Monday, February 23, 1998
Dixon says UCLA discriminated
DIXON Former Family Medicine resident intern claims that he
received undo criticism
By Kathryn Combs
Daily Bruin Staff
David Dixon, a former medical resident at UCLA, was dismissed
from the Department of Family Medicine’s intern program two months
before receiving his license to practice medicine.
In response, Dixon filed suit Jan. 6 claiming he was
discriminated against by UCLA and the Department of Family Medicine
and was terminated under false pretenses. Dixon is asking for $10
million upon the resolution of this case.
Released from the program on March 31, 1994, Dixon filed an
administrative complaint on Aug. 31, 1995. Administrative hearings
continued through May 1997. However, according to Melanie Lomax,
legal counsel for Dixon, the hearings resulted in a stalemate.
"The university stood fast with their decision," Lomax said.
"(Dixon) lost confidence that he would be reinstated through the
internal appeal process so he decided to take his case to court,"
Lomax said.
Legal counsel for UCLA refused to give comment at this time.
The university did not comment regarding why Dixon was released
from the program.
However, according to Dixon, the university alleged he was not
fulfilling his responsibilities.
"I never had one patient complaint or wrote one wrong order or
hurt anyone," Dixon said.
"He was consistently accused of subjective things, like he was
too slow and did not have an adequate knowledge base. It is his
position that, as the first black male in that department, he was
subject to different standards," Lomax said.
"It is our contention that they blew everything out of
proportion," Lomax said.
"One obstacle after another was placed in his way to prevent him
from getting his license," she added.
Admitted to the UCLA Department of Family Medicine as a resident
in 1993, Dixon learned that he was the only African American
resident in the department in the last 17 years.
"It is an extra racially hostile atmosphere in the department of
family medicine," Lomax said. "Their admission that there has not
been a female or male African American doctor in the department is
a clear indication of institutional racism."
However, Dr. Alan Robinson, associate senior dean of the School
of Medicine, said the medical school prides itself on its racially
diverse atmosphere.
"We do not discriminate based on race, and I am very proud of
our years of trying to recognize that the physician who comes from
a minority background has a high likelihood of going back to serve
minority patients," Robinson said.
"Over the past 18 years, 12 times a UCLA medical student has
been recognized as the top minority medical student by the
Association of American Medical Colleges," he added.
"There is not anybody that can approach that record," he
said.
Dixon, 37, grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where he attended
mostly-white elementary and high schools. Dixon received his
undergraduate degree in biology in 1983 from Fisk University in
Nashville, Tennessee, a traditionally African-American college, and
his graduate degree from the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo in
1993. He claims he was never subject to severe treatment.
"I was exposed to different extremes and types of environments,
but I never really encountered institutionalized racism," Dixon
said.
"I went to UCLA back in 1993 to start a Family Medicine Practice
Residency, and I kind of got the hint that it wasn’t really the
liberal school that they played themselves up to be," he said. "I
also felt like I was being overly criticized and scrutinized."
The Department of Family Medicine’s program lasts for three
years. After the first year, interns become eligible to receive
their medical license from the state board.
Dixon was terminated two months before receiving his
certificate, which would have enabled him to get his medical
license.
According to Lomax, the mistakes the university is claiming
resulted in Dixon’s dismissal are typical of first-year
interns.
However, according to Robinson, when the School of Medicine
admits students into the residency program, they intend to see
those students through completion.
"We try very hard to keep people in the program (and) we admit
people with the expectation that they will complete the program,"
he said.
"We only have a limited number of residency positions available,
and we always have more applicants than positions," Robinson said,
adding there are usually 580 residency positions to be filled.
He added that it is highly uncommon for residents to be
terminated.
Although she expects the case to be resolved this year, Lomax
said that the longer the case takes, the further Dixon will be from
his goal.
"For almost four years now, he has been doing menial jobs,"
Lomax said.
"He didn’t exactly go through all this training to become a taxi
driver."