There's also the possibility that her behavior was exaggerated in the article. Unlikely? Maybe, maybe not. That said, there are some especially nasty people who

There's also the possibility that her behavior was exaggerated in the article. Unlikely? Maybe, maybe not. That said, there are some especially nasty people who are often in positions they have no business being. This may be such a case. I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt. I was also thinking of circumstances that may help explain her behavior. It's difficult, but here's what I came up with (this is merely speculation; I have no idea what may have been going through her mind): 1) She may have been afraid of getting fired if things weren't done exactly by the book, 2) she may have been afraid the airline would be liable for anything the doctor did (and perhaps, by extension, herself), 3) perhaps she knew something about the under-stocked medical supplies and fear or repercussions lead to her (re)actions, 4) she had zero empathy, or 5) simply distrusted the doctors. In the case of #1, there's not much you can do outside rectifying the company's culture. If employees are so terrified of being fired for assisting, or allowing someone qualified to assist, in an emergency, there's something horribly wrong with that organization. As for #2, the same may apply with #1, but if the airline is afraid of being liable for an in-flight emergency they shouldn't be in that business, and they certainly shouldn't place the burden of determining liability on the shoulders of a flight attendant when they can afford a legal team. #3 is a bit of a stretch, but given the discussion above, it seems surprising to me that the medkit would be so sorely under-stocked. Possibly an extension of #2. #4 is probably the real culprit, although your explanation of stress or life circumstances may be much more likely. Perhaps she was tired and cranky. (Still, not an excuse, but people do strange things when they're tired or ill.) #5 is also a possibility, but if you're trapped in an aluminum cylinder tens of thousands of feet above the middle of an empty ocean, you really ought to reconsider your career choices if the only people who might be able to save a passenger's life are the very people you don't trust. There's another point I read above that I agree with. If the flight attendants aren't letting you do what you can to help a passenger, perhaps getting the pilot-in-command to assess the situation might be a better option if time and circumstance allow. They likely don't want to be held responsible for someone dying on their aircraft, and they probably have experience with in-flight passenger-related emergencies. They can instruct the flight crew on an appropriate course of action, even if that action is to simply stay out of the way. Oh, one other possibility is that the head flight attendant seemed overly preoccupied with other passengers' comfort. In a situation like that where someone might die, passenger's comfort probably shouldn't enter the equation. Sure, you don't want to endanger them, and maybe you don't want to inconvenience them (much), but if it's a life or death situation... give me a break! Gosh, this post is a bit ranty. Sorry about that.