Dr. Shulkin is a national thought leader on veterans’ health and patient-centered care, was appointed by President Donald Trump as the 9th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and served in the role from February 2017 until March 2018. He also served as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health under President Barack Obama.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is the second-largest federal government agency, and the Secretary oversees the National Cemetery Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the Veterans Health Administration. Under Secretary Shulkin’s leadership, the Department streamlined the appeals process for veterans seeking disability benefits, made wait times more transparent, and improved mental health services.
Before his time in government, Dr. Shulkin had a long career of health care leadership and management, including at the University of Pennsylvania Health System (now Penn Medicine), as well as Temple University Hospital, Beth Israel Medical Center, and the Morristown Medical Center.
Dr. Shulkin is the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute Distinguished Health Policy Fellow. He 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.