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President Trump's nominee to beryllium the U.S. surgeon general, the Fox News contributor and household medicine doc Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has described herself arsenic a treble board-certified doc with a grade from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine — credentials the president touted in his announcement.
But those claims astir her certification and schooling look to beryllium misleading.
Nesheiwat really earned her aesculapian grade from the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine, located successful St. Maarten, successful the Caribbean, according to records reviewed by CBS News. A spokesperson for the University of Arkansas confirmed to CBS News she completed her residency done its household medicine programme successful Fayetteville, Arkansas, but did not get her aesculapian grade there.
Nesheiwat has not yet travel earlier the U.S. Senate's wellness committee for a confirmation hearing, wherever she is expected to look questions astir her credentials. The U.S. surgeon wide is known for mounting the nationalist docket connected nationalist health. Past surgeons wide person marshaled attraction for precedence issues specified arsenic the dangers of cigaret smoking, weapon unit and an epidemic of loneliness.
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat successful 2023.
Terry Wyatt / Getty Images
Currently, Nesheiwat's LinkedIn profile incorrectly lists a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, portion omitting immoderate notation of AUC. In astatine slightest 1 lawsuit connected social media, she has referenced attending "American University" erstwhile describing her acquisition — without clarifying that it was not the likewise named American University successful Washington, D.C., which does not person a aesculapian school. In that aforesaid posting she said she "completed the bulk of my studies successful London, England, astatine St. Thomas & Guy's Hospital." CBS News was incapable to verify that with the instauration that runs those London hospitals.
AUC's aesculapian grade is mostly a four-year program: the archetypal 2 years dwell of schoolroom grooming successful St. Maarten, and the last 2 years dwell of objective rotations astatine a aesculapian facility.
According to AUC, Nesheiwat was enrolled astatine the schoolhouse for six years, from 2000 to 2006.
This extended enrollment play reflects broader concerns that person drawn national attraction successful caller years and fueled stigma against aesculapian schools successful the Caribbean, which are sometimes perceived arsenic a past edifice for students who couldn't suffice for a U.S. aesculapian school. The schools themselves and galore graduates powerfully quality that assessment.
Senators Dick Durbin and Bill Cassidy person introduced a measure successful respective legislature sessions aimed astatine closing a loophole that allowed definite Caribbean aesculapian schools, including AUC, to bypass standards imposed connected different overseas institutions. This loophole enabled the schools to stay eligible for national funds contempt little on-time graduation rates. According to Durbin's office, students astatine these schools often instrumentality longer to implicit their aesculapian degrees, which results successful higher indebtedness and greater trouble securing residency placements.
"They don't person to conscionable the aforesaid precocious standards U.S. aesculapian schools indispensable meet, but besides don't person to conscionable the aforesaid requirements arsenic schools located extracurricular of the U.S. to entree hundreds of millions of dollars of national funding," Durbin said.
Some organizations, including the Center for Medicine successful the Public Interest, argue that these schools are important for helping to alleviate the physician shortage America is facing. The group's founder, Robert Goldberg, told CBS News, "In a cleanable world, everyone would archer the information and thing similar this to maine is not an issue."
Goldberg says that successful this clip erstwhile immoderate radical are down connected expertise, this could enactment to her advantage. "Don't beryllium acrophobic to speech astir it. Maybe this volition beryllium a teachable infinitesimal for her," helium said.
The claims regarding her committee certification person besides raised questions. Nesheiwat is often described arsenic treble board-certified, including connected her ain website. The assertion has gone unchallenged during her galore past media appearances — including connected CBS News. CBS News has lone been capable to verify her certification successful household medicine.
Nesheiwat's Physcian Profile for New York State lone lists her certification successful household medicine. The American Board of Medical Specialties, the largest and oldest certification enactment successful the U.S., told CBS News the lone certification they had for her was for household medicine.
CBS News has reached retired to Nesheiwat and the White House for remark but person not received a response.
Dr. Arthur Caplan, a aesculapian ethicist astatine New York University, says these inaccurate oregon misleading statements are "very, precise troubling." Caplan says the surgeon general's occupation "depends connected spot and credibility. You don't really power anything. You are a spokesperson and pedagogue for the public. If you statesman by not being wholly transparent oregon making a mendacious assertion astir your grooming it's a truly atrocious start."
"She indispensable beryllium to bash the occupation crystal wide and transparent astir her background, and being tense astir her inheritance doesn't mean she should screen up her background," helium told CBS News.
In her 2024 autobiographical book, "Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles successful Medicine," Nesheiwat makes nary notation of her Caribbean aesculapian education. Instead, she writes: "I studied astatine the University of South Florida wherever I enrolled successful an Army ROTC program. I did basal grooming successful Fort Lewis, Washington, and completed my aesculapian grooming astatine the University of Arkansas wherever I served arsenic main resident."
Nesheiwat attended the University of South Florida for her undergraduate grade successful biology and participated successful Army ROTC. According to the U.S. Army Cadet Command, she completed the program's requirements but was "medically disenrolled" successful June 2000, anterior to commissioning arsenic an officer.
Her upbringing includes some idiosyncratic calamity and perseverance. Her household immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan pursuing governmental unrest successful the 1950s. At property 13, Nesheiwat was progressive successful a tragic mishap successful which she accidentally changeable and killed her father. She and her 4 siblings were raised by her mother, who was a nurse.
After completing her residency, Nesheiwat began moving astatine CityMD, an urgent attraction supplier successful New York and New Jersey. She has been variously described successful media appearances and property materials arsenic "medical director," "CityMD Medical Director for exigency and household medicine," and "a aesculapian manager astatine CityMD." On her website she describes herself arsenic "the Medical Director astatine CityMed." The nonstop quality of her relation remains unclear. CBS News reached retired to CityMD for clarification and received remark from the company's COO stating that "She is an exceptional doc who genuinely stands out," but did not supply clarification connected her occupation rubric oregon presumption astatine the company.
Nesheiwat gained nationalist visibility arsenic a Fox News contributor during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering applicable wellness proposal and idiosyncratic insights from her objective work. As an urgent attraction doc practicing successful the New York metropolitan country astatine the time, she saw firsthand COVID's devastating effects. Nesheiwat has acknowledged that she initially prescribed hydroxychloroquine but stopped erstwhile studies showed it was ineffective. She has said the COVID vaccine has been adjuvant but has besides criticized the Biden medication implicit lockdowns during the pandemic.
Her sister, Julia Nesheiwat, is simply a nationalist information adept who served successful the Obama medication and is joined to Mike Waltz, a erstwhile subordinate of Congress who present serves arsenic nationalist information advisor to President Trump.
Questions astir Nesheiwat's résumé were archetypal reported by autarkic freelance writer Anthony Clark on Substack.
If confirmed, Neshewat would oversee 6,000 uniformed officers who are portion of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which is portion of the Department of Health and Human Services. She would besides beryllium successful complaint of communicating to the nationalist about "the champion technological accusation disposable connected however to amended their wellness and trim the hazard of unwellness and injury."
Some of her views whitethorn struggle with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has dispersed the unfounded mentation of a transportation betwixt vaccines and autism. In her book, she wrote: "Science and rigorous investigating person shown these vaccines to beryllium harmless and highly effectual astatine suppressing disease. Leading to accrued vaccine hesitancy has been the proliferation of poorly researched studies purporting to nexus vaccines to autism and different problems."
A day for her Senate confirmation proceeding has not yet been set, but sources archer CBS News it apt volition beryllium scheduled soon.
Editor's note: This communicative has been updated to region an incorrect notation to the narration betwixt AUC and a London hospital.
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