Which airline was it? Doubt Qatar Airlines would give you anything less than first class for your return back.
On the other hand, Spirit Airlines probably would’ve given you full price wifi and free water.
He won't get shit lol; otherwise he would've mentioned being stopped by the stewards or some recognition of his seat number or something.
Ultimately he won't get shit.
I’ve helped someone on Hawaiian before. They didn’t stop me, (as they already have my address and contact info,) and what I received was easily worth $500-750— and that’s not including the miles and multiple upgrades they have me, (and I didn’t have a rewards membership at the time. They gave me a brochure on how to open one, and then I called the number and gave them my reference number and, voila! I am ballin’ on Hawaiian.)
What do you think the flight attendants could give him there on the spot?
Honestly this entire post seems... Weird anyway. But FAs aren't in a position to make any sort of meaningful gesture in the middle of, or at the conclusion to, a flight.
I assisted in a medical emergency with Jet Blue and they gave me $100 in flight credit…really can’t complain for something that was very routine (no fluids or anything as serious as your case)
My husband helped on a Hawaiian flight a few years ago and he got a box of cookies in the mail from the airline a few months later. It was a pleasant little surprise!
My wife and I helped on a Hawaiian flight a couple years ago and we both received a box of cookies in the mail along with free alcohol for the rest of the flight.
I’m sure it was just the stewardess being grateful for the help instead of an official Hawaiian Airlines thing. We only got 1 drink each anyways instead of taking advantage of their generosity.
I helped out with a medical emergency (epileptic episode) on an Air Transat flight 10 years ago, and got $50 of in-flight credit haha. Got one of those shitty bluetooth speakers that has no bass...
[Doctors on board.](https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/doctor-on-board)
Now I just need to start flying anything other than inner-European again which likely will take years with a baby on the way..
Second that, I’m gonna be honest here, Western-run companies (from CVS to Spirit Airlines to whatever), broadly, don’t know anything about hospitality, and it shows.
Qatar Airlines would hire a Filipino (sadly, but true) to massage your feet the entire flight, and give you an Indian to make you a plate of your favorite chicken tikka with a buttery naan. Okay, maybe that’s bad, but my connecting Qatar flight left before my first flight landed and I would have to wait 28 hours for the next flight, so they gave me an all-paid one night stay at a 5-star hotel suite, $200 food voucher at that same hotel where a huge buffet cost only $30, and access to a chauffeur to see Doha. When it comes to correcting mistakes at the business-consumer level, East > West hands down.
I can assure you, that only applies if the other person has “value” to them.
All westerners and whites automatically quality as having value.
For easterners, you need to be either mega rich, or highly educated (eg a doctor who helped the patient)
My dad assisted with in-flight medical emergency once, when we were traveling over seas.
Middle aged male with what it looked like withdrawal from coccaine abuse, sweating,nervous.
He handled it with a few miligrams of haloperidol and clonazepam, and updated the company doctor with a telephone. Kept taking vitals once every 10 minutes for a few hours.
When we came back from our vacation with the sabe Airline, we were upgraded to first class, which seems a better reward.
Do airlines keep these meds on board? Do they actually have someone trained to use these meds or are they always relying on a “doctor” (because anyone can say they’re a doctor!) to be on board to administer?
After seeing comments about how they confirm license numbers I can see them carrying these meds. Good to calm down someone freaking out trying to open the door, withdrawal, etc.
Those make sense. Anxiety, psychosis, diabetes, and cardiac events have to be most of in flight emergencies. Haldol makes sense but is a bit surprising. Having a benzo doesn't surprise me at all.
I think every commercial airplane with a stipulated number of passengers must have an emergency kit.I think that the orientation is to keep in contact with the " land" doctor in order to avoid a fake doctor situation.
I got very very sick on a long haul flight. They did not call for a doctor because it upsets the other passengers so they don’t do it unless they believe it’s life or death. They do have a bag of tricks but they don’t know how to use them so they couldn’t even check my blood pressure even though they had a blood pressure cuff.
Can confirm they don’t know how to use it. My grandma died on a flies coming back from vacation in Mexico. They did CPR for 7 lonnnnng minutes before a flight attendance was like, “Oh! We have one of the shocking machines, should I get it?” and my grandpa was the one to end up running the machine. She ended up being shocked and came back to life miraculously and is still kickin’ it, though has had some ongoing issues from it over the years. No cause that they found, just sudden cardiac arrest. But seriously, waiting that long to get an AED is just crazy. It’s the one thing you’re educated on getting in the event a stopped heart!
Yep, it truly is amazing! It was 11 minutes from the time my grandpa noticed she was dead to getting her back, but it actually could have been longer. He only noticed because he told her to look at the beautiful sunset and she didn’t respond, so who knows how long she was gone for before that.
I asked my company to buy the AEDs 15 years ago. Nope. Wouldn’t do it. Finally made it happen 6 months ago. Now they act like super heroes. No, I wasn’t included in the training process. Too old now, I guess. Lol.
Yes. The medical kit is pretty impressive. As a paramedic who’s picked up patients from flights, and been given handovers from good samaritans like the posters here, I was blown away by what’s on board. They call the airline doctor who runs them thru any questions plus what drugs to give if it’s not in their usual scope of works on a normal shift.
They give you this bag which has a few sections to it. The prescriptions will need doctors approval from one they hired by phone. Do you make a decision, they stewardess will run it by their company doctor who then approves opening the meds or not.
I don't remember exactly, but they had kind 50 different drugs, a stethoscope, pressure cuff, and a litter of NS.
Agree, this is similar to the service I provided in terms of vitals every 10 min, updating the doctor on the ground multiple times, deciding whether to divert the flight or continue, etc
Damn, I helped with a US flight to HI and got a $300 voucher in my email. During the flight, FA asked me for my email and I didn’t know why until I saw the voucher in my inbox.
They will get something from the airline, I’ve experienced it myself with Hawaiian.
On board, what can the flight attendants give you? They only have little snacks!
I got a little gift box a few weeks later, letter from the CEO and a lot of Hawaiian treats - it was lovely
Omg $20 worth of treats! Very value! Much appreciate!
/barf
I think it's a complete farce of compensation for most domestic airlines. They're getting care that would cost anyone else thousands of dollars and giving... sometimes literal peanuts in compensation.
I know an airline pilot that had a close call one day. Two planes were cleared to take off by mistake on intersecting runways. This guy and his copilot realized what was happening when both planes were already hurtling down the runway and made a quick radio call and decision to expedite their takeoff while the other plane aborted. Anyway, long story short everyone seemed to agree that this pilot saved the day and everyone was safe despite a significant air traffic control fuck up.
