Dr. Jeffrey Rosenfeld, longtime director of the Carolinas Neuromuscular/ALS Center, has been accused by the N.C. Medical Board of inappropriate conduct in connection with physical exams he performed on three female medical students who were under his supervision.
Rosenfeld, 50, was fired last May by Carolinas Medical Center, where he was also chairman of the neurology department.
The medical board alleges Rosenfeld performed the exams in January, February and April 2007 "under the guise of providing instruction on how to conduct a neurological examination."
All three students, whose names were not revealed, were asked to change into gowns, and for two of the exams, no chaperone was present, according to the board's notice of charges.
"There was no legitimate medical or educational purpose for Dr. Rosenfeld to physically examine (the three students), and he did so for his own personal gratification," the board said.
Contacted Wednesday, Rosenfeld said he had not been notified of the board's action. "This is the first I'm hearing about it. I'm just shocked," he said. "I steadfastly maintain that these were educational exercises."
The board, which licenses and regulates doctors, has set a public hearing for Aug. 20 on Rosenfeld's charges.
The board has authority to take disciplinary action ranging from a reprimand to probation or revocation of his license.
Last year, Rosenfeld sued Carolinas HealthCare System, accusing his former employer of breach of contract and defamation of character. He voluntarily dropped the lawsuit last month. In court documents, the hospital said it received complaints from female medical students who said Rosenfeld "engaged in inappropriate physical contact during (physical) examinations."
Rosenfeld said he offered students the option of being examined by him so he could demonstrate the proper method of conducting physical exams to diagnose medical problems. He said feedback from students showed the exams were an "incredibly useful teaching tool."
In recent weeks, Rosenfeld accepted a job as chief of the division of neurology at the Fresno campus of the University of California San Francisco.
