Have you ever been watching a plane scene in a movie or television show where someone asks if there’s a doctor on board?
One doctor recently got rather tipsy on a long-haul international flight, so when someone asked if a doctor was on board, he didn’t say anything, upsetting the person next to him.
He’s a doctor in his mid-30s and works in internal medicine at a major hospital. Recently, he was on a long-haul international flight and decided to stay awake for most of it, enjoying the flight’s amenities. One of those amenities was a variety of free drinks.
“I had already been drinking even before the flight while I was in the lounge,” he said.
“I was not slurring or excessively drunk, but I was feeling a strong buzz. Usually, I don’t chat with my co-passengers; I just sleep or do my own thing. On this flight, the configuration of the business class cabin was such that the passengers in the middle row were practically just beside each other.”
Because he was drunk and feeling chatty, he decided to speak to the person beside him, as there wasn’t much of a divide between them. It was a woman in her 30s, and they had a friendly conversation. She asked him what he does, and he mentioned that he is a doctor.
During the flight, he continued watching movies and drinking when suddenly, there was an announcement from the flight crew asking all passengers if a doctor was on board.
“Normally, I would present myself to the cabin crew and help out, but after several hours of on-flight boozing, I was pretty drunk,” he recalled.
“I was not able to think clearly and probably would have done more harm than good in such a situation. I didn’t react to the announcement at all. I continued watching my movie and drinking my drink. My co-passenger tapped me and said they [had] just announced they [needed] a doctor. I replied that someone else would help or they would get instructions from the medical team on the ground.”
The woman beside him kept trying to convince him to get up and help, but he refused. She then told him he was unbelievable and that if the passenger needing assistance died, it would be his fault.
He told the woman that just because he’s a doctor doesn’t mean he’s on-call 24/7 to help people medically. He said that, like everyone else, when he’s outside of the hospital, he’s allowed to relax and have a few drinks.
No other announcements were made about the passenger who needed help, so he assumed all went well, and someone else stepped in. After getting off the flight, the woman beside him called him a mean name one last time.
“Doctors get to enjoy life too,” he added.
“I can’t stay sober on every flight just in case there’s an emergency.”
Was he wrong not to try to help the flight crew, or did he do the right thing?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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