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Dr. Nancy Snyderman Steps Down From NBC; Breach in Ebola Safety Quarantine Damaged Her Credibility Beyond Repair

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Remember that Doctor who was under Ebola quarantine and got the munchies and decided to go get takeout from a New Jersey restaurant?  Well she has decided to step down from her job at NBC.  She hints that part of her decision was due to the backlash she received for that incident which in my opinion I don’t think her reputations ever full recovered.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman was the Chief Medical Editor at NBC News.  She announced Thursday that she would be stepping down from the public spotlight to get back into academia.

In a written statement, Snyderman explained,

It is now time for me to return to my roots, so I am stepping down from my position as Chief Medical Editor at NBC News.  Covering the Ebola epidemic last fall in Liberia, and then becoming part of the story upon my return to the US, contributed to my decision that now is the time to return to academic medicine.

She was at NBC for 9 years.  She will be taking a faculty position at a major US medical school but the details of where and what institution have not been revealed as of yet.

The Quarantine incident was the beginning of the end for Snyderman.  While caring for cameraman, Ashoka Mukpo who contracted the disease while in Liberia, Snyderman and her team were under quarantine or at least we thought.  Someone spotted her black Mercedes, double-parked outside the Peasant Grill restaurant, while a passenger went inside to get food.   Once news of the sighting hit the media, the news went nuclear.

She then made matters worse by not completely owning up to the incident further damaging her credibility.  She released a statement that many had issues with,

While under voluntary quarantine guidelines which called for our team to avoid public contact for 21 days, members of our group violated those guidelines and understand that our quarantine is now mandatory until 21 days have passed.

We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal.  As a health professional I know that we have no symptoms and pose no risk to the public, but I am deeply sorry for the concerns this episode caused. We are thrilled that Ashoka is getting better and our thoughts continue to be with the thousands affected by Ebola whose stories we all went to cover.

This statement angered the public as it was viewed as dismissive and she doesn’t fully own up to the wrong doing.  She says “members of our group” never really saying it was actually her.

The first rule about a public apology is fully accepting ownership for the wrong doing for which you are apologizing for.  Snyderman clearly did not do this.

The cameraman whom which she was caring for was declared Ebola free and he tried his best to help what he knew was a terrible situation for Snyderman.  He tweeted to her defense,

Be nice to her plz

NBC asked her to return but her ratings plummeted and the NBC execs begin to wonder if her credibility had been damaged too much to recover.

Then to make maters worse, on Feb. 22 she gave a report on peanut allergies that was so wacky that people actually thought she was drunk.

 

Here is the clip. You be the judge. Was she hammered?

 

GOOD RIDDENS?

I think her time was up and she and NBC both knew it.  I’m sure NBC is relieved they didn’t have to do the dirty work.  Or if they did do the dirty work, then they let her exit with grace.  A spokesperson for the network said,

“[She] has provided her expertise on countless health and medical topics that are vitally important to our audience … we wish her all the best.”

Despite giving up her $13 Million dollar annual salary I’m sure she will be just fine.  She reportedly has a net worth estimated at $10 million dollars.  I’m definitely not crying for her too hard.