The Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin was the ninth Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs in the Trump Administration and VA’s Under Secretary of Health in the Obama Administration. He was twice confirmed by the US Senate unanimously.
During his time at the US Department of Veterans Affairs he addressed the long wait times for veterans by establishing same day services, expanding the number of providers, building telehealth capabilities, and publicly publishing appointment availability. He worked to support legislation to update the GI Bill, Appeals Modernization, Accountability of VA staff, Expansion of Mental Health Benefits, and permanently giving veterans choice to utilize private sector providers. Secretary Shulkin continues his advocacy for veterans as a member of the board of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Veterans Moving Forward, the Foundation for Arts and Healing, and the National Medal of Honor Foundation.
Secretary Shulkin is a widely respected public servant and healthcare executive having also served as chief executive of leading hospitals and health systems including Beth Israel in New York City, Morristown Medical Center in Northern NJ, and currently advises leading health systems. Secretary Shulkin has held numerous physician leadership roles including the Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. Secretary Shulkin has held academic positions including the Chairman of Medicine and Vice Dean at Drexel University School of Medicine. As an entrepreneur, he founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality one of the first consumer orientated sources of information for quality and safety in healthcare. Secretary Shulkin has served on boards of managed care companies, technology companies, and health care organizations.
Secretary Shulkin is a board-certified internist. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, his internship at Yale University School of Medicine, and a residency and Fellowship in General Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Presbyterian Medical Center. He received advanced training in outcomes research and economics as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.
Over his career Secretary Shulkin has been named “One Hundred Most Influential People in American Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare. He continues to advocate on behalf of the country’s veterans by serving on the board of numerous nonprofits that serve veterans and is the author of the recent book, “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Serve Your Country: Our Broken Government and the Plight of Veterans”.