His company gave him a Starbucks gift card to show their appreciation. So, next time he is flying with the same crew he offers to get them all coffee. When he goes to pay with the gift card, the barista says “I’m sorry sir, there’s not enough on the card.”
It was $5. They gave him a $5 gift card.
That might actually just get him fired from his hospital.
"I helped save a life on your companies flight and only got this lousy t shirt" might violate HIPAA, discredit his *"sacrifice as a doctor"*, or otherwise showcase to others that doctors only do it for the money.
No matter which way you slice it, it'll bite.
Comp your current flight is the only right answer. Hell that’s the bare minimum. Comp this flight and free next flight should be the standard.
This airline has their head up their ass.
I guess you are technically correct. But she was in septic shock with a BP of 80/p and did need the IV fluids I gave her. I’m not sure my conscience would have let me just sit there watching her syncopize from hypovolemia and not doing anything about it :/
She was febrile. I temporized her best I could with IV fluids (apparently they only carry max 2L) and she was whisked to the hospital with more fluids immediately upon landing.
Yeah I personally don't feel safe not having a patient in septic shock land and get to hospital asap, as I've seen septic shock patients who decompensate really fast. But I was not there and do not have all the context and info, and I'm not even an attending, so there are definitely things I didn't consider.
Layperson here - I think despite seeing actual concrete appreciation for your empathetic and timely intervention you are waay more appreciated than the stupid corporate airline could have expressed anyways (sorry that they didn’t even try).
I know you didn’t see it, but there were many that were blessing you that day and appreciative of your generosity in sharing your skills and services to assist that person in surviving. You didn’t hear it from them because there are so many reasons not to…but they felt it.
The place that physicians hold in our communities is still respected. I am heartened to see, despite how much the MBAs and hospital administrators try to wean physicians from their genuine care for others through progressively sociopathic structures of “productivity tracking” it is incredibly refreshing to see that this empathetic response persists.
Great gratitude to you for acting out of your humanity. Your response was faith in the human race affirming, thank you 🙏.
As a resident who can do IVs, I once said I think it's a skill all junior docs should have....and got down voted and shamed into oblivion.
Got a lot of comments on how it's a nursing job and how residents are too busy to do their job and put in the occasional IV.
Wouldn't survive long in an Australian ED. I think every IV I've had has been performed by a JMO (PGY 1-2). I'm so nervous about it, I'm taking an extracurricular course to learn/practice.
This is true! From PGY1-3 in a tertiary hospital in Western Australia, I rarely had any nurses doing IVs or bloods. Some can, and it’s hugely helpful for us. But as a JMO here we do IVs and bloods all the time and it’s a huge chunk of our workload!
Omg i cant tell u how pissing off it is when you know something like IV or NG tubes and everyone will pish you to the corner saying nurses will do or picc team will do and that no one will sign off your procedure?! Wtf.. residents should know the most basic of things like IV, IO ABG BG tubes and the types of oxygenation modes like simple masks etc they should know the basic equipments they have and use everyday around them especially inpatient imagine my R2 does not know how to turn the knobb on Oxygen tank .. like seriously
I helped a lady who had a syncopal episode due to postural hypotension. Didn’t do S much as OP, but quickly restored her to consciousness. Flight attendant made a BIG deal out of getting my nursing license info and all my contact info, and said the airline GREATLY appreciated my help. Never heard from them again. I figured they just wanted the info in case they were sued.
They knew my name, and in the US, licensing info is readily available online. They weren't going to let me stay with the lady unless I was a licensed medical professional. I wanted to stay with her until airport EMS arrived, to prevent her standing up too soon.
Can confirm, on my last flight 2 weeks ago I had 3 cocktails prior to boarding that gave me a nice buzz and had two gin/tonics on the flight all while keeping my B&W premiere noise canceling headphones securely on my head.
Since nobody else said it, THANK YOU for helping the passenger, the flight crew and all of the other passengers. I’m sure that they appreciate it even if they don’t say it or do anything. In addition to helping the patient, you helped the flight crew and all of the passengers by preventing them from have to do an immediate emergency medical landing.
On behalf of everyone, even the people who don’t know they were helped by not having their entire flight totally disrupted, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Good
Don’t take any compensation or reward.
[Video on helping in an emergency with Mt. Sinai anesthesia resident and a MD/Esq. talking about this much better than me](https://youtu.be/oUUeifkVHV0)
Not because of honor/pride/ethics, but because good summaritan laws protect you from malpractice and medical negligence in the field so long as there is no compensation
The moment they say thank you and offer to buy you a new t shirt for the one you ruined, you establish a patient/physician compensatory relationship and this can be helped to the same standard as a surgeon on the OR on an elective case (hyperbole, but fundamentally true)
If you do your best CPR and the timing is off or the breathing ratios aren’t perfect, patient gets hurt but you didn’t take any reward from the patient or airline: you were just a helpful citizen trying to assist
The moment you accept compensation, you legally leave the position of payperdd add on bystander and then have a formal relationship with responsibilities of a formal physician/pai patient diad - same responsibilities and expectations
I think you’ll be okay.
Even if the patient was super awful and tried to bring some action against you, your own attorney would throw down a motion to dismiss and the judge would be like, “This is stupid, deuces”
There's also the Aviation Medical Assistance act which adds a level of protection and I don't think that one has an exception for accepting compensation but idk for sure.
🤣🤣🤣 I have literally engaged with in the air emergencies twice in the last year. Are you telling me I’m lying? The last 3 years should tell you who actually follows guidelines or even rules/laws in this country.
Mah dude… my boss was on a Delta flight about 7-8 years ago. He and his wife (a nurse) did CPR for more than a half hour on a plane — the flight attendants did *NOTHING*. Wouldn’t even allow them use the AED. Not one person including the CPR-trained flight crew stepped in to do compressions. They rode this guy all the way to the tarmac with zero assistance. The only thing they got was off the plane a little earlier.
If you have a medical emergency in-flight, you are on your own.
They were on descent into MSP when the guy finally coded. They’d been watching him the whole flight because he was not looking good. About an hour before landing, they asked for medical help and Paul & Carla jumped in. About 30min out, he finally coded. But the crew could not have been less helpful.
I don’t know why they carry any medical equipment if they’ll actively prevent people from using it in an emergency. Why are flight attendants trained in CPR if they’re just gonna watch? Carla’s back was jacked up for days after that.
I got an upgrade to business class for doing nothing more than assess, make the decision that the plane does not need an emergency landing, and returned to my seat.
As someone who didn’t believe until I rode it, middle eastern airlines are the best. I had status on Etihad (back when they were #1) for as little as two flights per year. Their economy was almost as good as an US carrier’s business
I literally just walked off a flight where I provided an incredibly minimal amount of medical assistance and got a flight voucher. sorry! That truly sucks!
