BTW, a number of times I have been asked to show my MD license.

I was searching on the forum and found this thread so thought I'd add a couple comments even though my experience was on KLM, not Delta.

We were about 20 minutes from our destination, Cairo, when they called for a doctor. I had my headphones on listening to my ipod and didn't hear it, but my wife noticed something going on in the back of the plane and let me know I should volunteer to help.

I went back to find two Egyptian 'doctors' sitting around and looking confused and a male passenger on the floor. It turned out the 'doctors' hadn't even asked for a bp cuff or stethoscope and were just kind of hanging out with the ill passenger.

After sorting things out and getting the sick passenger up to the business class section I returned to my wife and we arrived without incident in Cairo. I was asked to fill out a one page form explaining what medical supplies we had used. I was given a thank you by the cabin crew and one of those little schnapps bottles they give business class passengers (I tried to say no as we must already have twenty plus of them, but my wife said I was being churlish and to take it).

It sounds like my experience is similar to some of my colleagues from the thread.

About 2 years ago I was on an ATL-NRT DL flight when somewhere around the USA-Canada border at the start of meal service, the announcement for any Doctor on board to head to 54G. (Cabin behind mine, and my view blocked by the bulkhead/structure.) I was astounded when 8 passengers, including the woman next to me and the couple in front of me went rushing back to the announced seat. Turns out that an older gentleman, travelling alone, was having some kind of issue and wasn't entirely coherent, no medibracelet, etc. About 3 of the docs (including the man in front of me) stayed with him for the next hour, and the FA's did a fabulous job of dealing with meal service, since one aisle in the aft Y cabin was effectively blocked and they had to work around.

30 minutes after the initial announcement, and with one of the cockpit crew back to check on things, the captain came on the PA and said we'd be diverting to Edmonton so this poor fellow could be taken off, but we'd have dump a pile of fuel first, which the crew took care of while the passengers finished their meal and FA's got the cabins cleared. Landing in Edmonton, full paramedic crews immediately came on board to get him to the hospital.

After we were refueled and back on our way at cruising altitude, the 3 doctors who had continued to stay with the man--and missed meal service so were starving--each received a business class meal (at least 2 of them were in economy) and a lot of thanks and snacks from the FA's. Upon deplaning in NRT, each got a couple of bottles of wine from the front galley as takeaways. Wouldn't have been surprised if they also got some extra miles after the fact as well.

I think the Captain made the right decision to divert, even though it put us about 1.5 hours behind (but DL and partners held most connecting aircraft in NRT). Once past Edmonton, not too many good places on this route to put down if in need. :eek: Well-handled by Delta. Well-handled by docs on board. ^

"Surely you can't be serious...."!

That is not entirely true. As soon as someone is trained professionally, GS laws are out the window and you can be negligent for acting above your training level (if something goes wrong). If someone going through medical school has a EMT or is a nurse first, that is their training level at that point.

However, I think in the air, these is a set of rules for those who assist that are professionally trained, to protect them as well.

In the case of a 3rd year student, if it was a serious situation where life hangs in the balance I would get cover under the direction of whomever DLs medical director is, that way all the things you do are online and no one can say hoot otherwise.