Obama's Surgeon General: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta!

I may be a little biased, but I am not impressed with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

I'm sure he is an o.k. doctor, but Surgeon General?

I would want the Surgeon General to be 'da-shit' when it comes to medicine. I'm talking someone who not only knows his stuff, but has contributed to some top research, and is someone who is 'brilliant' in the way that the Chief Scientist at Bell Labs or Lawrence Livermore is brilliant.

Granted, my knowledge in the medical arena is limited and Dr. Gupta could very well be such a person, but I don't think so.

Am I wrong?

Personally, I'm not comfortable with a T.V. doctor being the Surgeon General. Not that the Surgeon General seems to do a whole lot from where I sit.

Stupid question. Does the Surgeon General have any influence on Health Care issues as far as laws being passed?

I know that sounds dumb, but I really don't recall any major health related Bill that either 'came' from the Surgeon General or was 'veteoed' by the Surgeon General.

Now I know it is Congress that passes laws and the President has the Veto power, but you know what I mean. Basically, WTF does the Surgeon General do? Are they just a figure head or do they have any real authority?

Mel...

dgiharris said:

I'm sure he is an o.k. doctor, but Surgeon General?

I would want the Surgeon General to be 'da-shit' when it comes to medicine. I'm talking someone who not only knows his stuff, but has contributed to some top research, and is someone who is 'brilliant' in the way that the Chief Scientist at Bell Labs or Lawrence Livermore is brilliant.

Granted, my knowledge in the medical arena is limited and Dr. Gupta could very well be such a person, but I don't think so.

Am I wrong?

Click to expand...

Well, wrong is a harsh word.

But he's not just a TV doctor. He's a neurosurgeon and a professor of neurosurgery.

And you hardly need a brilliant clinician or researcher for Surgeon General. It's not like the SG's job is to treat patients or discover a cure for cancer -- and in fact, many brilliant doctors are no one you would want running anything. (Paging Dr. House)

You need someone who is conversant with implementing health policies, is able to communicate with congress and the public, and deal with problems political as well as medical. I don't know that much about him, but he doesn't strike me as a bad choice at all.

It had to be done.

I think he should be our next Surgeon General:

dgiharris said:

Now I know it is Congress that passes laws and the President has the Veto power, but you know what I mean. Basically, WTF does the Surgeon General do? Are they just a figure head or do they have any real authority?

Mel...

Click to expand...

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.

Click to expand...

link.

I would want the Surgeon General to be 'da-shit' when it comes to medicine.

Click to expand...

Now I really, really want to reprint my business cards so they read:

Terza M. Rima, M.D.
Department of Pediatrics

'da-shit' when it comes to medicine!

TerzaRima said:

Now I really, really want to reprint my business cards so they read:

Terza M. Rima, M.D.
Department of Pediatrics

'da-shit' when it comes to medicine!

Click to expand...

Just make sure you pay me 5 cents for every business card it's printed on.

It's my trademark phrase.


Haggis,

Thanks for the link. In particular this phrase

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.

Click to expand...

This is kinda why I say the Surgeon General needs to be 'da-shit'.

My original question "What the hell does the SG do?" was more or less because I can't really think of anyway the Surgeon General has directly impacted my life. hmm.... Let me quantify that statement a bit.

Lets take the issue of Stem Cell research. This has been a little bit of a hotbutton topic. In fact, I could argue that it is easily one of the top 3 topics in health care over the next decade. Why haven't I heard anything from the Surgeon General about it? Isn't it a medical issue? Shouldn't his office be 'the decider' I mean, after all , it is medical correct?

Then I think about all the science and technology that is being developed world wide. Everything from Cybernetic chips to aid in paralysis to figuring how to 'trick' the adult body into regrowing teeth. Where the F is the Surgeon General's office on all these issues?

Basically, it just seems like it is a useless position. Now, yes, i'm sure they have a function and all that, but it just seems very passive to me. Like they are just coasting on the momentum of 1960s SG mandates. As Janet Jackson would say, "What have they done for me lately?"

And also, has it always been a token position? Did the office ever command real authority?

For instance, you never hear of the Surgeon General's office funding "x" billion in medical research or deny medical research grants do you?

Mel...

p.s. Just spent some time fishing around on their webisite. Got to tell you, for a Presidential cabinet level position, i'm not really impressed. Especially in this day and age of technology, technical advances, health care problems, HMO fuck yous, etc. etc. To be honest, I think that any 2nd year medical student could probably run that entire organization as effectively as any recent SG before them. Seriously, all their was was a bunch of planned parenthood stuff and get your vaccinations. Puh-lease.

Well, it's not Cabinet level. But it can be a bully pulpit.

I heard tonight that Gupta has a PhD in Public Health along with his MD. This makes me feel better about his (potential?) appointment. It is, after all, a Public Health position.

Past SGs have come out against smoking and for masturbation.

There's a joke in there for sure...

I think it's a great choice. Gupta is all that.

dgiharris said:

Where the F is the Surgeon General's office on all these issues?
.

Click to expand...

Right where the last 2 presidents left them, gagged and hanging by their balls in a secret facility

Well, Obama is a smoker so perhaps he chose a Surgeon General that is lax on tobacco.

I think Dr. Gupta is a good choice as he clearly has credentials and media experience. I wondered about the tobacco issue as well, but I'm willing to bet that Dr. Gupta has spoken out against smoking, I'll look it up and post right now.

Well, looked it up, but didn't find any specific notes about anti-tobacco stances other than the typical urge by an MD to refrain from smoking. Regardless, I think that Gupta would put more of a spotlight on healthcare and preventative medicine, in general.

Hrm...every time someone says Surgeon General I think of the guy in the eighties in the naval uniform who did tv spots for schools. I don't know if he was Reagan's SG for the entire time but I'm kinda stuck with that image.

Tirjasdyn said:

Hrm...every time someone says Surgeon General I think of the guy in the eighties in the naval uniform who did tv spots for schools. I don't know if he was Reagan's SG for the entire time but I'm kinda stuck with that image.

Click to expand...

Koop, I expect.

vitamin c

Come on, Mel. He was one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.

That should count for something. Koop couldn't have claimed that.

WendyNYC said:

Come on, Mel. He was one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.

That should count for something. Koop couldn't have claimed that.

Click to expand...

Anti-beardite!

http://www.slate.com/id/2208089/?GT1=38001

But Gupta is a brain surgeon, a policy wonk, and a fine broadcaster. Never mind the run-of-the-mill cable-news nonsense he's committed to video—the storm-lashed stand-ups in hurricanes and spot commentaries on celebrity autopsies—he's a journalist whose talents for transforming jargon into English and spin into sense are appropriate for a gig that is, at its best, pro-health PR work. Upon the release of Sicko, he gave a cool rebuttal to Michael Moore's bluster on Larry King Live, marshaling what I would call an impressive knowledge of the medical system if I had the patience to watch the whole tedious neutering.

Click to expand...

Sounds fine to me.

Re: Gupta's appointment:

Monkey said:

Sounds fine to me.

Click to expand...

Yeah. Me too. The Surgeon General is kind of a Medical Press Secretary. C. Everett Koop, Ronald Reagan's Amish-looking SG, is probably the most famous one ever, and he was right good at public presentation of governmental medical advice. It's not an insignificant talent to be able to say to the public: "Our studies indicate that X is an unhealthy substance (practice, behavior, habit, whatever)", or that "We anticipate a very bad influenze season, and getting vaccinated is advised, especially for older people and young children," and get people to pay attention. Gupta, given his media experience and exposure, should have that ability.

caw

Tirjasdyn said:

Hrm...every time someone says Surgeon General I think of the guy in the eighties in the naval uniform who did tv spots for schools. I don't know if he was Reagan's SG for the entire time but I'm kinda stuck with that image.

Click to expand...

It really wasn't a Navy uniform. The Public Health Service is organized quasi-military, with military ranks that parallel, as I recall, Navy and
Coast Guard ranks. Some wear uniforms in some situations. Koop chose to wear one.