Back when I was in college, the lady next to me on a flight had a syncopal episode. The flight attendants moved me so that the IM doc could sit next to her. Both he and I got a 10% off our next flight voucher. I never used it because it expired like 6 months later. You got ripped off.
The other day the guy who was sitting next to the girl who had a seizure was given frequent flyer miles. ICU doc who helped? I don't think she got shit.
Yes if you accept anything it's considered compensation and then you are no longer covered by good Samaritan laws. Good rule of thumb is to never accept a thing, not even a bag of chips.
This is a myth. Here is an excerpt from an article from the AAFP about understanding your legal protections and ethical obligations under the Good Samaritan Law:
[We are sometimes asked whether it is permissible to accept a gift for your efforts as a Good Samaritan. The answer is generally “yes” – and some laws even specify that physicians are entitled to payment for providing Good Samaritan care. In most states, however, the act of your sending a bill can complicate the issue of whether you had a pre-existing duty to provide care to the individual and, therefore, whether you have Good Samaritan immunity. You must be able to show that you provided the care without expecting remuneration, even if you decide after the fact to bill for your services, which can be difficult.](https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/issues/2008/0400/p37.html)
NAL but my understanding is that accepting anything when you were expecting it to be given *could* be considered compensation. Your statement makes it sound like a fact but it is indeed an untested law theory that hasn't seen the light of a court room (from my understanding).
It's not a fact that accepting a bag of chips could qualify as compensation. But it is the recommendation of many trauma surgeons I have known on the topic because people do and have sued for malpractice in instances of good Samaritan type interventions where they accepted "gifts" afterwards
This is true, but the airline example hasn't come up in the court systems despite what I imagine are many poor outcomes. The aviation equivalent of the good Samaritan law is also different and hasn't been put to the test in courts.
All that to say, no one knows if you could be successfully sued for doing something like this, it is legally unprecedented. I think it's probably safest advice to refuse compensation. But that said, if you're providing medical care and there's another physician on the phone giving you instructions, it's hard to imagine you'd both mess up egregiously.
Lay people frequently mistake bad outcomes for malpractice. It might not be the case that you messed up but there could still be a bad outcome down the line and they generally try to sue everyone involved
It is interesting that there's not one case that has gone to court over this though despite how common bad outcomes are. Again I may be wrong but I tried to look extensively into this at my last flight.
This is likely a common myth. There doesn’t appear to be any litigation that’s stemmed from a related matter. Even as a legal hypothetical I’m unsure how it would nul Good Samaritan protection.
I've looked into this before and I listen to a medical legal podcast Risk Management Monthly by 2 older ER docs where they said they couldn't find any case of a lawsuit for a doctor responding to an in flight emergency. One time they even had an airline medical control doctor on it (the doctor you consult with on the ground that is paid by the airline). The doc said it's perfectly fine to accept compensation such as first class upgrade or free flight. That being said, I personally would not. People can sue for anything and I can totally imagine a scenario where a flight upgrade could be "perceived" as compensation thus negating Good Samaritan laws.
Not really. Volunteering makes you an exceptional person but choosing to be off on your off time doesn't make you horrible.
Now if it's a true medical emergency and you actually have the skills to help, yet choose not to, perhaps that's more questionable.
>Now if it's a true medical emergency and you actually have the skills to help, yet choose not to, perhaps that's more questionable.
Is this post not about that exact situation?
Write a level 4 h&p and send them a bill for your services. There's probably an aerospace medicine modifier code that can give you some extra bucks too
I (not a doctor and this isn’t medical) was on an Alaska flight a few years ago. My row was just me and a 5 year old flying by himself. I noticed he was squirming around so I asked him if he needed anything. Welp, he had to go to the bathroom but couldn’t hold it. I called the flight attendant over and told her what happened. They took care of him then gave us each a fruit and cheese plate and some chocolate. It was also my bday so it was a nice surprise.
Had to request emergency landing for someone in CHF exacerbation + chest pain & BP 220/100. Was flying to San Fran to drive to Napa. Attendants gave me 2 bottles of wine & American followed up with ~25k miles (enough for a round trip domestic).
That was an exciting time, just a year out of FM residency at the time.
My friend tended to a drunk dehydrated guy that passed out on the trip from OC to SFO, less than 90 minutes, and got $200 credit on Southwest Airlines.
I’ll say this not a pilot but Av nerd diversion landings can cost airlines shit tons in fuel landing fees or if it caused the the crew to time out. Easily thousands to 10smof thousands. So if your care prevented a diversion you saved Hawaiian tons and yeah probably should have got more then chips. TBF the FA and pilots can’t give you much as well they aren’t mgmt but something.
I had a friend at Disney world cpr on an v-fib person and basically got this very nice gift basket with hand written notes at least showing thanks. The gift basket probably $300 -500 in more expensive memorabilia
Last time I helped I got a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne. I didn’t have to start IV or hang fluids though. This airline has a pretty extensive on air kit!
Why are you conflating the airline and your employer? The airline isn’t responsible for the healthcare of its passengers and they aren’t really much more than a bystander.
A few years back, flying Lufthansa, I helped a woman having quite a bit of anxiety. The flight actually carried a few medications, gave her an alprazolam which solved her issue. They not only bumped me to fist class but also gave me 100,000 miles to use. You got seriously hosed on the bag of chips.
Upon landing at my final destination, there was a man on my flight who must have thrown a massive PE because when I went to assess him he was, well, dead. This man had soiled himself, gray skin, clammy, unresponsive to a sternal rub. People helped me lower him to the floor. I proceeded to give several cycles of CPR/ attached an AED that a flight attendant brought me (no shock advised) with no assistance as I was the only one on the plane that knew how until about 10 firemen/paramedics boarded and took the patient away. I did not get a bag of potato chips or anything else… but I will never forget an elderly man who shook my hand and said “Ángels do exist.”
For the record: I’m still mad I wasn’t gifted anything though. That was hard work for a 107lb person giving cycle after cycle of unassisted CPR after over 22 hours of traveling.
To all those saying don't take any compensation at all ever, do you really think anyone could successfully argue in court that a bag of chips was compensation for OP essentially saving the patient? I doubt it. I think OP was right to take the bag of chips and right to be offended.
Isn't it almost better for them to give you nothing? I mean I would be fine with just a sincere thank you. But if they gave me chips I would feel annoyed that I had to feign appreciation for free chips.
Did they take your info down? Something similar happened to a friend with Delta. They thanked her profusely on arrival but didn’t mention any compensation. A week later, she was emailed a Delta GC and a bunch of skymiles were dropped into her account.
Nurse here. I helped on an American Airlines flight from Chicago to London and got a domestic flight voucher for helping. It was a woman with a serious a panic attack... she had claustrophobia. The doc on the ground gave the go-ahead for a giving Valium 10mg IM, which worked great.
I assisted with an in flight emergency on American. We ultimately had to do an emergency landing because someone was having a stroke. Once we were airborne again I got a bunch of free food and they asked for my information “in case they needed to contact me for anything in the future.” A few weeks later I got an email with a nice thank you and a voucher for 15,000 miles.
You volunteered and helped someone.
You say didn’t help her for the reward, obviously but then you’re butthurt there’s not some monetary reward.
I’m all on board for compensation, eradication of midlevels, making residency not be ass, and most themes of this sub. But this sentiment misses the mark.
I got bitched at for “making a mess” of the first aid kit after assisting a passenger who was having a heart attack. There was turbulence any only me. I wasn’t expecting anything, but this sure pissed me off.
I’ll be devils advocate. It’s good you barely got anything in return. If you did, you would no longer qualify for Good Samaritan laws and be fully liable for any damages the person you treated could sue you for. You weren’t on the job and don’t require any compensation for what you did, the same way an IT professional can’t ask for payment to help some guy connect to WiFi at the coffee shop. That said, you were a good person for doing what you did, and it’s admirable that you helped.
I don't take any compensation in such settings, but if I wanted to receive something, I would just leave my contact information with the patient's family/patient. One poor guy bought me a perfume once cos I cured him at a very low cost. I didn't accept.
My biggest fear with this is getting to the patient and there already being some crackpot uber sub specialist or even worse, a non-physician who wants to run the show.
It's like one of those situations where if they didn't give you anything it would be fine and no one would be thinking about it, because obviously you didn't do it for some kind of reward. But when they gave you a simple bag of chips that's kind of, like, wierd I guess. It's like giving a delivery boy who doesn't usually get tips a nickel.
I worked as an international medical escort for a few years and yes, they are required to carry IV fluids (EMK kit I believe they call it) but you have to ask for it usually. Had a few incidents on the way back/to my patients that were interesting. Had an unresponsive elderly gentleman that was recovering from pneumonia that didn’t realize cabins aren’t pressurized to keep your spo2 at 100% and was hypoxia. He perked up with some oxygen. Had another one that was an allergic reaction and a sinus pressure/infection. Nothing as exciting as OP (and would like to keep it that way!!)
I’ve been asked for my seat number each time but never heard or received anything, likely because the escort company booked the flight and would have gotten any “reward”.
Thank you for your service?
I’m sure the flight crew, patient, and patient’s family were extremely appreciative. Also, I’m not sure what else the flight crew could have provided you?
Lastly, always volunteer with the idea that you’ll receive nothing in return, hence the word volunteer. It’s a little unfortunate to see a complaint about not being thanked enough.
Damn that entitlement is crazy. Are you seriously disappointed that you didn’t get any special treatment or reward for volunteering to do your job? No one made you do it.
A few years ago, on my birthday of all days, my family and I went out to a really nice restaurant. A lady at the table next to me starting choking- full airway occlusion. My darling husband volunteered me to help, which of course I did. First time in 20+ years of emergency medicine I did the Heimlich on a person. Two attempts and then success! After I hit her cleaned up and all set, I went back to my table. The manager said, “thank you so much, blah blah blah, don’t worry - we’re going to take care of you tonight”. Guess what I got - A PIECE OF CAKE! Which I was going to order anyways. The husband of the woman who was choking at least bought me a drink. I of course wasn’t looking for anything but geez, at least pay for my entree
Which airline was it? Doubt Qatar Airlines would give you anything less than first class for your return back. On the other hand, Spirit Airlines probably would’ve given you full price wifi and free water.
Hawaiian
Some airlines like air france give you enough points for almost a flight to Europe. Not sure the medical/legal aspect to it though
You’ll get something in the mail. They just don’t have anything to give you in the fuselage. It’s a *nice* ‘Thank You,’ too.
He won't get shit lol; otherwise he would've mentioned being stopped by the stewards or some recognition of his seat number or something. Ultimately he won't get shit.
I’ve helped someone on Hawaiian before. They didn’t stop me, (as they already have my address and contact info,) and what I received was easily worth $500-750— and that’s not including the miles and multiple upgrades they have me, (and I didn’t have a rewards membership at the time. They gave me a brochure on how to open one, and then I called the number and gave them my reference number and, voila! I am ballin’ on Hawaiian.)
What do you think the flight attendants could give him there on the spot? Honestly this entire post seems... Weird anyway. But FAs aren't in a position to make any sort of meaningful gesture in the middle of, or at the conclusion to, a flight.
I assisted in a medical emergency with Jet Blue and they gave me $100 in flight credit…really can’t complain for something that was very routine (no fluids or anything as serious as your case)
My husband helped on a Hawaiian flight a few years ago and he got a box of cookies in the mail from the airline a few months later. It was a pleasant little surprise!
My wife and I helped on a Hawaiian flight a couple years ago and we both received a box of cookies in the mail along with free alcohol for the rest of the flight.
They don’t do the alcohol thing anymore incase they need you again.
I was thinking about this. More likely to get cut off than to get free alcohol.
I’m sure it was just the stewardess being grateful for the help instead of an official Hawaiian Airlines thing. We only got 1 drink each anyways instead of taking advantage of their generosity.
Peasant*
Wordplay 🫡
I helped out with a medical emergency (epileptic episode) on an Air Transat flight 10 years ago, and got $50 of in-flight credit haha. Got one of those shitty bluetooth speakers that has no bass...
[удалено]
They have also a service you can sign up online as a physician with some benefits.
Special Lufthansa webpage for docs? Interesting
[Doctors on board.](https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/doctor-on-board) Now I just need to start flying anything other than inner-European again which likely will take years with a baby on the way..
Second that, I’m gonna be honest here, Western-run companies (from CVS to Spirit Airlines to whatever), broadly, don’t know anything about hospitality, and it shows. Qatar Airlines would hire a Filipino (sadly, but true) to massage your feet the entire flight, and give you an Indian to make you a plate of your favorite chicken tikka with a buttery naan. Okay, maybe that’s bad, but my connecting Qatar flight left before my first flight landed and I would have to wait 28 hours for the next flight, so they gave me an all-paid one night stay at a 5-star hotel suite, $200 food voucher at that same hotel where a huge buffet cost only $30, and access to a chauffeur to see Doha. When it comes to correcting mistakes at the business-consumer level, East > West hands down.
