I was not aware that he was not an M.D., but I did see a report on CBS News on Sunday by a medical expert stating that Dr. Conley had no expertise in infectious diseases or epidemiology and was not qualified to give an opinion regarding the future course of Trump’s illness.
Trump has proved once more that he is incorrigible and entirely beyond the pale. He is entirely undeserving of any sympathy anyone might have felt for him. He is now casting himself as a victor over the virus and belittling those who have suffered severe symptoms and those who have succumbed to the disease. He is totally oblivious to the fact that he has received special experimental treatments that few Americans could have afforded or had access to. Everything is viewed through his self-centered prism. His pathology is all-consuming.
I didn't know anything at all about the Whitehouse doctor before this. I do know that, these days, there are not many differences between a DO and an MD, except that it is, in general, easier to get in to a school that traines one to be a DO than an MD. That doesn't tell you much about any particular doctor, though. (My understanding is that there used to be a fair amount of difference in the training for DOs and MDs, partly based on "philosophical" grounds, but that this has greatly decreased in recent years.)
I have been a philosopher medical educator for more than four decades and have taught many DOs in residency programs and taught with DO faculty colleagues. Dr. Conley is an emergency medicine physician, I assume Board certified. He is therefore qualified to work in an Emergency Department. That he was made the President's physician indicates incompetence of US Navy Surgeon General.
Emergency medicine physicians are not trained in the management of hospitalized patients. In a well-run hospital, the President's attending physician would have been an internal medicine doc Board certified in infectious disease with experience in managing patients with COVID-19. That this did not occur raises questions about the competence of the leadership at Walter Reed. There is also no information about whether the team at the White House includes a COVID-19 infectious disease specialist. Dr. Conley bears the responsibility for ensuring that the President has a qualified care team there. Finally, there is no information about infection control measures at the White House, which the President violated when he stepped in the building without a mask and neither Dr. Conley nor anyone else stopped him. We should all be concerned about staff of WH residence, mostly people of color.
A recurring theme of medicine for the wealthy or powerful is a tendency for them to latch onto marginal medical practitioners . English royalty and homeopathy for example . Or doctors who prescribe inappropriately ( Michael Jacksons cardiologist for example ). Presumably being able to buy what you want rather than what you need , or having the conceit that you know better the complicated biology and pathology of the human body ( Trump , for example ) leads to this .
I was not aware that he was not an M.D., but I did see a report on CBS News on Sunday by a medical expert stating that Dr. Conley had no expertise in infectious diseases or epidemiology and was not qualified to give an opinion regarding the future course of Trump’s illness.
ReplyDeleteTrump has proved once more that he is incorrigible and entirely beyond the pale. He is entirely undeserving of any sympathy anyone might have felt for him. He is now casting himself as a victor over the virus and belittling those who have suffered severe symptoms and those who have succumbed to the disease. He is totally oblivious to the fact that he has received special experimental treatments that few Americans could have afforded or had access to. Everything is viewed through his self-centered prism. His pathology is all-consuming.
MS
I didn't know anything at all about the Whitehouse doctor before this. I do know that, these days, there are not many differences between a DO and an MD, except that it is, in general, easier to get in to a school that traines one to be a DO than an MD. That doesn't tell you much about any particular doctor, though. (My understanding is that there used to be a fair amount of difference in the training for DOs and MDs, partly based on "philosophical" grounds, but that this has greatly decreased in recent years.)
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who has the feeling that it could also be a veterinarian doing his job in the White House? A.K.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that, but I suppose anything is possible.
When I think of Il Duce, images of Nero from the "Robe," and of Caligula, from "I Claudius," pop into my head.
MS
I have been a philosopher medical educator for more than four decades and have taught many DOs in residency programs and taught with DO faculty colleagues. Dr. Conley is an emergency medicine physician, I assume Board certified. He is therefore qualified to work in an Emergency Department. That he was made the President's physician indicates incompetence of US Navy Surgeon General.
ReplyDeleteEmergency medicine physicians are not trained in the management of hospitalized patients. In a well-run hospital, the President's attending physician would have been an internal medicine doc Board certified in infectious disease with experience in managing patients with COVID-19. That this did not occur raises questions about the competence of the leadership at Walter Reed. There is also no information about whether the team at the White House includes a COVID-19 infectious disease specialist. Dr. Conley bears the responsibility for ensuring that the President has a qualified care team there. Finally, there is no information about infection control measures at the White House, which the President violated when he stepped in the building without a mask and neither Dr. Conley nor anyone else stopped him. We should all be concerned about staff of WH residence, mostly people of color.
A recurring theme of medicine for the wealthy or powerful is a tendency for them to latch onto marginal medical practitioners . English royalty and homeopathy for example . Or doctors who prescribe inappropriately ( Michael Jacksons cardiologist for example ).
ReplyDeletePresumably being able to buy what you want rather than what you need , or having the conceit that you know better the complicated biology and pathology of the human body ( Trump , for example ) leads to this .