Doctoring in a plane

Hi Everyone!

I am on my way to a much-needed vacation. I shall be visiting my family in sunny Panama (Central America, not Florida). It's been snowing over here. As I have done these past few times I have flown, I have been reading on dealing with medical emergencies on a flight. Have you ever heard the announcement overhead while in flight: "is there a doctor on board?" As a resident, I have wondered how one might prepare for this announcement and whatever follows. I have found four excellent articles. They cover the legal aspects, the most common emergencies one is likely to encounter and what kind of support in terms of personnel, their training and equipment you might have access to. For now, though, I decided to travel with my sphygmomanometer and stethoscope in my hand luggage...

Here are links to the articles:

1. NEJM Article: Responding to medical events during commerical flights. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/346/14/1067.pdf?ck=nck
2. BMJ ARticle: Is there a doctor on the aircraft? http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/321/7272/1336?ck=nck
3. EMJ Article: Emergencies in the air. http://emj.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/22/9/658
4. BMJ Article: Inflight medical emergencies: An Overview. http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7272/1338