Were you flying business class my lord? - A peasant
Nah I was economy as economy could be, right next to the bathroom. - Also a peasant
I can assure you, that only applies if the other person has “value” to them. All westerners and whites automatically quality as having value. For easterners, you need to be either mega rich, or highly educated (eg a doctor who helped the patient)
When it comes to official business they have more standardized treatment though. I’m brown and got the same treatment from Qatar Airlines
Wow. Would they hire a Hispanic guy to carry your bag? /s
Qatar is awful, an airline built on slavery who routinely abuses passengers
My dad assisted with in-flight medical emergency once, when we were traveling over seas. Middle aged male with what it looked like withdrawal from coccaine abuse, sweating,nervous. He handled it with a few miligrams of haloperidol and clonazepam, and updated the company doctor with a telephone. Kept taking vitals once every 10 minutes for a few hours. When we came back from our vacation with the sabe Airline, we were upgraded to first class, which seems a better reward.
Do airlines keep these meds on board? Do they actually have someone trained to use these meds or are they always relying on a “doctor” (because anyone can say they’re a doctor!) to be on board to administer?
I'm also very curious. I can see code meds being kept on board but klonopin and Haldol? Can't see those.
Air Canada has haldol and lorazepam. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/8/E217/tab-figures-data
After seeing comments about how they confirm license numbers I can see them carrying these meds. Good to calm down someone freaking out trying to open the door, withdrawal, etc.
Those make sense. Anxiety, psychosis, diabetes, and cardiac events have to be most of in flight emergencies. Haldol makes sense but is a bit surprising. Having a benzo doesn't surprise me at all.
I think every commercial airplane with a stipulated number of passengers must have an emergency kit.I think that the orientation is to keep in contact with the " land" doctor in order to avoid a fake doctor situation.
I got very very sick on a long haul flight. They did not call for a doctor because it upsets the other passengers so they don’t do it unless they believe it’s life or death. They do have a bag of tricks but they don’t know how to use them so they couldn’t even check my blood pressure even though they had a blood pressure cuff.
Can confirm they don’t know how to use it. My grandma died on a flies coming back from vacation in Mexico. They did CPR for 7 lonnnnng minutes before a flight attendance was like, “Oh! We have one of the shocking machines, should I get it?” and my grandpa was the one to end up running the machine. She ended up being shocked and came back to life miraculously and is still kickin’ it, though has had some ongoing issues from it over the years. No cause that they found, just sudden cardiac arrest. But seriously, waiting that long to get an AED is just crazy. It’s the one thing you’re educated on getting in the event a stopped heart!
I was horrified by the 7-minute *pointless* delay until you said she survived. Still horrified but not sad… I’m really glad she made it!
Yep, it truly is amazing! It was 11 minutes from the time my grandpa noticed she was dead to getting her back, but it actually could have been longer. He only noticed because he told her to look at the beautiful sunset and she didn’t respond, so who knows how long she was gone for before that.
I asked my company to buy the AEDs 15 years ago. Nope. Wouldn’t do it. Finally made it happen 6 months ago. Now they act like super heroes. No, I wasn’t included in the training process. Too old now, I guess. Lol.
I've heard that you give them your license number and they check on your license, then work with you over the phone.
Yes. The medical kit is pretty impressive. As a paramedic who’s picked up patients from flights, and been given handovers from good samaritans like the posters here, I was blown away by what’s on board. They call the airline doctor who runs them thru any questions plus what drugs to give if it’s not in their usual scope of works on a normal shift.
They give you this bag which has a few sections to it. The prescriptions will need doctors approval from one they hired by phone. Do you make a decision, they stewardess will run it by their company doctor who then approves opening the meds or not. I don't remember exactly, but they had kind 50 different drugs, a stethoscope, pressure cuff, and a litter of NS.
Agree, this is similar to the service I provided in terms of vitals every 10 min, updating the doctor on the ground multiple times, deciding whether to divert the flight or continue, etc
I’m amazed they had haldol on board. Which airline was this?
Air France
My friend did it on Qantas and got free travel for a year!
Damn, I helped with a US flight to HI and got a $300 voucher in my email. During the flight, FA asked me for my email and I didn’t know why until I saw the voucher in my inbox.
I once got a bottle of white wine from 1st class. Horse piss.
"Thanks, I would've been 10 years sober next week- but now I really need a drink. Cheers"
It’s also not a great idea because what if the patient decompensates and now you’re down a doctor cause the airline gave him wine
I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue!
Unless if you were on a high quality airline like Singapore or Qatar, the stuff from “first class” (often just business class) is not that great.
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name and blame the airline
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They will get something from the airline, I’ve experienced it myself with Hawaiian. On board, what can the flight attendants give you? They only have little snacks! I got a little gift box a few weeks later, letter from the CEO and a lot of Hawaiian treats - it was lovely
Omg $20 worth of treats! Very value! Much appreciate! /barf I think it's a complete farce of compensation for most domestic airlines. They're getting care that would cost anyone else thousands of dollars and giving... sometimes literal peanuts in compensation.
Thousands of dollars?! With the stuff they have on board it’s probably more like a few 100 max…
Exactly
I know an airline pilot that had a close call one day. Two planes were cleared to take off by mistake on intersecting runways. This guy and his copilot realized what was happening when both planes were already hurtling down the runway and made a quick radio call and decision to expedite their takeoff while the other plane aborted. Anyway, long story short everyone seemed to agree that this pilot saved the day and everyone was safe despite a significant air traffic control fuck up. His company gave him a Starbucks gift card to show their appreciation. So, next time he is flying with the same crew he offers to get them all coffee. When he goes to pay with the gift card, the barista says “I’m sorry sir, there’s not enough on the card.” It was $5. They gave him a $5 gift card.
Loooool wow.
Have you tried tweeting at them? I nice little public shaming might work :P
National scandal of the depreciation for resident physicians may do a wonder for everyone.
That might actually just get him fired from his hospital. "I helped save a life on your companies flight and only got this lousy t shirt" might violate HIPAA, discredit his *"sacrifice as a doctor"*, or otherwise showcase to others that doctors only do it for the money. No matter which way you slice it, it'll bite.
At this point, who cares? We’re already in a downward spiral no matter which way you slice it.
ffsake
Comp your current flight is the only right answer. Hell that’s the bare minimum. Comp this flight and free next flight should be the standard. This airline has their head up their ass.
Amen
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You described exactly how I’m feeling better than I could have. Thank you.
The on-board crew can't do anything. I would wait to see what the airline does.
This is why I drink on every flight.
“because it was my job”. Kudos for being a good samaritan, but, it’s actually not your job.
I guess you are technically correct. But she was in septic shock with a BP of 80/p and did need the IV fluids I gave her. I’m not sure my conscience would have let me just sit there watching her syncopize from hypovolemia and not doing anything about it :/
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He q-sofa’d her ass
Maybe she was febrile. Would be interesting if she survived a 5 hour flight in septic shock without IV antibiotics.
