A commercial airline pilot who said that being a doctor opened up some doors for him in aviation quickly had the door shut on his dual careers earlier this year.
William Hamman was, in fact, an experienced airline pilot who has licenses to fly a half dozen large commercial planes. But the truth of the matter is, he is a liar. He also boasted about having a M.D. degree, and 15 years of clinical experience in cardiology.
Although Hamman’s peers respected his ability to train medical teams how to practice cardiology, his ruse eventually caught up with him. In fact, he not only lost his $250,000 speaking/instructing contract from Michigan’s William Beaumont Hospital, he also lost his job as a pilot with United Airlines once the company got wind that his resume was full of hot air.
The Associated Press reported the story earlier this week, but Hamman, 58, is not speaking about the secret that he kept since 1992 when he was billed as a doctor at a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workshop. The FAA is not the only noteworthy agency to promote Hamman as a doctor. He was a lead speaker at many seminars for the American Medical Association (AMA), and he even taught classes for the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
Perhaps Hamman is keeping quiet due to the fact he could be sued if any of his teachings led to patient harm. The Associated Press seemed to indicate Hamman never actually treated any patients, although many of his videos were filmed in environments where patients were being treated – such as emergency rooms. Hamman’s classes focused on teamwork, and included principles from the aviation industry.
The Associated Press, which produced a lengthy feature on Hamman’s demise, even had to admit it was guilty of passing on false information. The press syndicate featured him in a story about six months ago as he taught a teamwork training session at an American College of Cardiology convention.
This just goes to show how easy it is to trick a large audience – not just your friends, but a few of the largest agencies/organizations in America. And the shame of it is, the man who presided over the hospital board that gave Hamman the $250,000 contract said he would have still gotten it even if he did not advertise himself as a doctor.
"He really didn’t need to be a physician to do what he was doing," Weaver told the AP. "He could have been successful without titling himself. He made a very serious mistake."
And how did Hamman get caught? By doing a good deed, as it turns out. The Beaumont Hospital staff decided to check his credentials as part of a grant that Hamman wanted to obtain for the hospital. Oh the irony. And the agony.
The complete Associated Press story can be found here.
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