OhioHealth Residents Train for In-Flight Emergencies

OhioHealth and Nationwide Children’s Hospital residents are taking their skills to new heights. These residents had the unique opportunity to participate in simulated emergency medicine scenarios, late at night, aboard a plane near the runways of John Glenn International Airport. 

“Emergency medicine is all about being adaptive and being able to think in situations where we might not always have the resources that we think we do," said Meenal Sharkey, MD, Assistant Program Director of Emergency Medicine at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital. "So, this is just a prime example of translating our skillset from the hospital into a different situation.” 

Because you never know when a true emergency might strike. These training exercises gave residents a realistic taste of the challenges they could face during in-flight emergencies, while honing skills that will help them in the walls of more traditional spots for care. 

“I feel like it makes it real life. It’s really important to learn this stuff in a lecture format, but I don’t feel like, unless you’re doing it in real life and experiencing that, you’re actually ready," said Hajirah Ishaq, DO, an Emergency Medicine Resident at Doctors Hospital.

They were presented with several patient cases, from a heart attack to a young person experiencing an allergic emergency, allowing residents to explore what works best in real-life scenarios. 

“It helps our learners get a different feel of, you know, something that they would like to do versus what somebody else would like to do. So, it makes their toolbox that much bigger by having that many more perspectives available to them," said Dr. Sharkey.  

The program, met enthusiastically by the learners. 

“Any sort of learning that doesn’t happen in the classroom is always going to be felt with more joy, I think to a learner. Just because they’re being able to move and hands on get some learning experience rather than just reading something out of a textbook," explained Dr. Sharkey. 

And putting it together was no small feat. 

“For a whole year this has been a lot of work to actually make this day happen," said Dr. Ishaq. 

“The staff was amazing. They were just very helpful and very supportive of our decision to do this and very accommodating," said Dr. Sharkey. 

They are grateful to everyone who helped make this experience a reality. 

“I’m really happy that I chose OhioHealth specifically, because I feel like I’ve been very supported, not just by my program, but the hospital itself coming all the way from top leadership," Dr. Ishaq shared.

“It just speaks volumes to how much importance is placed on education," said Dr. Sharkey.