The Article

Delta Airlines

When Tamika Cross heard a woman screaming for help for her husband, who fell ill on a Delta flight last weekend, she sprang to action. The young black doctor, on her way home from a wedding in Detroit, took off her headphones, put her tray table up$,$ and unbuckled her seat belt. A flight attendant called out for medical assistance for the man, who was unresponsive. Cross, a fourth$-$year resident at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, raised her hand.

$$She said to me$,\text{'}$Oh no sweetie put your hand down, we are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel, we don't have time to talk to you,$\text{'}"$ Cross wrote in a Facebook post that has gone viral. $$I tried to inform her that I was a physician, but I was continually cut off by condescending remarks. $$A request went out over the PA system, asking any doctors on board to press their call buttons. Cross pressed hers. But the incredulous flight attendant asked if she was an $$actual physician,$$ according to Cross, and requested to see her medical credentials. The attendant quizzed her about why she was in Detroit and where she practiced medicine. When a white man approached and identified himself as a doctor, she said they no longer needed Cross's help.

In an updated statement released Friday, Delta said its investigation was continuing. The airline said three medical professionals identified themselves on the flight in question, but only one person could provide credentials verifying their training. $$Flight attendants are trained to collect information from medical volunteers offering to assist with an onboard medical emergency. When an individual$$s medical identification isn$$t available, they$$re instructed to ask questions such as where medical training was received or whether an individual has a business card or other documentation and ultimately to use their best judgment," the statement said.

Source: Johnson, Carolyn Y$.$The Disturbing Reason Why We Don$$t Believe Young, Black Women Are Really Doctors.$$ The Washington Post, $14$ Oct. $2016$