Delta -- discrimination against a black female doctor inflight

[jdb in AZ]

How do you think Delta should handle this?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...iscriminated-barred-me-sick-passenger-n666251

 

[Magpie]

How do you think Delta should handle this?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...iscriminated-barred-me-sick-passenger-n666251

A written apology to Dr. Tamika Cross, generous compensation, and everyone involved (particularly the flight attendant) gets sent to sensitivity training.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yup, it's definitely racism - couldn't possibly have been because the doctor looks like she could stil be in high school. Nope, racism - the only viable conclusion anytime there's any sort of misunderstanding between 2 people of different races.

At least this doctor does acknowledge that race was only one of the possibilities.

 

[wilkeliza]

I think people are taking this woman's words out of context. At the end of her side of the story she clearly states she does not know if it was race, age, or gender but that clearly it had to be one of those three because when a clearly older, different race, and different gender individual offered assistance they were allowed to help with 0 questions asked. I do think Delta should issue an apology and if there are to be specific steps to allow someone to provide aid then it needs to be consistent. So if it needs to be showing credentials (do all doctors get credentials?) then it needs to be asked of everyone not just the person that looks like they could be too young to be a doctor.

 

[sam_gordon]

I think people are taking this woman's words out of context. At the end of her side of the story she clearly states she does not know if it was race, age, or gender but that clearly it had to be one of those three because when a clearly older, different race, and different gender individual offered assistance they were allowed to help with 0 questions asked. I do think Delta should issue an apology and if there are to be specific steps to allow someone to provide aid then it needs to be consistent. So if it needs to be showing credentials (do all doctors get credentials?) then it needs to be asked of everyone not just the person that looks like they could be too young to be a doctor.

I wonder if OP will edit the thread title after reading this.

Personally I agree with you. It's kind of hard to say she wasn't discriminated against in some way, but we may never know whether it was race, age, or gender.

As far as what Delta should do... at least some Skymiles. I think they could also offer a free upgrade on her next flight/trip. I agree with PP that any Delta personnel involved in this needs to be retrained.

 

[kamik86]

Yup, it's definitely racism - couldn't possibly have been because the doctor looks like she could stil be in high school. Nope, racism - the only viable conclusion anytime there's any sort of misunderstanding between 2 people of different races.

At least this doctor does acknowledge that race was only one of the possibilities.

She never claimed it was race...

Lets look at the first line of her message:
"I'm sure many of my fellow young, corporate America working women of color"

So she covered young, woman, and color as the three things.

At least one of those was the issue.

All of them are not acceptable reasons for the flight attendant to act like she did. A person who should be damn thankful this passenger recovered because if something happened I would think delta and the attendant would be getting sued for blocking him from getting medical attention.



So what if she appears in high school. In my area some high schoolers are volunteer fire fighters and EMTs. So they could be responding to your 911 call and they meet the same standards as the 40 year old standing next to them. Many people look off a bit in age as well so even if someone did legitimately look to be in high school being in college wouldn't be a stretch. I have had some great doctors that were still residents.

 

[Magpie]

Yup, it's definitely racism - couldn't possibly have been because the doctor looks like she could stil be in high school. Nope, racism - the only viable conclusion anytime there's any sort of misunderstanding between 2 people of different races.

At least this doctor does acknowledge that race was only one of the possibilities.

It doesn't matter what the flight attendant's problem was.

She appears to have treated this woman - whether because of race, gender, age or some other factor - suspiciously and condescendingly, and then was simultaneously more trusting of another passenger, despite not yet having seen his credentials. Heck, for all we know maybe her issue was that she didn't know an ob gyn is an actual doctor!

None of that changes the fact that, ultimately, the attendant felt the need to apologize to Dr. Tamika Cross, use her expertise (I suppose the older gentleman wasn't as helpful - or possibly not as much of a doctor - as she'd hoped?) and try to offer her compensation (possibly in the hope she wouldn't take this any further).

Unless a radically different version of the story comes out, I think Dr. Tamika Cross is owed an apology and compensation, regardless of why all this went down.

And, all things considered, I could hardly criticize her if she did believe it was a matter of race, whether it is or isn't. When racial issues smack you in the face every day, you can hardly be blamed for seeing every new incident in that light. But, even in light of that, she was still fair-minded enough to indicate it could also have been her gender or her age that caused her to be judged unfairly.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

She never claimed it was race...

