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Questions are swirling about the background of President’s Donald Trump’s pick for Surgeon General and whether she has presented misleading claims about where she was educated.
Dr Jannette Nesheiwat has been described by the president as “a double board-certified medical doctor,” and a “proud graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.”
Prior to her nomination as Surgeon General she has been employed as a New York City medical director with CityMD, a group of urgent care facilities and also has appeared on Fox News and other TV shows.
However, according to CBS News, Nesheiwat only completed her residency through the university’s family medicine program in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and did not obtain her medical degree there.
She actually earned her degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, in St. Maarten, in the Caribbean, records reviewed by the outlet have shown. AUC also confirmed to CBS that Nesheiwat was enrolled there for six years, from 2000 to 2006. Typically the program includes four years of study, but Nesheiwat was there for six.
Such lengthier study periods have, in recent years, fueled stigma against medical schools in the Caribbean, which have been perceived by some as a last resort for those unable to get into medical school in the U.S.
Nesheiwat's LinkedIn profile lists “Doctor of Medicine” from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine among her education. It does not mention the Caribbean school.
In a 2018 social media post, Nesheiwat stated that she had completed her “medical training and residency” at Arkansas as well as serving as Chief Resident.
She also mentioned training at “the American University,” though does not specify which school she is referring to, as well as having completing” the majority of my studies” in London, England, at St. Thomas & Guy's Hospital.
The American University of the Caribbean has a partnership with St. Thomas & Guy Hospital.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment and clarification on Nesheiwat’s schooling and credentials.
In addition to her media appearances, Nesheiwat has authored a book on the “transformative power of prayer” in her medical career and endorses a brand of vitamin supplements.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, she became a public figure on television as well as working on the frontlines in New York, helping patients in the aftermath of Trump's “Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives,” per the president’s office.
Nesheiwat’s childhood was also beset with tragedy after she was involved in an incident that killed her father. She was 13 years-old when she accidentally knocked a loaded gun over, which fired and fatally shot her father in the head.
The incident occurred in February 1990 at her family's home in Umatilla, Florida, according to a report by the New York Times.
Nesheiwat is also the sister-in-law of Michael Waltz, who serves as Trump’s national security adviser and was responsible for accidentally adding a journalist to a private Signal group chat, in which classified war plans were shared.
English (US) ·