Is there a nurse on the plane?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in CCU, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Tele.

Nurses, have you ever had to handle or help out in an In-flight emergency? Please share your story and the details of what took place.

This blog post about doctors on planes was what sparked me to ask for nurses experiences.

There is a NY Times blog post called: Is There a Doctor on the Plane?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

One time when my family was on a trans-Atlantic flight, the crew paged for a doctor and my dad (MD) and mom (RN) both responded. A passenger had passed out and regained consciousness, but did not speak enough English to communicate with my dad and answer his questions. It was my mom who thought to check the person's passport to determine what sort of translator they needed :yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I've shared this before, an acquaintance, soon after she obtained an RN license, was flying across the country. Inflight, a man had cardiac problems and they called for medical personnel. My friend responded. She said all she had to do was to give him oxygen, they stopped at the next airport and he was taken to a hospital. She was quite proud of herself.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER/ICU/Flight.

One of the nurses I work with just came back from a vacation and a lady on the plane suffered a cardiac arrest. Apparently, the plane had a defib, IV supplies, O2, ACLS meds, etc...

I had no idea and neither did she, but she worked the code with another nurse and an EMT. They successfully resuscitated the lady and made an emergency stop to offload her. Pretty crazy story and her cell phone has been ringing off the hook from people calling to thank her. Still waiting on the airline to call and apologize for losing her luggage!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

First time I ever took my GF flying they asked for medical personnel. It was this persons lucky day. 2 nurses, 1 paramedic and a trauma surgeon were on board. I kinda hung out with the doc in the back with the pt and when we determined it wasnt emergent, we landed at our destination and unloaded them with the help of the local FD. Was kind of cool feeling knowing I could help.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED, ICU, Education.

Not while on a plane, but while I was walking through an airport once, I witnessed two people fall about 100 feet from each other, and 15 minutes apart.

The first was a middle aged woman who had a syncopal episode. She just kind of toppled over while walking off the moving sidewalk and made a dramatic screech. People ran over and encircled her, but no one knew what to do.

I made my way through the circle, and by this time the woman was awake, A/O. She was tearful and stated that she had just lost her mother and hadn't eaten all day. I did a quick neuro exam, checked her pulse, made her sit up against the wall, and ran to get her an $8 orange juice.

She began to drink, thanked me, then managed to walk over to the food court with her family.

As I started on my way across the food court, ANOTHER lady (this one was much older), slipped and fell. SHe didn't speak english so I tried my best to communicate with her. This time, I was concerned for a hip fx. so I found security and had them call EMS. I stayed with her another 30 minutes, supporting her head and holding her hand on the floor of a busy airport until they arrived.

:nurse:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I was still a pilot for an airline (before becoming a nurse) I had a passenger on a flight become unresponsive. I asked one of the flight attendents to ask for medical personnel on board to assist, and report back to me what was going on. A few minutes later, she called me back and said 2 RN's had responded...one was an ER nurse and the other was a cardiac nurse. The passenger had regained consciousness, but they decided to lay the passenger down in the galley and open up the EMK, start an IV, and get the defib ready just in case. We diverted to a close airport, landed, and the passenger did just fine. That was the only time I landed an airplane with 3 passengers sitting on the floor of the galley, rather than buckled up in their seats. I was really happy to have the RN's aboard.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Am I the only one reading the comments on the doctor article and getting annoyed at all of doctors whining because they didn't get a free ticket or compensation? Yes it would be nice, but should not be expected.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatric, Hospice.

Not to derail the thread but this has me curious; what is the protocol for giving meds like that if there aren't say, any paramedics? How does it work?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In my opinion there should always be a doctor or a nurse on every plane, especially during the long flights,Us-Europe, US-Asia etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
One time when my family was on a trans-Atlantic flight, the crew paged for a doctor and my dad (MD) and mom (RN) both responded. A passenger had passed out and regained consciousness, but did not speak enough English to communicate with my dad and answer his questions. It was my mom who thought to check the person's passport to determine what sort of translator they needed :yeah:

Wow, awesome!! Smart move!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Not to derail the thread but this has me curious; what is the protocol for giving meds like that if there aren't say, any paramedics? How does it work?

Or if you are outside your state that you are licensed in?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment