NBC News’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman managed to make it back on air after violating her voluntary Ebola quarantine to get takeout, but apparently the network can’t tolerate a second scandal in the midst of Brian Williams’s suspension. Snyderman announced on Thursday that she’s stepping down as the network’s chief medical editor, a month after her speech was somewhat slurred during a report on peanut allergies. “I stepped out of the OR a few years ago and it is now time for me to return to my roots,” she said. “Covering the Ebola epidemic last fall in Liberia, and then becoming part of the story upon my return to the U.S., contributed to my decision that now is the time to return to academic medicine.” Snyderman said she will join the faculty of a “major U.S. medical school.”
Though she did not reference the incident, CNNMoney noted that Snyderman hasn’t been on TV since the strange report aired on February 22. Many online commenters declared she was obviously drunk, and thanks to the work of these anonymous Dr. Houses, she had to go. (Of course, a spokesperson for NBC News had nothing but praise for Snyderman, saying, “She’s been a valuable voice both on air and in our newsroom, and we wish her all the best.”)
Snyderman has worked as a medical correspondent for more than 30 years, but she is also on staff in the Department of the Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, so she can fall back on being a real-life doctor.