Lets look at the first line of her message:
"I'm sure many of my fellow young, corporate America working women of color"

So she covered young, woman, and color as the three things.

At least one of those was the issue.

All of them are not acceptable reasons for the flight attendant to act like she did. A person who should be damn thankful this passenger recovered because if something happened I would think delta and the attendant would be getting sued for blocking him from getting medical attention.



So what if she appears in high school. In my area some high schoolers are volunteer fire fighters and EMTs. So they could be responding to your 911 call and they meet the same standards as the 40 year old standing next to them. Many people look off a bit in age as well so even if someone did legitimately look to be in high school being in college wouldn't be a stretch. I have had some great doctors that were still residents.

Uh yeah, I know - that's why I said at least the doctor acknowledged the fact that race was only one of the possibilities.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It doesn't matter what the flight attendant's problem was.

She appears to have treated this woman - whether because of race, gender, age or some other factor - suspiciously and condescendingly, and then was simultaneously more trusting of another passenger, despite not yet having seen his credentials. Heck, for all we know maybe her issue was that she didn't know an ob gyn is an actual doctor!

None of that changes the fact that, ultimately, the attendant felt the need to apologize to Dr. Tamika Cross, use her expertise (I suppose the older gentleman wasn't as helpful - or possibly not as much of a doctor - as she'd hoped?) and try to offer her compensation (possibly in the hope she wouldn't take this any further).

Unless a radically different version of the story comes out, I think Dr. Tamika Cross is owed an apology and compensation, regardless of why all this went down.

And, all things considered, I could hardly criticize her if she did believe it was a matter of race, whether it is or isn't. When racial issues smack you in the face every day, you can hardly be blamed for seeing every new incident in that light. But, even in light of that, she was still fair-minded enough to indicate it could also have been her gender or her age that caused her to be judged unfairly.

Of course she's owed an apology. I would never suggest otherwise.

 

[Albort]

Unless a radically different version of the story comes out, I think Dr. Tamika Cross is owed an apology and compensation, regardless of why all this went down.

she did...

Later on, the flight attendant started asking Cross for input on how to help the unresponsive man, who was showing signs of improvement, Cross said. She added that the flight attendant had also apologized to her several times and offered her SkyMiles.

im guessing the doctor probably wants more from Delta. I honestly dont to to make an opinion until we hear both sides of the story...

 

[kamik86]

she did...



im guessing the doctor probably wants more from Delta. I honestly dont to to make an opinion until we hear both sides of the story...

Honestly I would have put this out there even without wanting compensation. I wouldn't just want an apology from this FA but would want delta to be doing some serious retraining.

If your rude to me that is one thing. If your rudeness is stopping me from being able to get something truely important and time sensitive done that is a much bigger problem, one that can't be made ok by you realizing you were rude later.

There are only 2 things that could come to light that would be reasons for the FA to have acted this way.
1) The woman was intoxicated (because we know that happens on a plane) and she said this thinking it was better then you can't help because your drunk. (This is the only one I can think of that would make the FA look better in this situation)

2) The FA panicked and handled things badly. The reason this doesn't get a pass where it normally would give someone leeway is the real job of a FA isn't to serve beverages, it is to be the level headed one in an emergency.

 

[Magpie]

she did...

im guessing the doctor probably wants more from Delta. I honestly dont to to make an opinion until we hear both sides of the story...

I don't think it's a matter of wanting "more", as much as not wanting the flight attendant to be able to brush the whole thing under the rug and forget about it.

Just by way of example: If I am offended by the behaviour of a waiter, I'm going to want to speak to the manager or even the owner. Just having the waiter offer to comp my meal (especially if I suspect he's only offering compensation in an attempt to keep me from saying anything to his boss), isn't enough.

In the end, the compensation may be exactly the same. Heck, it could even be less! But the important thing, for me, would be ensuring that this situation never happened again. And the only way to make that happen is to talk to the people in authority (and/or go public with my story).

 

[sam_gordon]

She never claimed it was race...

But the OP did. Look at the title...

Delta -- Race discrimination against a black female doctor inflight

 

[mummabear]

The flight attendants treatment was completely unacceptable.
As other posters have pointed out it could have been race, also age or gender, it was clearly discrimination.
The flight attendant did apologise, she did offer compensation, what should Delta do? Make their policy on credentials clear to their staff, and the public do that medical staff know what is expected.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It seems like there are some discrepencies in the story - Dr. Cross says that nobody was asked for credentials, yet Delta says one responder did show credentials.

