Not all medicine is practiced in a hospital because medical emergencies can happen anywhere, even on an airplane at 30,000 feet. When it does, those present will seek the assistance of a physician to help the individual in need. Unfortunately, many physicians are untrained to manage emergencies under austere conditions.
Medical professionals are trained to assist patients in need. As a result, they are more familiar with providing care in an office or hospital, where they have access to clinical colleagues and tools that can be used to assist them. In a medical emergency, every second counts, so clinicians need to know what medical supplies and equipment will be available.
Recently, 25 emergency medicine residents from Reading Hospital, five medical students from Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health, and members of the Residency Core Faculty partnered with United Airlines for hands-on simulation training aboard an aircraft.
Patrick Boyle, DO, Chief Resident in his third-year of emergency medicine residency, shared that he was impressed by the amount of medical equipment, supplies, and medication carried on a flight. “I appreciated seeing the crew's process during a medical emergency,” he shared. “It allowed me to see how I could best assist.”
The training included five simulation stations:
- Pediatric allergic reaction
- Cardiac arrest
- Diabetic emergency
- Heart arrhythmia
- Familiarization with aircraft equipment and tools
“We wanted to create real-life scenarios in a real-life aircraft for inflight medical emergencies, and United was willing to partner with us to make this happen,” said Dr. Adam Sigal, associate program director and research director of the Reading Hospital Emergency Medicine Residency Program.
Coordinating this training with United Airlines was Sigal's passion project. One of the core components of emergency medicine training is “Wilderness and Austere Medicine.” This area of study focuses on how to provide care in areas outside of the clinical setting where one won’t have access to all medical resources, such as a shopping mall, restaurant, park, or in this case - an airplane.
As an educator, Dr. Sigal seeks to provide opportunities that strengthen his residents' and medical students' skills while challenging them to think quickly and outside the box.
“For example, we discussed the importance of crowdsourcing in a medical emergency,” he said. “We talked about items they could ask bystanders to help locate such as a smartwatch to monitor a patient’s heart rhythm or a glucose reader to check blood sugar.”
Both parties agreed that the training was mutually beneficial.
“We had a fantastic opportunity to connect with medical experts from the United medical team and dedicated licensed professionals who volunteered their time,” added Inflight AQP IES Otavio Guimaraes. “We gained valuable insights into the decision-making process regarding our customers' health and safety. It was truly an eye-opening experience!”
“What an excellent opportunity to get insight into how an emergency medical professional would respond in our environment,” said Inflight AQP IES Shawn Kennedy. “It was inspiring to see how similar our medical kits aligned with the kits and resources they are familiar with.”
Because the training was successful and instilled confidence in the students, the Reading Hospital Emergency Medicine Residency and United Airlines are considering how to continue this unique partnership in the future, helping to ensure a safe and smooth landing for everyone aboard the aircraft.
“I am grateful United Airlines and our residency program coordinated this learning opportunity for us,” said Dr. Boyle. “To my knowledge, not many (if any) residency programs have done this. Just another benefit of being at Tower Health.”