MSPeconomist

It is part of one's name in Germany. My understanding is that it's a matter of law, with German citizens and residents needing to take steps to have foreign doctorates officially recognized. Titles and degrees are used widely outside of academia, in banks and a wide variety of industries, and even on junk mail.

JTE458

If available I select C+ window and aisle for wife and I, if no upgrades then the middle person always will move to window when asked. If not available I select myself to the middle seat and her to the aisle, so if only 1 upgrade clears it would be mine, which means I'll then sit in the aisle when she takes my upgrade

brkandjfk

I learned something with this post.
Of course, Real ID is specific to US based identification, but now I'm curious as to how non-citizen Real ID documents are impacted by circumstances like that (which I would guess are rare).

ricktoronto

Or service animals with a medical degree showing up.

Biscoff27

As mentioned in my post, from dozens of prior tests, if I buy the tickets, I will be upgraded first. Therefore, I know I should be in the middle, SO in the aisle, since I will be upgraded first. If we selected window & aisle, then we would have to ask someone to move. And what if they do not want to be in the window seat?

I know I differ from most people, but I tend to prefer a middle seat over a window seat in coach, when I cannot get an aisle seat. I like to be as close to the aisle as possible.

hotturnip

The next time this happens, you should just ask the gate agent in a friendly, curious way if s/he knows why Frau Doktorin is ahead of you on the upgrade list.

Nw_Adventure

Ha- Two weeks ago U/G list showed me and someone else double booked in a C+ seat which wasn't exactly fun on a redeye- Upgrades be complicated.

Tine Rod

Didn’t realize there were folks that would rather sit between strangers. That clears up my confusion.

Flying_Duck

That would imply that Delta would know you are an MD in case of an onboard medical emergency - which (speaking for myself) I can attest is NOT the case

After having assisted in ~13 on-board medical emergencies/events and more often than not seeing more than one qualified medical person on board, I have "semi-retired" and when a medical person is requested sat back and waited for a second call, though if an FA passed by my seat made him/her aware that I was available if needed, but staying back in my seat. The 3 times when this happened after my "retirement" I was told there already was an MD tending to the sick pax. (and these emergencies by sheer statistics, almost always happen in the back, with me almost always (OK, "always" on long flights!) sitting in the front.

But I almost regretted my semi-retirement on a recent flight from CDG-LAX (DL metal), as when the call came I sat back and when a FA passed by me minutes after the call, declared my willingness to help if having no-one else, thanking me, and as usual told me that an MD was already in charge in the back (I was in one of the new DL One suites!). Shortly after we were told we were diverted to Reykjavik, due to the medical condition of the passenger, and when landing, I out of my window saw him taken off the plane, wide awake, no oxygen, sitting up in the stretcher not obviously looking unwell. The thought occurred to me when finally arriving in LAX hours late and missing my connection to BOI (having to stay overnight) that maybe if I had jumped up and volunteered, that might not have happened, as I have only diverted one flight out of the 13 emergencies I tended to, with a sharp clinical sense and eye, one only gets after 30+ years of doing this every day and hour in a hospital, being able to tell the difference between a real heart attack and ETOH over-indulgence, hyperventilation and histrionics.

Knowing that young physicians (who more often sit in the back!!) don't know anything about "the art of medicine" unless they have a computer screen in front of them with access to the most recent snazzy tests or scans, I wonder whether one of those young whipper snappers on my diverted flight unnecessarily, made the decision because the "Pax" looked unwell with no computer screen in front of them to help their decision-making - just to be on the safe side (and nothing wrong with that)

But I will never know, because of course I was not privy to any detailed information about the medical situation on-board by remaining a pax in a seat - sort of the point of this thread!

hikouki

Agree with you on your post, but has it also occurred to you that more and more MDs and DOs are choosing to subspecialize, leaving behind their primary care and/ or hospital skills? Inpatient and outpatient care is nowadays being separated into two separate board certifications, for both adult and pediatric care. And sometimes, those skills today are being left in the hands of mid levels, some of which ‘introduce’ themselves to be doctors!

Back on topic- I wonder if airlines will ever take advice to divert from these mid levels? (Nurse practitioners and physician assistants). I thought that most airlines have a phone triage service, connecting to an actual emergency physician who can decide if the flight needs to divert or not? And that compensation to MDs who helped on a flight, in general, is not usual practice to shield them from liability?

MSPeconomist

During the most recent flight where I was aware of a medical issue, the decision to divert was made after consultation between the MD handling the emergency on board (who seemed to be extremely well qualified), the pilot, and the experts on the ground for which DL has some sort of membership or subscription arrangement for the service. This was TATL but my impression is that DL can summon the experts during at least any mainline flight.

Nw_Adventure

And there are times when stepping up as a medical professional exposes you to lawsuits and or litigation later on...

hikouki

Exactly my point! What if you’re a dermatologist? What if you’re a pediatrician being asked to help with a 65 year old with perceived heart attack? Worse, how about the pathologist or radiologist who does not have significant clinical patient contact?

Flyer0889

onboard volunteers are no longer the deciding factor for diversions. The information is relayed to our partners on the ground (StatMD) who know all of the emergency equipment on the aircraft. Sometimes this is via form to the flight deck, who relay this information, or it can be directly from the FA or medical volunteer via headset that plugs into the ceiling panels talking directly to the doctors on the ground. They make the determination if diverting is necessary and what airport would be best equipped to handle the passenger.

IanFromHKG

And in some places in Asia, qualifications that are not so respected elsewhere do command high respect. In Indonesia, for example, I have come across a number of people using the professional prefix "Ir." which, I believe, stands for (drum roll, please)... "Engineer".

I know I am going OT but I have always found it interesting that in the UK, doctors who become surgeons no longer refer to themselves as "Dr X" but revert to "Mr/Mrs/Ms/Mx X"; and dentists in the UK are just "Mr/Mrs/Ms/Mx" (presumably because they are "dental surgeons"), whereas in Hong Kong dentists all seem to call themselves "Dr". So my brother, who is a maxillofacial surgeon in the UK, which requires qualifications both as a doctor and a dentist (he spent 13 years at university), is just "Mr". Mind you, although his prefix is very ordinary, he does have an entire alphabet of suffixes!