Doctor couple rescued a patient 30,000 feet up in the air. One detail in the thank-you note sent the girlfriend into a fit

Despite gender equality being a prime topic of discussion today, the medical field is scrutinized for discriminating against women doctors in contrast to their male colleagues. One female doctor (u/ChronicallyBelle) experienced a live example of this after a flight where she and her boyfriend saved a patient’s life. In a June 14 Reddit post, she shared that although the airlines acknowledged the efforts of both, she couldn't shrug off one discrepancy in their letter of appreciation. She said the instance felt “mildly infuriating,” and people couldn’t agree more on this.

Minor discrepancy, major issue 

It was the case of a medical emergency that came their way during the flight. The case was so critical that they even considered diverting the flight, so they were met with paramedics on the ground. After they brought the patient to safety, the airlines sent them a letter of appreciation, each with their bonuses. “On behalf of American Airlines, please accept our company’s formal thank you for the assistance you provided aboard flight [flight number],” the letter read. “We are grateful that you were on board and freely offered your medical expertise when it was needed most. Without a doubt, you greatly improved a difficult situation.”

The letter also stated that the airlines were offering 25,000 bonus miles to the doctors’ AAdvantage accounts. The woman has been a member of the account since 2015, and her boyfriend since 2011. The airlines acknowledged that their assistance wasn’t motivated by any reward, but this letter and the bonus were a “tangible expression of appreciation” for their volunteering efforts.

Everything was perfect, except for a tiny detail that left the female doctor unsettled. Even though the flight attendant had noted the titles and names of both, her boyfriend’s letter was addressed with the “Dr.” title while hers was addressed with “Ms.” The message in the letters was the same except for these titles, but it was enough of a discrepancy to put her off.

Missing recognition in 'Miss' 

“My boyfriend gets greeted as Dr, and I get called Ms, which happens all the time in the hospital due to bias against women in medicine,” the woman lamented, adding that women physicians are often called by titles like “miss” and “nurse” in the hospital. Research indicates that they are, for the most part, correct in saying that.

Status of gender discrimination in medicine

According to a study published in PLOS One, women comprise the majority of the healthcare workforce, holding 76% of the healthcare positions. Despite that, gender discrimination is so prevalent in the medical field, with 66-80% of women healthcare workers reporting gender discrimination at the workplace. In 2022, 56.01% reported experiencing gender discrimination in medical professions. One of the ways this discrimination shows up is women being misidentified as nurses or referred to by their first name rather than by title, in contrast to their male colleagues, as Women's Health Reports noted.

More common than people notice

People expressed sympathy and concern for the woman’s title, but some of them said it could just be an automated system and suggested she recheck the booking information. u/Nigel_featherbottom said, “When I was 12 years old and signed up for United's program, I was asked to chose a title and chose Dr. They still refer to me as Dr. When they send me junk mail.” u/tvjunkie710 admitted, “As a flight attendant you have no idea how much we appreciate having doctors like you on board to help.” 

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