\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn late February, Means appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), where she was grilled on key issues, including her stance on hepatitis B vaccinations, conflicts of interest and more. Several key voters in the committee did not indicate whether they would vote for Means, and the process has been stalled since the nomination hearing.<\/p>\n
The change<\/h2>\n On his Truth Social platform, President Donald J. Trump<\/b> wrote that the HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., who asked Means about informed consent at her nomination hearing in February and is typically considered a swing vote in these proceedings, \u201chas stood in the way of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s Nominee, Casey Means, for the important position of U.S. Surgeon General. I nominated Casey, a strong MAHA Warrior, at the recommendation of Secretary Kennedy,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cCasey will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important Health issues facing our Country, such as the rising childhood disease epidemic, increased autism rates, poor nutrition, over-medicalization, and researching the root causes of infertility, and many other difficult medical problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a separate post, Trump announced that Saphier, a radiologist and director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Monmouth, is his new pick for surgeon general.<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole is a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment while tirelessly advocating to increase early cancer detection and prevention, while at the same time working with men and women on all other forms of cancer diagnoses and treatments,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cShe is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saphier \u2018will clear the hurdle\u2019<\/h2>\n Arthur L. Caplan, PhD,<\/b> a professor and founding head of the division of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Healio he was unsurprised by the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeans was never going to make it. She simply lacked the qualifications, had no real respect from the medical community because she never had finished her residency and fellowship, really hadn\u2019t practiced in any setting, and that, for the surgeon general, is just a huge obstacle. She was not convincing in her testimony about conflict of interests and the products that she was selling,\u201d Caplan said.<\/p>\n
But the biggest obstacle for Means was that she \u201cdid not come across as an effective communicator,\u201d Caplan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe important thing about the surgeon general is that they be a good communicator. Normally, that aspect of who\u2019s going to serve in health roles in government, it\u2019s important, but it\u2019s not as important as it is for the surgeon general, because the surgeon general actually doesn\u2019t control anything, can\u2019t enforce anything … They\u2019re almost like the nation\u2019s chief medical nag to be healthy, or to do healthy things, or to translate information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caplan said Saphier is \u201ca real physician, a real radiologist\u201d who has practiced, so \u201cshe will clear the hurdle about being a legitimate physician easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she\u2019ll pass the communication test, too. She\u2019s been involved with Fox News and social media. I\u2019ve actually seen her a few times talking, and I think she\u2019s a very effective communicator,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve met her once or twice. I think she\u2019s a very nice, bright person. She\u2019s not going to be hostile as a default. I think she will be willing to engage and communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caplan said she \u201cmay get into trouble with her views about wellness\u201d since she \u201chas been known to promote some things that are dubious,\u201d like tinctures and herbal medicines \u2014 \u201cbut not to the degree\u201d that Means did.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t have the same degree of conflicts. I\u2019ll make a prediction: she\u2019s going to sail through. She will be the surgeon general,\u201d he said. \u201cI certainly don\u2019t agree with her on many things. She\u2019s a little lukewarm on COVID vaccination and that sort of stuff, whereas I\u2019m much more pro. But I think, again, [she is] someone who will fill the role much, much better than Means would have.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information:<\/h2>\n Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, <\/b>can be reached at primarycare@healio.com.<\/p>\n\n
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