Jordan and Austin, I’d love to get your take on an emerging “controversy” over one of the candidates in the Michigan Democratic Senate Primary, Abdul El Sayed.
He is a public health official who ran the Detroit and Wayne Country PH departments and has made a couple of runs for office in the past. His training is as an MD/PhD (in public health) and after an experience in his residency that disillusioned him (related to turfing out patients onto the street ASAP) he exited medicine to focus on public health meaning he never got licenced or became a practicing physician. None of this is secret and is a part of his biography he has been pretty clear about.
There is now a “not a real doctor” controversy around him because people are claiming he has misrepresented himself, particularly in past political campaigns, with things like wearing a white coat and referring to himself as a physician. I know in legal situations that term has a more specific definition than doctor related to treating patients, but even acknowledging that, this seems drummed up. I get that for a lot of people the concept of a doctor who’s never actually practiced might be confusing, but coming from a clinical research/academia background I know loads of MD/PhDs for whom that is the case.
How do you two respond to this “controversy” given your different ways you two have used your medical degrees and training?