The medical community has rallied around a Massachusetts General Hospital doctor after she said she was racially profiled on a recent Delta Air Lines flight, grabbing headlines across the country and leading other minority doctors to share their stories on social media.
Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., a Harvard-trained obesity specialist, said she was repeatedly questioned about her medical credentials as she tried to help a fellow passenger during an in-flight emergency last month. Stanford, who is black, believes she faced extra questions despite showing her medical license because of her race.
@DeltaAirlineUS I am very disappointed that your policies on #Diversity have not lead to any change. As a #blackwoman #doctor who showed my #medical license to help a passenger on DL5935 your #flightattendant still did not believe I was a #Physician. @DrSinhaEsq @DrKathyHughes
— Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, FAAP, FACP (@fstanfordmd) October 31, 2018
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Delta told the Boston Globe that the incident occurred on a plane operated by Republic Airline, which is a Delta Connection carrier. Republic issued a statement to the Globe apologizing for any misunderstanding, saying "We are working with Delta to ensure our employees understand and consistently apply all applicable policies."
MGH President Peter Slavin, M.D., released a statement praising Stanford's actions.
"We are proud of Dr. Stanford for immediately coming to the aid of an ailing passenger but are dismayed that her credentials and qualifications were questioned,” Slavin said. “We are reminded that events like this occur every day in every organization, and we need to more reliably recognize them and work collaboratively to eliminate them.”
The American Medical Association released a statement via Twitter calling her account of discrimination "disturbing" with #WhatADoctorLooksLike.
Her story led other physicians who are racial minorities to share their own stories.