United States Surgeon General

[Wetzelbill]

Whatever side of the discussion you're on it helps to know what the Surgeon General does. It's just embarrassing to fight over something and not even know what the position entails. -WB

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 functions under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Health and operationally heads the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the USPHS, a cadre of health professionals who are on call 24 hours a day, and can be dispatched by the Secretary of HHS or the Assistant Secretary for Health in the event of a public health emergency. The Surgeon General is also the ultimate award authority for several public health awards and decorations, the highest of which that can be directly awarded is the Surgeon General's Medal (the highest award bestowed by board action is the Distinguished Service Medal).

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.


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

Office of the Surgeon General (OSG)
The Office of the Surgeon General, under the direction of the Surgeon General, oversees the operations of the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and provides support for the Surgeon General in the accomplishment of his other duties. The Office is part of the Office of Public Health and Science in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Surgeon General serves as America's chief health educator by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury. The acting Surgeon General is Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H.

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/index.html

About the Office of the Surgeon General
The Office of the Surgeon General, under the direction of the Surgeon General, oversees the operations of the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and provides support for the Surgeon General in the accomplishment of his other duties. The Office is part of the Office of Public Health and Science in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Surgeon General serves as America's chief health educator by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury. The Surgeon General is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate for a 4-year term of office. In carrying out all responsibilities, the Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary for Health, who is the principal advisor to the Secretary on public health and scientific issues.

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/index.html


Duties of the Surgeon General
The duties of the Surgeon General are to:

Protect and advance the health of the Nation through educating the public, advocating for effective disease prevention and health promotion programs and activities, and, providing a highly recognized symbol of national commitment to protecting and improving the public's health,

Articulate scientifically based health policy analysis and advice to the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the full range of critical public health, medical, and health system issues facing the Nation,

Provide leadership in promoting special Departmental health initiatives, e.g., tobacco and HIV prevention efforts, with other governmental and non-governmental entities, both domestically and internationally,

Administer the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps, which is a uniquely expert, diverse, flexible, and committed career force of public health professionals who can respond to both current and long-term health needs of the Nation,

Provide leadership and management oversight for PHS Commissioned Corps involvement in Departmental emergency preparedness and response activities,

Elevate the quality of public health practice in the professional disciplines through the advancement of appropriate standards and research priorities, and
Fulfill statutory and customary Departmental representational functions on a wide variety of Federal boards and governing bodies of non-Federal health organizations, including the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the National Library of Medicine, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, and the American Medical Association.


http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/duties/index.html

[xchrom]

1. you mean the SG isn't just a spokes model? nt

[LostinVA]

4. Look at C. Everett Coop -- he did what he was supposed to do

And pissed off the GOP doing it (AIDS, tobacco, etc.).

SGs have helped spearhead efforts during flu and Polio epidemics. They HAVE to understand Public Health and how to utilize the Public Health "troops." It's driving me nuts reading that it's "just a PR position." It's about the public health of US citizens, including preparation and prevention.

This and the Kaine choice are leaving me gobsmacked.

[Captain Hilts]

6. And surgeons are the 'fighter pilots' of medicine. They think they're gods. Better to get...

a grunt or surface skimmer to run things. DC is full of folks at NIH, Bethesda Naval, Walter Reed who understand medicine for large groups of people and research issues.

Gupta might do a good job, but it's a weird choice.

[LostinVA]

8. My mother and sister are nurses, and would agree with the "fighter pilot" analogy

[Captain Hilts]

9. You have to believe you're the virgin birth before every operation, carrier landing, what have you.

Rumsfeld, Bush and Gen. Meyers who brought you the Iraq War - all pilots. McCain too.

'Nuff said.

[hileeopnyn8d]

12. C. Everett Coop

C. Everett Coop was a pediatric surgeon, and a high profile one at that. He participated in several cojoined twin separations, so I'm not sure if discounting surgeons is a valid argument.

On the other hand, I think all of the current administrations "acting" Surgeon Generals have held a MPH, which would be admirable if they weren't essentially gagged by the Bush administration.

I think what we're going to see is a large scale public health information campaign. Given that so much of it has been suppressed or redacted for the last 8 years, there's a lot of ground to cover. I think that's why so many see Gupta as an asset.

[Wetzelbill]

7. It mainly is PR, but yeah they get involved in other things too

It sort of depends on the president's vision. Bush's SGs have been nonexistent, especially since Carmona left.

[Wetzelbill]

5. Not since C. Everett Koop raised the bar on that one

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Thank you for compiling this. n/t

[WeDidIt]

3. It'll be interesting to see Gupta in the uniform of a Vice Admiral

Only with these rank insignia:



Edited to add that he should get this medal right away:

[Captain Hilts]

10. They have GOT to get them out of naval uniforms. They walk around Bethesda wearing them incorrectly

MADDENING.

A general dressed as an admiral???

[WeDidIt]

11. Yeah.

I might be wrong about the National Defense Medal, too, but given the requirements for it, it should be the only thing he wears on that admiral's uniform.

I know in Chicago, it's the only thing on the uniform of every Navy Boot Camp graduate who comes to the city.

I wonder how he feels about being a Vice Admiral?