Expelled twice, revoked this time: Montreal doctor lied about getting kicked out from two U.S universities

A Quebec doctor who was expelled from two American universities—then lied about it on his Canadian residency matching application—has been stripped of his licence and ordered to pay college investigation and hearing costs. Dr. Sirpal Sanjeev, a U.S.-born doctor who worked until recently as an emergency room physician in Montreal, also failed to disclose his history of academic misconduct when he applied for registration with the Collège des médecins du Québec, according to the decision document issued by the college’s disciplinary board. In his defence, Dr. Sanjeev’s lawyer argued that the omissions were errors made in good faith and were the result of the limitations of the application forms. But these arguments failed to sway the disciplinary board, which concluded that Dr. Sanjeev’s explanations did not “hold water” and lacked credibility. “The respondent’s testimony is a variation of implausible pretexts that evolve with time, circumstances and the interlocutors to whom it is addressed,” the board wrote in its decision. Read: Flood of physician retirements a concern for the CMQ Dr. Sanjeev obtained his doctorate in medicine in 2013, from the Spartan Health Sciences University, School of Medicine in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Prior to this time, according to the decision document, there was evidence “of disputes, misconduct, plagiarism and dismissals of the respondent during his university studies in American territory.” In 2008, Dr. Sanjeev was expelled from a doctorate program at the University of Miami. Following that, he spent part of a semester at Johns Hopkins University, where he was also expelled, presumably for failing to disclose his expulsion from the University of Miami. Dr. Sanjeev subsequently filed two lawsuits related to these incidents: one against the University of Miami, which he accused of racial discrimination, and another against a PhD student at Johns Hopkins, whom he alleged had defamed him by circulating information about dismissal from the University of Miami. The courts ruled against Dr. Sanjeev in both suits. Read: Doctor who left angry messages for public health insurer's lawyer gets one-month suspension In 2016—three years after getting his medical degree—Dr. Sanjeev applied to the Canadian Resident Matching Service, where he answered “no” to a series of questions about previous misconduct, including one that asked whether he had ever been found guilty of misconduct during post-secondary studies. He landed a residency in public health, followed immediately after by a residency in family medicine, both at the University of Montreal hospital. Dr. Sanjeev’s licence was revoked on October 11. Read: 'Disproportionate, unfair' and speculative: Professions tribunal overturns college ruling

Expelled twice, revoked this time: Montreal doctor lied about getting kicked out from two U.S universities

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