"As the overhead speaker called for physicians on board to alert the flight attendants, Cross said she pressed her button, staring at the flight attendant who had just cast her aside.

"She said 'oh wow you're an actual physician? I reply yes. She said 'let me see your credentials. What type of Doctor are you? Where do you work? Why were you in Detroit?'" Cross wrote.

She added: "Please remember this man is still in need of help and she is blocking my row from even standing up while Bombarding me with questions."

Finally, Cross said a "seasoned" white man approached and told the flight attendant he was a physician as well. Without asking for his credentials, the flight attendant immediately accepted his help, Cross said.

"Mind blown. Blood boiling," she wrote.

Delta said three medical professionals offered help on the flight, but only one provided credentials, "and that is the doctor who was asked to assist thecustomer onboard. In addition, paramedics met the flight to assist the customer further."




(For the record, I keep my paper nursing license in my wallet right behind my driver's license, so it's readily accessible, but in this electronic day and age, I'm not sure everyone does. It would sure be a shame if help was lost because someone didn't have their "credentials" on them.)

 

[Magpie]

But the OP did. Look at the title...

Yeh... and I went and jumped on Gumbo for pointing that out, because I thought the snark was directed elsewhere than at the OP.

Even the original article is careful to just call it "discrimination", not "race discrimination".

On the other hand, it's thoroughly depressing how some redditors (over on r/news, where I first saw this story) are twisting themselves into knots to try to prove that it's not race, nope, no way, race discrimination doesn't exist in this day and age.

 

[mummabear]

Of course she's owed an apology. I would never suggest otherwise.

No she had an apology already, she's not owed another.
I do see why she would contact management to ensure this didn't happen again for the safety of others.

 

[kamik86]

It seems like there are some discrepencies in the story - Dr. Cross says that nobody was asked for credentials, yet Delta says one responder did show credentials.

"As the overhead speaker called for physicians on board to alert the flight attendants, Cross said she pressed her button, staring at the flight attendant who had just cast her aside.

"She said 'oh wow you're an actual physician? I reply yes. She said 'let me see your credentials. What type of Doctor are you? Where do you work? Why were you in Detroit?'" Cross wrote.

She added: "Please remember this man is still in need of help and she is blocking my row from even standing up while Bombarding me with questions."

Finally, Cross said a "seasoned" white man approached and told the flight attendant he was a physician as well. Without asking for his credentials, the flight attendant immediately accepted his help, Cross said.

"Mind blown. Blood boiling," she wrote.

Delta said three medical professionals offered help on the flight, but only one provided credentials, "and that is the doctor who was asked to assist thecustomer onboard. In addition, paramedics met the flight to assist the customer further."




(For the record, I keep my paper nursing license in my wallet right behind my driver's license, so it's readily accessible, but in this electronic day and age, I'm not sure everyone does. It would sure be a shame if help was lost because someone didn't have their "credentials" on them.)

This was my thought... I wondered what credentials people normally carried, especially if going for vacation somewhere that those credentials aren't official. (Do doctors licences work in any state or are they like lawyer licences that are state specific?)

 

[Hikergirl]

Is Delta held liable if a person claiming to be a physician without credentials helps a passenger and something goes wrong?
At first it definitely sounds like this doctor was discriminated against but if the other "seasoned" doctor was the only one with proof he was a doctor I can see why he would have been the one they picked to help the passenger.
At this point, I'm not sure what the truth is. I'm sure the black female doctor felt discriminated against especially if she didn't know what the other doctor had provided.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

This was my thought... I wondered what credentials people normally carried, especially if going for vacation somewhere that those credentials aren't official. (Do doctors licences work in any state or are they like lawyer licences that are state specific?)

Yes, licenses are state-specific, however, we are led to believe that Good Samaritan laws protect us should we find ourselves in a situation that we are called upon to help. Those exist so as not to have people hesitate or refuse to help; to eliminate the fear of being sued, etc. (Though I am not an expert on that subject, by any means, and not sure they exist in every state, or, say, outside the U.S. Remembering the case of a medical professional who did the Heinrich maneuver on someone, but broke their ribs, and they sued. I believe that case was instrumental in developing the Good Samaritan laws.)

It did make me wonder how others handle it (though I don't ever recall hearing from friends or reading stories that they have been asked to show their credentials in an emergency):

http://www.disboards.com/threads/me...-do-you-keep-your-credentials-on-you.3554374/