ANESTHETIST

PILOT

Highly safety conscious

Highly safety conscious

Pre-op patient assessment

Pre-flight assessment - e.g. weather, visibility

Anesthetic plan and alternate plans

Making flight plan - e.g. route, airport, alternate plans, fuel

Checks patient documents e.g. confirming identity

Checks aircraft documents

Checks anesthetic machine maintenance logbook - e.g. for recent service / checks

Checks maintenance logbook - e.g. for defects repaired

Anesthetic machine checklist, ancillary equipment check (e.g. laryngoscopes), emergency drugs, defib, etc.

"Walk around the aircraft inspection" and pre-flight checklist

Calculation of induction doses based on patients weight , physiological status etc

Calculation of take off speeds (based on data such as runway, wind, temperature, weight etc

Pre-start briefing - Making clear to assistants about peri induction plans e.g. airway , lines, epidural , etc

Pre-start briefing - Making clear to other crew about take off and departure plans.

Checking if surgeon is present before starting induction

Permission from control tower to start engines

ANESTHETIST

PILOT

Induction phase of anesthesia

Take off and Climb phase of flight

Failed intubation drill

Predefined plans if take off fails / abnormal

Maintenance phase of anesthesia

Cruise phase of flight

Depth of anesthesia

Altitude

Short and long operations (lots of activity Vs simply monitoring)

Short and long haul flights (lots of activity Vs simply monitoring)

Hours of boredom and minutes of terror

Hours of boredom and minutes of terror

Systematically scans patient systems

Systematically scans aircraft systems

May have to cope with poor physiology

May have to cope with poor weather

Monitor patient temperature

Monitor aircraft temperature

Fluid management

Fuel management (e.g. monitoring fuel consumption, moving fuel from one tank to another)

Hot air warmers to warm patient

Hot air warmers heat part of wings and engine to prevent ice formation. Control of cabin temperature for passenger comfort.

Use of protocols for emergencies e.g. anaphylaxis drill

Use of protocols for emergencies e.g. engine fire drill

Adds fresh gas flow to replenish breathing system gases

Adds fresh gas flow (sucked from atmosphere by the engines)  to replenish cabin gases.

Re-circulates part of breathing system gases to save fresh gas flow, to conserve heat and moisture and to save money (less wastage of anaesthetic agent).

Re-circulates part of cabin air to save fresh gas flow (the engine consumes extra fuel to provide it), to conserve heat and moisture and to save money.

Uses filters to clean patient gases

Uses filters to clean cabin air

Uses adjustable pressure limiting valves to exhaust breathing system gases.

Uses adjustable pressure limiting valves to exhaust cabin air.

ANESTHETIST

PILOT

Extensive use of alarms

Extensive use of alarms

Lightening and waking patient up

Descent and landing

Rapid turn around between patients.

Rapid turn around between flights.

Using patient trolley brakes important for safely transferring patients onto and off operating table.

Using parking brakes important for safely transferring passengers into and out of aircraft.

Trend records / anesthetic chart / central data backup

Black Box recording

Old anesthetic machines had lots of individual dials/ displays. New anesthetic machines have electronic flat displays showing multiple systems on a few screens.

Old aircraft had lots of individual dials/displays. New aircraft have electronic flat displays showing multiple systems on a few screens.

Use simulators for training

Use simulators for training

Use incident reporting Systems

Use incident reporting Systems

Anaesthetist maintain Logbooks

Pilots maintain Logbooks