Flight attendants are far more likely today to handle in-flight medical emergencies (IFMEs) than to conduct an evacuation, fight an in-flight fire or experience other cabin safety events that require specialized training, says Helen Zienkievicz, president of Health Leaders Promoting Safety, cardiac critical care and hospice nurse practitioner, and former manager of in-flight safety for United Airlines.
Even so — based on admittedly sparse data and research findings — real-world experience among cabin crewmembers in handling an IFME tends to be rare to non-existent, she told one of the April cabin safety sessions at the World Aviation Training Conference and Tradeshow (WATS 2013) in Orlando, Florida, U.S.
The quality of “pre-event” training and “post-event” support deserve thoughtful, thorough anticipation by airlines, Zienkievicz said. Especially in cases when an IFME has an unfavorable outcome, including the death of a passenger or colleague, the cabin crewmembers involv…