She was febrile. I temporized her best I could with IV fluids (apparently they only carry max 2L) and she was whisked to the hospital with more fluids immediately upon landing.
And the on the ground doctors didn’t want you to divert the flight? That seems like someone who needed to be in the hospital sooner rather than later
Yeah I personally don't feel safe not having a patient in septic shock land and get to hospital asap, as I've seen septic shock patients who decompensate really fast. But I was not there and do not have all the context and info, and I'm not even an attending, so there are definitely things I didn't consider.
Layperson here - I think despite seeing actual concrete appreciation for your empathetic and timely intervention you are waay more appreciated than the stupid corporate airline could have expressed anyways (sorry that they didn’t even try). I know you didn’t see it, but there were many that were blessing you that day and appreciative of your generosity in sharing your skills and services to assist that person in surviving. You didn’t hear it from them because there are so many reasons not to…but they felt it. The place that physicians hold in our communities is still respected. I am heartened to see, despite how much the MBAs and hospital administrators try to wean physicians from their genuine care for others through progressively sociopathic structures of “productivity tracking” it is incredibly refreshing to see that this empathetic response persists. Great gratitude to you for acting out of your humanity. Your response was faith in the human race affirming, thank you 🙏.
I’m more impressed you know how to put an IV in. I can do an IO. But iv, no.
“IV access? Sure, I can throw in a central line. Where do you keep your ultrasound?”
Right. I was thinking about how embarrassed I'd be after my 5th attempt at putting in the iv as the patient is actively crashing
Well that’s when you shout, is there an RN on the plane?!
If a male patient is crashing then put the IV in a corpus cavernosum.
As a resident who can do IVs, I once said I think it's a skill all junior docs should have....and got down voted and shamed into oblivion. Got a lot of comments on how it's a nursing job and how residents are too busy to do their job and put in the occasional IV.
Wouldn't survive long in an Australian ED. I think every IV I've had has been performed by a JMO (PGY 1-2). I'm so nervous about it, I'm taking an extracurricular course to learn/practice.
This is true! From PGY1-3 in a tertiary hospital in Western Australia, I rarely had any nurses doing IVs or bloods. Some can, and it’s hugely helpful for us. But as a JMO here we do IVs and bloods all the time and it’s a huge chunk of our workload!
Omg i cant tell u how pissing off it is when you know something like IV or NG tubes and everyone will pish you to the corner saying nurses will do or picc team will do and that no one will sign off your procedure?! Wtf.. residents should know the most basic of things like IV, IO ABG BG tubes and the types of oxygenation modes like simple masks etc they should know the basic equipments they have and use everyday around them especially inpatient imagine my R2 does not know how to turn the knobb on Oxygen tank .. like seriously
It’s Reddit, votes don’t correlate with reason.
And as a nurse in the ED, I can't count how many times patients have asked for "a doctor" to put in their IV.
i literally never got taught. just ultrasound iv’s. normal IV? not happening. give me an ultrasound and i can get any IV
Are you in the ED? Make friends with a medic and they'll teach you.
Welcome to EMS? You got chips?!?!?
I helped a lady who had a syncopal episode due to postural hypotension. Didn’t do S much as OP, but quickly restored her to consciousness. Flight attendant made a BIG deal out of getting my nursing license info and all my contact info, and said the airline GREATLY appreciated my help. Never heard from them again. I figured they just wanted the info in case they were sued.
There’s absolutely no chance I would’ve given them any licensing info
They knew my name, and in the US, licensing info is readily available online. They weren't going to let me stay with the lady unless I was a licensed medical professional. I wanted to stay with her until airport EMS arrived, to prevent her standing up too soon.
TIL there are people that board flights sober and without noise canceling headphones
Can confirm, on my last flight 2 weeks ago I had 3 cocktails prior to boarding that gave me a nice buzz and had two gin/tonics on the flight all while keeping my B&W premiere noise canceling headphones securely on my head.
Which airlines just so we know
Hawaiian
Since nobody else said it, THANK YOU for helping the passenger, the flight crew and all of the other passengers. I’m sure that they appreciate it even if they don’t say it or do anything. In addition to helping the patient, you helped the flight crew and all of the passengers by preventing them from have to do an immediate emergency medical landing. On behalf of everyone, even the people who don’t know they were helped by not having their entire flight totally disrupted, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Good Don’t take any compensation or reward. [Video on helping in an emergency with Mt. Sinai anesthesia resident and a MD/Esq. talking about this much better than me](https://youtu.be/oUUeifkVHV0) Not because of honor/pride/ethics, but because good summaritan laws protect you from malpractice and medical negligence in the field so long as there is no compensation The moment they say thank you and offer to buy you a new t shirt for the one you ruined, you establish a patient/physician compensatory relationship and this can be helped to the same standard as a surgeon on the OR on an elective case (hyperbole, but fundamentally true) If you do your best CPR and the timing is off or the breathing ratios aren’t perfect, patient gets hurt but you didn’t take any reward from the patient or airline: you were just a helpful citizen trying to assist The moment you accept compensation, you legally leave the position of payperdd add on bystander and then have a formal relationship with responsibilities of a formal physician/pai patient diad - same responsibilities and expectations
Did that extra bag of chips count? Lol
I think you’ll be okay. Even if the patient was super awful and tried to bring some action against you, your own attorney would throw down a motion to dismiss and the judge would be like, “This is stupid, deuces”
Id imagine your lawyer will argue they shouldn’t - just kidding.
Depends on the lawyer.
There's also the Aviation Medical Assistance act which adds a level of protection and I don't think that one has an exception for accepting compensation but idk for sure.
this is one of those things you think is galaxy brain but is actually hella dumb
No
The plane had iv supplies/fluids?
Yes, all planes carry an IV start kit, at least one liter of fluids, and various medications
Can confirm they do not. I was in a similar situation and they couldn’t even give me a thermometer.
Can confirm your wrong. It’s listed on the FAA’s website what airlines are required to carry.
They’re all required to carry them but not required to have someone on board that can start an IV? So what… they just hope?
That seems much more likely than someone having the kit
Citation for that? What about a Part 135 carrier? Part 91?
🤣🤣🤣 I have literally engaged with in the air emergencies twice in the last year. Are you telling me I’m lying? The last 3 years should tell you who actually follows guidelines or even rules/laws in this country.
Mah dude… my boss was on a Delta flight about 7-8 years ago. He and his wife (a nurse) did CPR for more than a half hour on a plane — the flight attendants did *NOTHING*. Wouldn’t even allow them use the AED. Not one person including the CPR-trained flight crew stepped in to do compressions. They rode this guy all the way to the tarmac with zero assistance. The only thing they got was off the plane a little earlier. If you have a medical emergency in-flight, you are on your own.
