Black Harvard doctor accuses flight attendants of discrimination

A black doctor from Boston says she was racially profiled when flight attendants grilled her over her credentials while she assisted a sick passenger.

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford was on a flight home from Indianapolis on Tuesday when she noticed the woman next to her was hyperventilating. Stanford – who is a physician at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital – was already aiding the passenger when a flight attendant stopped by and asked Stanford if she was a doctor, CNN reported.

Stanford told the flight attendant that she was a doctor, but a second flight attendant then came by and asked for Stanford’s medical license, which Stanford presented.

Stanford claims that both flight attendants came back a third time to ask her if her medical license truly belonged to her. Stanford believes the flight attendants questioned her credentials because she is a black woman.

“I don’t understand why there was a dialogue there,” Stanford told the Boston Globe. “I showed them my license twice, and they still didn’t believe it was mine. None of that was taken into account, and I thought that was quite frustrating.”

Stanford tweeted about the incident, prompting the airline to reach out to her by email on Wednesday morning.

“@delta 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,” Stanford tweeted.

“@Delta my experience last night when a fellow passenger needed help shows that being a @harvardmed @MassGeneralMDs does not shield from #racism #WhatADoctorLooksLike #ILookLikeADoctor #ILookLikeASurgeon #BiasInMedicine #implicitbias #BlackWomenDoctors do exist,” Stanford wrote in a second tweet.

Stanford said she’s still not convinced Delta made any changes to its policy following a conversation with the airline about the bizarre encounter. Delta reportedly told her the flight attendants mistook her for a therapist.

“So I spoke with @Delta and I left the conversation quite uncertain that any changes will be made. Summary: flight attendants thought I was a #therapist despite #MDlicense. They will make sure this is addressed. Thanks for being a #skymiles member. Really?!$ #iamadoctor,” she tweeted.

Delta apologized to Stanford in a statement and said it would conduct a full investigation.

“We thank Dr. Stanford for her medical assistance and are sorry for any misunderstanding that may have occurred during her exchange with the in-flight crew,” the airline said in a statement.

“According to the flight crew’s account, they initially misread the credentials offered by the doctor and went to reconfirm her specific medical discipline. We are following up with the crew to insure proper policy is followed.”

Delta’s request for medical credentials violates a policy implemented in 2016, after Dr. Tamika Cross, who is also black, was kept from helping a sick passenger on a Delta flight from Detroit to Minneapolis.

Delta no longer requires medical credential verification to secure help and simply requires the volunteer’s statement that he or she is a doctor, physician assistant, nurse, paramedic or EMT.

Delta spokesman Anthony L. Black told The Post that Stanford was actually on board a Republic flight, which is a Delta Connection carrier.

“We thank Dr. Stanford for her medical assistance onboard Republic flight 5935 IND-BOS, and are sorry for any misunderstanding that may have occurred during her exchange with the in-flight crew. Moving forward, we are following up with our connection carrier partner to ensure their employees understand and consistently apply the policy, ” Black said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

“Regardless of aircraft, all customers are Delta customers and we are committed to ensuring they enjoy a similar experience on every flight. Delta changed its policy for providing medical credentials in 2016, and we are working with all of our connection partners to ensure their changes and actions align with ours,” the statement continued.

Article via HotNewHipHop