Candidate for US surgeon general comes under fire from senators
Scott Gottlieb, New York
The White House nominee for US surgeon general faced tough questioning in
Senate hearings about his qualifications but isstill expected to beconfirmed.
Dr Richard Carmona hit the headlines for his dual career as a trauma surgeon
and deputy sheriff, and on the eve of the hearingsallegations arose
in the Los Angeles Times that he had had a rockytenure as a
surgeon at a previous hospital and was often in conflictwith
colleagues. The article also alleged he had supplied incorrect
information for an application to become an emergency room physician
and had failed certification exams at leasttwice.
Dr Carmona, who describes himself as a "high school dropout and poor Hispanic
kid" who went on to become a doctor after servingin Vietnam, has run
a trauma unit and hospital in Tucson, Arizona,where he works as a
deputy sheriff. He is also a clinical professorof surgery at the
University ofArizona.
Under questioning at his Senate confirmation hearing, Dr Carmona acknowledged
that it had taken him eight years to acquireboard certification in
general surgery and that he had failedthe exam twice before passing
it. He also dismissed complaintsabout his handling of several
personnel disputes, attributingthese to bitter former employees and
"businessdisputes."
Despite the questions, several senators predicted that Dr Carmona would be
confirmed for the post vacated in April by DavidSatcher, who was
appointed by Bill Clinton in1998.
During the hearing Dr Carmona demonstrated a fluent understanding of a wide
array of health issues, ranging from asthma tobioterrorism, to
childhood obesity, and to HIV/AIDS.
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