Fact check: Abdul El-Sayed not a ‘fake doctor’ or licensed physician

Republican Mike Rogers and President Donald Trump have attacked Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as a ‘fake doctor’
El-Sayed is a doctor with a doctor of medicine degree from Columbia University
El-Sayed has also called himself a ‘physician’ even though he is not licensed to practice in Michigan or other states

As campaigning for the midterm elections enters its final stretch, Republicans are claiming Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed inflated his credentials.

President Donald Trump recently called El-Sayed a “fake doctor,” and GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers has repeated versions of the same attack several times.

El-Sayed is a doctor who holds a doctor of medicine degree from Columbia University, but he has also claimed to be a physician even though he does not meet that legal definition in Michigan because he is not licensed to practice medicine.

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Claims about El-Sayed’s medical credentials are among several that Bridge Michigan is fact-checking ahead of the Nov. 3 election, including one on Rogers’ past record on prescription drug legislation. The winner of the Senate race will succeed retiring Democrat Gary Peters.

The claims

At a rally in Kansas on Oct. 19, President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a “fake doctor.”

Rogers has similarly said El-Sayed “isn’t a real doctor, but he plays one on TV.” And in their first debate Rogers said, “If somebody came into his office and he tried to treat that patient, he’d go to jail,” a claim Bridge previously reviewed.

El-Sayed has acknowledged he does not practice medicine but has nonetheless called himself a physician, both on his LinkedIn profile, at campaign events and in media interviews.

In response to Republican attacks on El-Sayed’s credentials, more than 1,000 medical professionals this week signed onto a letter calling him a doctor.

Organized by the Committee to Protect Health Care, which has endorsed El-Sayed, the letter cited his public health work, and signers said they were “proud to stand with a colleague who has dedicated his career, in every sense of the word, to the health of our state.”

The facts

El-Sayed holds an MD, or doctor of medicine degree, from Columbia University. He also holds a doctorate in public health from Oxford University.

After completing his degree at Columbia, El-Sayed opted to enter the public health field instead of pursuing a medical residency, which is a requirement for obtaining a license to practice medicine.

El-Sayed served as the director of Detroit’s health department and later as the director of Wayne County’s health department.

While El-Sayed is a doctor, describing himself as a physician invites more scrutiny. One physician told PolitiFact that “physician” refers to “someone with a medical degree who is licensed to practice medicine.”

Likewise, Michigan Public Health Code defines the title of physician as “an individual who is licensed or authorized” under state law “to engage in the practice of medicine.” Wayne County employed a separate medical director during El-Sayed’s tenure, as required under state rules if “the health officer is not a physician.”

However, the American Medical Association defines the term “physician” more broadly than Michigan law. A physician is “an individual who has received a ‘Doctor of Medicine’” degree, which El-Sayed has, according to the nation’s largest professional organization for physicians.

During an Aug. 5 press conference after winning the Democratic primary, El-Sayed said, “I don’t practice medicine. This has been well documented by all of you.”

Bottom line

While El-Sayed’s academic credentials, including his medical degree, mean that he is a doctor, he isn’t a licensed physician and does not treat patients.