D@mn, it's good to be a doctor
First class deliverySo you are on a plane and a woman goes into labor. Normally that wouldn't be your problem, except that you are a doctor, which does make it your problem. Even if you are out of your specialty, you probably know more about OB than anyone else unless an OB nurse happens to be there.
Which is why a pediatric cardiologist (Dr. Robert Vincent) and an adult cardiologist (Dr. Dieter K. Gunkel) delivered a baby on a plane. The peds guy almost certainly had more experience with L and D than the adult guy did. Still, judging by their titles and photos of pediatrics guy, it had probably been a good 5-10 years since either of them had delivered a baby in a hospital - let alone a mile above the ground in the first class row.
Having done an OB rotation more recently than either of them, it must have been rough. Especially with the baby going all bradycardic (thank goodness they were cardiologists and were able to HEAR the baby's heartbeat slowing in whatever crappy stethoscope kept in the air emergency kit) Maybe they'd have had their own stethoscopes . . . wait, they were probably attendings and wouldn't carry that.
That being said, I bet Delta will be instituting a new pregnancy policy because its not that often you have docs on international flights. Good thing that there was that cardiology conference last week in Europe, I'd bet.
Maybe they'll start offering reduced prices for flights now if you flash that MD. I can only hope.
Labels: airplane, delivery, Delta, Dieter Gunkel, doctors, emergency, Robert Vincent
posted by Allie @ 5:52 AM
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