Job Description of the Surgeon General

[FrenchieCat]

The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government. The Surgeon General's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG).

The Surgeon General is nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. The Surgeon General serves a four-year term of office and is normally the highest ranking uniformed officer of the PHSCC, holding the grade of a three-star vice admiral while in office.<1> In carrying out all responsibilities, the Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), who is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on public health and scientific issues, and is the overall head of the United States Public Health Service (PHS). The ASH would be the only person that could outrank the Surgeon General if he or she is also a commissioned officer in the PHSCC.

The Surgeon General also has many informal duties, such as educating the American public about health issues and advocating healthy lifestyle choices.

The office also periodically issues health warnings. Perhaps the best known example of this is the Surgeon General's Warning labels that can be found on all packages of American cigarettes. A health warning also appears on alcoholic beverages.

Past American Surgeons General have often been characterized by their outspoken personalities and often controversial proposals on how to reform the U.S. health system. Because the office is not a particularly powerful one, and has little direct impact on policy-making.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States

[Avalux]

1. It's a PR job; Gupta is a good choice.

I like him; he's able to explain and write complex medical information in easy to understand terms.

[FrenchieCat]

3. I agree. It is about getting the people to listen......

To the policies being pushed by the White House.....not Gupta.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. He's a corporate shill

for makers of medicine to treat Restless Knee Syndrome.

[FrenchieCat]

5. He is an effective spokesperson,

and therefore will be effective as spokesman.

I consider the idea of appointing him as brilliant.

[SteppingRazor]

6. And now he's an Obama shill.

I was actually going to post something similar to this OP. All the sudden outrage over Gupta seems a bit silly, given that this is basically a PR gig.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Ah, it's a bunch of woos and Obama haters.

Fuck 'em.

[mucifer]

4. Maybe so but the best Surgeon Generals have been activists.

Reagan appointed C. Evert Coop did some great things with AIDS education when the president refused to.

[FrenchieCat]

11. Ok, perhaps so, but I still think that Gutpa is a good pick

as a voice not representing himself.

I give credit to Coop. That doesn't make Gutpa evil for the purpose of this office, IMO.

The gravitas that he would bring to the office to get a majority to listen is excellent!

[mucifer]

13. I'd rather see an activist like Coop who has his heart in his work.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Coop's a shill for the big Life Alert corporations.

[mucifer]

17. Coop got the country to think about AIDS in a different way and be opened minded.

Those were horrible days back then and he did a lot.

[FrenchieCat]

19. I understand,

and there is always the possibility that Sanjay will be just that.

Coop wasn't necessarily labeled as an health activist until he got the particular job of Surgeon General. He was simply a great pediatric surgeon till then. His biggest contribution was in the realm of operation procedure on conjoined twins, not quite the issue that conoted activism.

[napi21]

8. I too think Sanjay is a good choice. It doesn't appear the job has much

authority to do much more than talk and Sanjay is good at that.

[moc]

9. Public health is not synonymous with medicine. What's his training in public health specifically?

I know I'm being redundant between threads, but I think everyone is missing the key point here. What are his qualifications for leading the public health infrastructure of this country?

[FrenchieCat]

12. Millions watch CNN and have listened to him and trust him on the issue of health

That's a good thing.

The Surgeon General's job is not leading the Public Health infrastructure in this country.

The Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary of Health.....

The Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) oversees the PHS and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.<1><2>

Agencies within the Public Health Service

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Administration on Aging (AoA)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Indian Health Service (IHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_Service

[moc]

15. If he's the spokesman for public health then, he'd better learn the lingo.

I've met the acting SG. Their role is not just to talk on CNN to the public. They have to interface with public health professionals all over the country on initiatives to improve population health. Just because he has an MD doesn't mean he knows squat about public health. He will be ineffective if he can't interface effectively with the public health professionals in this country.

[Raineyb]

20. Then millions are fools because CNN is only beholden to the bottom line and will lie if

its corporate sponsors insist on it. Considering the number of ads for prescription drugs (which ought not be advertised in the first place because as Bill Maher said if I tell my doctor what drugs I want he's no longer my doctor he's my dealer) that air on the channel I see no reason to trust the person on the screen for any media channel. We don't need a corporate shill in the job even if it is a PR job.

Regards

[FrenchieCat]

23. I can guarantee that his job will not be shilling for the Drug companies

as Surgeon General.

He served afterall as an advisor to Hillary Clinton, so I think that he will be just fine.

[Mojorabbit]

36. I know from public health

boards that morale is very very low. A lot of good people have left the service.

[Cha]

10. Rec'd..thanks

Frenchie.

[Metric System]

16. Based on this, I would say Gupta is a good choice. People are familiar with him so maybe they'll

actually listen when he speaks.

[drm604]

18. My first reaction to this was very negative,

but since it is apparently basically a PR job, he probably isn't such a bad choice.

He is very good at speaking to the public. The insurance and pharmaceutical industries will be losing an effective shill and Obama will we be gaining one.

