Is There a Doctor On the Plane?

What is it that doctors worry about when they’re flying? It’s not fear of flying. They know that travelling by air is safer than driving a car. Rather, it’s the possibility that they will hear a sudden announcement, “Is there a doctor on the plane?” This is when the brain shifts into high gear. Every time it happens to me, it reminds me of my days of internship at the Montreal General Hospital. Interns took turns riding in the ambulance on emergency calls. We never knew what we might encounter. But at least our feet were on terra firma, and we knew that on returning to the hospital specific expertise would be available.