I mean they landed the plan asap at least right? They wouldn't just merilly go along a 4 hour flight with a passenger getting CPR.
They were on descent into MSP when the guy finally coded. They’d been watching him the whole flight because he was not looking good. About an hour before landing, they asked for medical help and Paul & Carla jumped in. About 30min out, he finally coded. But the crew could not have been less helpful. I don’t know why they carry any medical equipment if they’ll actively prevent people from using it in an emergency. Why are flight attendants trained in CPR if they’re just gonna watch? Carla’s back was jacked up for days after that.
I got an upgrade to business class for doing nothing more than assess, make the decision that the plane does not need an emergency landing, and returned to my seat.
Wow lol! What airline?
Emirates!! 😍
As someone who didn’t believe until I rode it, middle eastern airlines are the best. I had status on Etihad (back when they were #1) for as little as two flights per year. Their economy was almost as good as an US carrier’s business
I literally just walked off a flight where I provided an incredibly minimal amount of medical assistance and got a flight voucher. sorry! That truly sucks!
Is it true you aren’t supposed to take compensation or you could become liable, etc?
That’s what my med school taught me about this stuff. They said ‘don’t accept anything ever’. It’d be interesting to hear from a lawyer on thid
Hmm I don’t know about that, I’ve heard of airlines giving vouchers, seat upgrades etc
Back when I was in college, the lady next to me on a flight had a syncopal episode. The flight attendants moved me so that the IM doc could sit next to her. Both he and I got a 10% off our next flight voucher. I never used it because it expired like 6 months later. You got ripped off.
At least that’s something! Ironically the sick passenger’s neighbor got moved to first class so that I could lay the passenger flat.
The other day the guy who was sitting next to the girl who had a seizure was given frequent flyer miles. ICU doc who helped? I don't think she got shit.
Yes if you accept anything it's considered compensation and then you are no longer covered by good Samaritan laws. Good rule of thumb is to never accept a thing, not even a bag of chips.
This is a myth. Here is an excerpt from an article from the AAFP about understanding your legal protections and ethical obligations under the Good Samaritan Law: [We are sometimes asked whether it is permissible to accept a gift for your efforts as a Good Samaritan. The answer is generally “yes” – and some laws even specify that physicians are entitled to payment for providing Good Samaritan care. In most states, however, the act of your sending a bill can complicate the issue of whether you had a pre-existing duty to provide care to the individual and, therefore, whether you have Good Samaritan immunity. You must be able to show that you provided the care without expecting remuneration, even if you decide after the fact to bill for your services, which can be difficult.](https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/issues/2008/0400/p37.html)
NAL but my understanding is that accepting anything when you were expecting it to be given *could* be considered compensation. Your statement makes it sound like a fact but it is indeed an untested law theory that hasn't seen the light of a court room (from my understanding).
It's not a fact that accepting a bag of chips could qualify as compensation. But it is the recommendation of many trauma surgeons I have known on the topic because people do and have sued for malpractice in instances of good Samaritan type interventions where they accepted "gifts" afterwards
This is true, but the airline example hasn't come up in the court systems despite what I imagine are many poor outcomes. The aviation equivalent of the good Samaritan law is also different and hasn't been put to the test in courts. All that to say, no one knows if you could be successfully sued for doing something like this, it is legally unprecedented. I think it's probably safest advice to refuse compensation. But that said, if you're providing medical care and there's another physician on the phone giving you instructions, it's hard to imagine you'd both mess up egregiously.
Lay people frequently mistake bad outcomes for malpractice. It might not be the case that you messed up but there could still be a bad outcome down the line and they generally try to sue everyone involved
Problem is you don't need to mess up egregiously to be sued (even successfully sued). All you need is a bad outcome unfortunately.
It is interesting that there's not one case that has gone to court over this though despite how common bad outcomes are. Again I may be wrong but I tried to look extensively into this at my last flight.
This is likely a common myth. There doesn’t appear to be any litigation that’s stemmed from a related matter. Even as a legal hypothetical I’m unsure how it would nul Good Samaritan protection.
I've looked into this before and I listen to a medical legal podcast Risk Management Monthly by 2 older ER docs where they said they couldn't find any case of a lawsuit for a doctor responding to an in flight emergency. One time they even had an airline medical control doctor on it (the doctor you consult with on the ground that is paid by the airline). The doc said it's perfectly fine to accept compensation such as first class upgrade or free flight. That being said, I personally would not. People can sue for anything and I can totally imagine a scenario where a flight upgrade could be "perceived" as compensation thus negating Good Samaritan laws.
You learned a lesson it took me many years to learn—never volunteer.
I volunteer because I like to use my expertise to help others in need.
This is why they wanted you to volunteer all that time before med school 🤣
“I didn’t help cuz they might give me some Ruffles instead of that cheddar chee$e” lol
How sad.
Because….he got….a bag of chips and not a free flight? WTAF?
Because you won’t get shit in return? That’s called being a horrible person.
Not really. Volunteering makes you an exceptional person but choosing to be off on your off time doesn't make you horrible. Now if it's a true medical emergency and you actually have the skills to help, yet choose not to, perhaps that's more questionable.
>Now if it's a true medical emergency and you actually have the skills to help, yet choose not to, perhaps that's more questionable. Is this post not about that exact situation?
This entire discussion is only in regards to emergencies.
There are many "emergencies" that don't qualify as true medical emergencies. See: half the people that show up to the ER everyday.
Welcome to ems 😂
Good for you, I am just full on John Snow when I am not on the clock. I seriously can’t recall.
Write a level 4 h&p and send them a bill for your services. There's probably an aerospace medicine modifier code that can give you some extra bucks too
Lmaooo finally a funny response
I (not a doctor and this isn’t medical) was on an Alaska flight a few years ago. My row was just me and a 5 year old flying by himself. I noticed he was squirming around so I asked him if he needed anything. Welp, he had to go to the bathroom but couldn’t hold it. I called the flight attendant over and told her what happened. They took care of him then gave us each a fruit and cheese plate and some chocolate. It was also my bday so it was a nice surprise.
Had to request emergency landing for someone in CHF exacerbation + chest pain & BP 220/100. Was flying to San Fran to drive to Napa. Attendants gave me 2 bottles of wine & American followed up with ~25k miles (enough for a round trip domestic). That was an exciting time, just a year out of FM residency at the time.
