Senator Keskamol Pleansamai, while indeed a medical doctor, has found herself in hot water with the Medical Council of Thailand over claims of being a skincare specialist. (Photo: dr.kes.keskamol Instagram account)
The council is gearing up to charge the beleaguered Senator for presenting herself as a skin and beauty expert sans official certification. In its July 12 meeting, the council’s board concluded that Dr. Keskamol’s actions ran afoul of Section 32 of the Medical Professions Act, which demands formal certification for such distinctions. This revelation comes from a source closely tied to the case.
Tasked with probing into Dr. Keskamol’s self-proclaimed expertise is Dr. Ittaporn Kanacharoen, the council’s secretary-general. He has the responsibility to determine if her declarations breach council ethics. According to Dr. Ittaporn, the board will further deliberate on the matter come August 8.
In a recent Facebook post, Dr. Ittaporn shed light on the fact that out of Thailand’s 76,000 medical professionals, 40,000 possess recognized specialty certifications. A mere medical degree renders one a general practitioner, and further certification is obligatory for any specialist designation. This clarity is crucial under Section 44 of the Medical Professions Act, which enforces penalties of up to one-year imprisonment and a 10,000-baht fine for doctors falsely claiming specialist status. Additionally, their licenses could be revoked, as per the act.
Dr. Keskamol’s credentials feature a verified medical degree from Rangsit University. However, other aspects of her academic portfolio, including multiple graduate degrees and a professorship, have been critically scrutinized by social media detectives. Particularly contentious is her claim of a PhD from the California University Foreign Credentials Evaluation (FCE) Institution, a body known for issuing certificates rather than degrees.
Despite these controversies, Dr. Keskamol operates four beauty clinics and garners a significant online following. Reflecting on her political career, she mentioned that during her Senate campaign, she chose to align with the “others” category, encompassing freelancers, over the Medical Professions group, citing the prominence of notable individuals in the latter.
In response to the avalanche of accusations, Dr. Keskamol’s lawyer, Decha Kittiwittayanan, has stepped up to defend her. He clarified that Dr. Keskamol is a doctoral candidate at Maejo University in Chiang Mai and has never claimed to have completed the program. The university corroborated this, attesting that she is midway through a three-year doctoral course in the Faculty of Agricultural Production.
Mr. Decha pointed fingers at the media for misrepresenting Dr. Keskamol’s educational background. Addressing claims that she purportedly led the public to believe she was a student at the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida), he explained that she was merely visiting the institute as part of her doctoral research.
This seems like a witch hunt! Dr. Keskamol has done so much good work. Why focus on these details?
Because it’s about ethics and integrity. If you claim to be something you’re not, it undermines the trust people place in you.
So you’d rather she didn’t operate her successful clinics at all? Seems counterproductive if you ask me.
But Mark is right. It’s necessary to have credentials, especially in a field dealing with people’s health.
Too many people are fixated on titles! She’s still helping people, credentials or not.
Ethics in medicine are non-negotiable. If she hasn’t the credentials, she’s misleading patients.
Agreed. There’s no room for gray areas in healthcare.
But what about her actual work? If her patients are satisfied, does it really matter?
Satisfaction now doesn’t negate the potential for harm later. Proper certification ensures that specialists have the necessary knowledge.
Imagine if everyone thought like you, Joseph. We’d have untrained people in all kinds of critical jobs.
No degree mill degree can substitute real medical training. She’s a GP, not a specialist.
It’s also about trust. Patients trust doctors to be what they say they are.
What’s worse: a doctor with questionable credentials or a politician lying about everything?
Both are bad, but at least the politician isn’t directly putting people’s health at risk.
True, but this does open up a wider conversation about honesty in public roles.
It’s all about trust. If you can’t trust your doctor, it’s a slippery slope.
Her social media presence boosts her credibility. Is that really such a bad thing?
Credentials must take precedence over popularity. This is about safety, not social media followers.
Exactly. Popularity is not a substitute for qualifications.
So many doctors have multiple degrees; it’s confusing why she needed to exaggerate hers.
This is a typical case of the media blowing things out of proportion.
Even if the media is giving this a lot of attention, shouldn’t we hold public figures to a higher standard?
Especially when those figures are responsible for people’s health. The standards need to be stringent.
Credentials should be verified rigorously in all fields, but why is this suddenly a major issue?
It’s probably always been an issue, but social media has amplified it.
There’s so much misinformation around. Even if the charges are valid, the constant spotlight feels excessive.
Maybe, but attention is needed to prevent similar cases in the future.
Why hasn’t her lawyer provided hard evidence of her credentials yet?
Probably because they’re still scrambling to figure out what’s real and what’s not.
Doesn’t her successful operation of four clinics count for anything?
Experience matters, sure. But it doesn’t replace certified training and proven expertise.
If she’s midway through a doctoral course, why not just wait for the certification?