[FrenchieCat]

21. See, that's how I see it.

The most important facet of this particular job is communication. He seems strong in this area.

His bio reads......Sanjay Gupta (Hindi: संजय गुप्ता), born October 23, 1969, is the Surgeon-General Designate of the United States. He is an American physician of Indian descent and a contributing CNN chief health correspondent based in Atlanta, Georgia. An assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he is also a frequent guest on the news program Anderson Cooper 360°. "Charity Hospital" won a 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast. From 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton. Gupta currently publishes a column in TIME magazine. He is also host of House Call with Dr Sanjay Gupta. His book Chasing Life was a New York Times and National bestseller.<1><2>.

On January 6, 2009, it was reported that Gupta had been offered, and planned to accept, the position of Surgeon General by President-Elect Barack Obama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gupta

[Uzybone]

22. Without using the google, who is the current SG?

[FrenchieCat]

24. I don't know.

That's how NOT important this position has been.

It could be more effective with a high visibility person serving in that job...which is why I personally like the pick.

Plus, it is nice to see an American of Indian ancestry serving the people in such a high visibility position....among other things.

[Mz Pip]

35. I don't have a problem with him, either

To be a national spokeman one has to be up on all the latest medical info. I don't doubt that Gupta doesn't keep current on what is going on in medicine and in public health.

If Obama wanted someone with a high profile then the only other Dr. I can think of who fits that bill is Dr. Dean Edell.

Mz Pip

[slackmaster]

26. I thought it was you

:hide:

[NYC_SKP]

27. This dude:

Galson, Steven K.

[NYC_SKP]

25. Jocelyn Elders was right about a few things...

...But Bill fired her, after he hired her...

In 1994, she was invited to speak at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity, and she replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught." This remark caused great controversy and resulted in Elders losing the support of the White House. White House chief of staff Leon Panetta remarked, "There have been too many areas where the President does not agree with her views. This is just one too many." Elders was fired by President Clinton as a result of the controversy in December of 1994.



:patriot:

[moc]

28. Joceyn Elders spoke at my public health convocation.

Hopkins 1993. Damn, but did she rock! :applause:

[NYC_SKP]

29. Right on!

Plain spoken and sincere, no?

[moc]

33. Shit yeah. You can imagine what she was like talking to a bunch

of "true believers" like us. It was like some sort of revival meeting with the clapping, cheering, and invocations of "amen!". What a memorable occasion.

Of course, the excitement of that was balanced by having the graduation ceremony (a university wide event) speaker be the chancellor of Germany. :boring: What a contrast - and let down - from Elders.

[Barack_America]

30. He's a bad choice.

The position may only require someone who can speak well, but Americans deserve to also have someone who knows what he speaks. I don't see anything in Sanjay's background that demonstrates any real command of public health issues. I'm afraid that superficial reports for a cable news network just aren't going to cut it.

[FrenchieCat]

32. I think you are not giving him credit......

He hasn't been on CNN that long to give him that as his only experience.

It's ok to be critical and not to like someone for a particular position,
but I believe that it is important that we be fair.

I posted his bio up thread, and it appears that being on CNN is not his only experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gupta

[Barack_America]

34. I read his wiki bio. I'm sure he's a great surgeon.

But I don't see anything there about public health exposure at all. Public health is very different than medicine (which in turn is very different than surgery), after all.

[smalll]

31. Must be willing to play dress up in public. Operetta performers and doormen welcome. /nt

[bigwillq]

37. Thanks for this post, Frenchie.

While I am one of those "flipping out", I guess when you disagree with something that is what you're labeled here on DU now (not by you but by others), I really do, sincerely, appreciate you posting this information.

I do agree that the SG job is now just a PR job and it probably won't matter too much who the SG is anyway.

I am a bit confused as to why Obama would pick someone who is against universal health care, one who is a big Pharma advocate as his SG, since that person will be the leading spokesman on these topics. But we will see what Gupta does. Can't pass too much judgment until the man is given the chance to actually do something.

[FrenchieCat]

40. We will survive this choice, as I believe it is his high profile

that will be used here, and will be most effective. And since the Government will be paying his salary, his pouted views will be those as described by the Obama administration on the issues of health. I think that the CIA pick is 1000X more important than this one....but that's just me.

[Gregorian]

38. I'm going to say it again, Dr. Paul Grundy would be great.

http://www.tedeytan.com/2008/02/17/212

I'm sure there are many. But Paul was a flight surgeon in the Air Force. He's running IBM's health services. That's like the size of a country's health care.

I only know him because he is my cousin. So I'm sure there are many others qualified. But this is just one, whom I know is qualified.

[1776Forever]

39. Sanjay Gupta Data page..Was an Advisor to the First Lady (Hillary Clinton)

He had friends in high places for sure......I personally think it was pretty obvious he was going to be the pick for this position.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1918973/bio

From 1997-98 he served as one of 15 White House Fellows, as an advisor to the First Lady (Hillary Clinton). Currently publishes a column in TIME Magazine.