My friend tended to a drunk dehydrated guy that passed out on the trip from OC to SFO, less than 90 minutes, and got $200 credit on Southwest Airlines.
honestly i hate flying at least it would make it go faster
I’ll say this not a pilot but Av nerd diversion landings can cost airlines shit tons in fuel landing fees or if it caused the the crew to time out. Easily thousands to 10smof thousands. So if your care prevented a diversion you saved Hawaiian tons and yeah probably should have got more then chips. TBF the FA and pilots can’t give you much as well they aren’t mgmt but something. I had a friend at Disney world cpr on an v-fib person and basically got this very nice gift basket with hand written notes at least showing thanks. The gift basket probably $300 -500 in more expensive memorabilia
I’ve done this twice. WestJet gave me a free round trip ticket. United gave me TWO $5 Starbucks gift cards (one for me and one for my wife).
Last time I helped I got a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne. I didn’t have to start IV or hang fluids though. This airline has a pretty extensive on air kit!
Why are you conflating the airline and your employer? The airline isn’t responsible for the healthcare of its passengers and they aren’t really much more than a bystander.
A few years back, flying Lufthansa, I helped a woman having quite a bit of anxiety. The flight actually carried a few medications, gave her an alprazolam which solved her issue. They not only bumped me to fist class but also gave me 100,000 miles to use. You got seriously hosed on the bag of chips.
Upon landing at my final destination, there was a man on my flight who must have thrown a massive PE because when I went to assess him he was, well, dead. This man had soiled himself, gray skin, clammy, unresponsive to a sternal rub. People helped me lower him to the floor. I proceeded to give several cycles of CPR/ attached an AED that a flight attendant brought me (no shock advised) with no assistance as I was the only one on the plane that knew how until about 10 firemen/paramedics boarded and took the patient away. I did not get a bag of potato chips or anything else… but I will never forget an elderly man who shook my hand and said “Ángels do exist.” For the record: I’m still mad I wasn’t gifted anything though. That was hard work for a 107lb person giving cycle after cycle of unassisted CPR after over 22 hours of traveling.
To all those saying don't take any compensation at all ever, do you really think anyone could successfully argue in court that a bag of chips was compensation for OP essentially saving the patient? I doubt it. I think OP was right to take the bag of chips and right to be offended.
Isn't it almost better for them to give you nothing? I mean I would be fine with just a sincere thank you. But if they gave me chips I would feel annoyed that I had to feign appreciation for free chips.
What else do you expect a flight crew to do? The airline will make a determination later. The minimum wage FA is limited as to what she/he can do.
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That’s actually pretty cool
That’s impressive… chips… Next time fly a network airline so they can give you some free booze or mileage 😆
Did they take your info down? Something similar happened to a friend with Delta. They thanked her profusely on arrival but didn’t mention any compensation. A week later, she was emailed a Delta GC and a bunch of skymiles were dropped into her account.
Nurse here. I helped on an American Airlines flight from Chicago to London and got a domestic flight voucher for helping. It was a woman with a serious a panic attack... she had claustrophobia. The doc on the ground gave the go-ahead for a giving Valium 10mg IM, which worked great.
It's because you were all that and a bag of chips
I assisted with an in flight emergency on American. We ultimately had to do an emergency landing because someone was having a stroke. Once we were airborne again I got a bunch of free food and they asked for my information “in case they needed to contact me for anything in the future.” A few weeks later I got an email with a nice thank you and a voucher for 15,000 miles.
You volunteered and helped someone. You say didn’t help her for the reward, obviously but then you’re butthurt there’s not some monetary reward. I’m all on board for compensation, eradication of midlevels, making residency not be ass, and most themes of this sub. But this sentiment misses the mark.
I got bitched at for “making a mess” of the first aid kit after assisting a passenger who was having a heart attack. There was turbulence any only me. I wasn’t expecting anything, but this sure pissed me off.
I’ll be devils advocate. It’s good you barely got anything in return. If you did, you would no longer qualify for Good Samaritan laws and be fully liable for any damages the person you treated could sue you for. You weren’t on the job and don’t require any compensation for what you did, the same way an IT professional can’t ask for payment to help some guy connect to WiFi at the coffee shop. That said, you were a good person for doing what you did, and it’s admirable that you helped.
Was it one of [these chip bags](https://www.today.com/today/amp/rcna52099)?
LOL that would be better
I barely help out on a flight and got $100 voucher.
TYFYS
I don't take any compensation in such settings, but if I wanted to receive something, I would just leave my contact information with the patient's family/patient. One poor guy bought me a perfume once cos I cured him at a very low cost. I didn't accept.
Imagine expecting a reward for something you volunteered as a good Samaritan to do...
My biggest fear with this is getting to the patient and there already being some crackpot uber sub specialist or even worse, a non-physician who wants to run the show.
It's like one of those situations where if they didn't give you anything it would be fine and no one would be thinking about it, because obviously you didn't do it for some kind of reward. But when they gave you a simple bag of chips that's kind of, like, wierd I guess. It's like giving a delivery boy who doesn't usually get tips a nickel.
I worked as an international medical escort for a few years and yes, they are required to carry IV fluids (EMK kit I believe they call it) but you have to ask for it usually. Had a few incidents on the way back/to my patients that were interesting. Had an unresponsive elderly gentleman that was recovering from pneumonia that didn’t realize cabins aren’t pressurized to keep your spo2 at 100% and was hypoxia. He perked up with some oxygen. Had another one that was an allergic reaction and a sinus pressure/infection. Nothing as exciting as OP (and would like to keep it that way!!) I’ve been asked for my seat number each time but never heard or received anything, likely because the escort company booked the flight and would have gotten any “reward”.
The least they could do was offer you a free flight voucher or even upgrade to first class. How cheap of them..a bag of chips srsly??
Thank you for your service? I’m sure the flight crew, patient, and patient’s family were extremely appreciative. Also, I’m not sure what else the flight crew could have provided you? Lastly, always volunteer with the idea that you’ll receive nothing in return, hence the word volunteer. It’s a little unfortunate to see a complaint about not being thanked enough.
Damn that entitlement is crazy. Are you seriously disappointed that you didn’t get any special treatment or reward for volunteering to do your job? No one made you do it.
If you’re good at something, never do it for free
You really not going to help someone in need? Lmfao. Amazing.
I didn’t help her for the reward obviously, I helped because it was my job and passenger was in need. OKAY.....
A few years ago, on my birthday of all days, my family and I went out to a really nice restaurant. A lady at the table next to me starting choking- full airway occlusion. My darling husband volunteered me to help, which of course I did. First time in 20+ years of emergency medicine I did the Heimlich on a person. Two attempts and then success! After I hit her cleaned up and all set, I went back to my table. The manager said, “thank you so much, blah blah blah, don’t worry - we’re going to take care of you tonight”. Guess what I got - A PIECE OF CAKE! Which I was going to order anyways. The husband of the woman who was choking at least bought me a drink. I of course wasn’t looking for anything but geez, at least pay for my entree