CHARLESTON — A physician claims Charleston Area Medical Center discriminated against her during her pregnancy while she was in the residency program.
Dr. Sharon Londeree Istfan was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Dr. Allyn Small entered the residency program at CAMC in 2019 and throughout her tenure, she claims she suffered from various forms of sexual discrimination, including being scheduled to work more 24-hour call shifts than any other intern and being awarded "The Resident Able to Match Shoes to Her Purse While Cradling Her Baby Bump," as well as discrimination during her pregnancy.
In February 2020, after a baby shower for one of the residents, Dr. Raheel Khan said that the next resident to get pregnant would have to work double calls, which intimidated Small and kept her from sharing about her pregnancy at that time, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Small claims she waited until April 2020 to share about her pregnancy and was told by the chief resident, Derek Collins, that she was "ruining his chief year by becoming pregnant."
Collins, while doing tours for the incoming intern class in July 2020, told the residents to "make sure if you're going to have a baby, have it in your intern year so you don't affect my schedule."
Small claims when her unborn child was to be born with a physical disability and her pregnancy was considered high risk, she requested not to be placed with COVID-19 patients, but was told the defendants would not accommodate the request.
When Small returned to work in Spring 2021 after her child's birth, she was working more shifts than any of her colleagues on rotations when the call was assigned and she often had to work three to four more shifts than her colleagues every month, according to the suit.
Small claims she also had to work weekends in May 2021 to make up for her maternity leave. She claims there were various comments directed at her by male physicians and male faculty members that were sexually discriminatory in nature.
Small claims she continued to suffer discrimination during the following year of her residency and she received a job offer after she finished the program, but after the health system spoke to Istfan, her last reference, the job offer was rescinded.
On May 24, 2022, during her exit interview, Istfan apologized to the plaintiff for how she had treated her during her residency and admitted she was not fair to her, according to the suit.
Small claims when she graduated, she was entitled to receive an award for the highest in-training examination, but CAMC withheld the award for her graduating class.
Small is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Crystal Hawkins Castleberry of Castleberry Law Offices in Morgantown.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 22-C-852
