Dr Sean Conley: who is the doctor in charge of Donald Trump’s Covid-19 treatment - and how osteopathic medicine works

The US president is being treated for coronavirus at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Dr. Sean Conley, White House physician, speaks during a press conference outside of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, (Getty Images)

Since it was revealed that President Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus there has been confusion over his condition.

Differing accounts have come from Mr Trump’s medical team and his chief of staff Mark Meadows, with many claiming that the White House is trying to play down the US president’s condition.

At the centre of the confusion is Mr Trump’s personal physician Dr Sean Conley who initially lied to reporters about the extent of Mr Trump’s illness, denying the use of supplemental oxygen.

The former Navy officer also caused confusion over the timeline of the president’s coronavirus diagnosis.

He said on Saturday morning (3 October) that it had been 72 hours since Mr Trump had received a positive test, suggesting that the world leader had been continuing his campaign while carrying the disease.

Conley has since attempted to clarify his statement saying that he meant to say “day three”.

Who is Dr Sean Conley?

Hailing from Pennsylvania Dr Sean Conley, 40, studied Osteopathic medicine at Philadelphia College, receiving his degree in 2006.

He then took further courses at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth Virginia before serving as chief of trauma at a NATO unit in Afghanistan.

He joined the White House team in 2016 and became the president’s personal physician in 2018 after his predecessor Dr Ronny Jackson was nominated as the head of the US Department of Veteran Affairs.

Dr Conley has previously said that Mr Trump is in “very good health” implying that he had no concerns about the president’s health for the remainder of his presidency.

He was thrust into the spotlight in June when the president said he was taking unproven drug hydroxychloroquine, with Conley saying "the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks".

What have Dr Sean Conley and his team said about Mr Trump?

Dr Sean Conley has been criticised for his vague press conferences since Mr Trump’s positive diagnosis.

On Saturday he said that Mr Trump’s condition was “no cause for concern” and that he was “doing very well”.

On Sunday, Conley said that the president “continued to improve”, before admitting that president Trump had been provided with supplemental oxygen despite a previous denial from the former Navy commander.

Bizarrely, he excused his upbeat Saturday conference by saying “I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction.”

Dr Brian Garibaldi meanwhile confirmed that Trump had been treated with the steroid dexamethasone.

Dr Garibaldi said: “He received his first dose of that yesterday and our plan is to continue that for the time being,”

Osteopathic medicine explained

Dr Conley’s degree is in Osteopathic medicine, which differs from a US Doctor of Medicine degree.

Osteopathic medics look at mental, lifestyle and environmental factors when diagnosing their patients.

Osteopaths in the US do, however, follow a similar training process to conventionally trained doctors.