Comments on: Paging Doctor... Surgeon General?

By: triscribe » Stuff in the New Year

triscribe » Stuff in the New Year — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:02:21 +0000

[...] broached about the position as US Surgeon General. Is he a good choice? Then, again - still - he’s a tv doctor - a real doctor, but… he’s on tv. But, it looks like this is for real. No more Dr. [...]

By: Andy from MA

Andy from MA — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:06:26 +0000

Rose: "that's pretty much what my mom said."
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LOL you made my day!

By: rose83

rose83 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:51:53 +0000

Let's put it this way Sanjay Gupta is no C. Everett Koop. Dr. Gupta adds no value imho. I can't believe there isn't a well qualified career public health doc, who really could be an advocate against smoking and obesity, and an advocate for sex eduation, STD prevention, all the use of alternatives to western medicine. -- Andy, that's pretty much what my mom said. -- Dee, I feel you're responding to arguments no one is making. But I do appreciate your perspective as a health researcher. -- Also, I haven't seen any data that suggests Gupta is in fact widely respected. He has a TV show and he's written (not very scholarly) books. I've watched him on CNN, and while I don't mind spending five minutes watching him while I prepare lunch or something, he doesn't inspire great trust or admiration. Is Gupta the best Surgeon General to handle a flu pandemic, for example? Basically, being a TV personality doesn't necessarily mean someone has gravitas or the reputation of strength and competence.

By: Andy from MA

Andy from MA — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:58:06 +0000

I wave the white flag of surrender. May Dr. Gupta wear the three stars proudly. It must be a generational thing. I just can't make the connection here, my apologies to all.

By: dumdedumdum

dumdedumdum — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:50:53 +0000

Andy, NOAA is a operational agency providing weather related products and information to all sorts of users -- I wouldn't think it houses the nation's climate change authoritative expertise on climate change, although it has a small research office. In addition, there isn't a lot people can do about weather beyond staying out of the way (this is less so for climate change but updating your light bulbs and buying a Prius only gets you so far) -- this is quite different I think from the health care bully pulpit that the SG office provides.

By: Andy from MA

Andy from MA — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:40:46 +0000

Dee and rmrd, what about him?

http://www.wchstv.com/abc/gma/timothyjohnson.shtml

By: Andy from MA

Andy from MA — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:35:51 +0000

Dee, thanks for responding. I value your perspective and your expertise as a health care researcher. I personally don't find Dr. Gupta that compelling. That's probably because I don't watch much cable news. I see him as a personality first, and a physician second.
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Would you feel the same way if the Stephanie Abrams from the Weather Channel was named to head NOAA and be the adminstration's expert on global warming? She has a high TVQ ratings and people who watch would feel comfortable seeing talking about climate change. Am I making a fair comparison?

By: rmrd

rmrd — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:21:32 +0000

_Dee nails it.......Personally, I know I didn't work my ass off for the last two years so that we could continue this propensity to judge an individuals worth based on a single piece of information. So far all I see is how Gupta didn't fall into line with Michael Moore oh and as an American doctor he committed the cardinal sin of promoting American style medicine. We are talking about the surgeon general. _While some may view surgeons as mechanics with a good set of hands, a review of texts on differential diagnosis on something as simple as a "Tummy ache" will change this point of view. It is as important to know when not to cut as the variations of human anatomy. It is more than cutting and sewing. _Andy from MA, Daschle is going to be the point person in public health policy, not Gupta. C Everett Koop was a practicing pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia prior to becoming Surgeon General. In the SG post, physician's do what they do in the daily practice of medicine. When an issue comes up outside of your area of expertise, you get a consult with a skilled subspecialist. You ask questions about the risks involved with a given approach, come to a consensus and present the options to the patient. A surgeon general has a vast array of people that he/she can access for up to date information regarding the public health approach to different illnesses. Even public health physicians specialize in certain aspects of illness. Some focus on Infectious Disease, others on Oncology, Cardiology, Pulmonology, etc. That's why Public Health Departments in medical schools and at the state level are manned by more than just one MD. Gupta is capable of performing as SG.

By: Dee in Columbia MD

Dee in Columbia MD — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:11:34 +0000

Andy as someone who does a lot of research in preventative health care and the 2010 initiative - one of the main focuses in reducing health care cost is disease prevention. If this is indeed the case who better than someone the public knows and trusts on providing health information that might reduce disease.
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I get that we are all probably capable of doing our own health care research -- but the job of the surgeon general is to sell the administration's health care policy and to inform the public about health issues. My question is why is it that no one wants to walk in the shoes of average Americans and recognize that they are more apt to listen to a Gupta that has come into their living rooms on a regular basis and they trust. It strikes me that in this era for change focusing on some unknown government credentialed individual that satisfies the intelligentsia but makes absolutely no impact on the public at large is the status quo and putting someone in the job that has the ability to communicate preventative measures on a large scale is actually something new. Face it, previous surgeon generals have only been noticed because of some controversy otherwise they remain anonymous. The major thrust of the SG office of the last 10 years has been the 2010 initiative yet few people even know what that is? If Gupta can get health covered by the media I say go for it.

By: Andy from MA

Andy from MA — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:02:28 +0000

Dee: My challenging Dr. Gupta has nothing to do with Michael Moore. It has to do with his lack of expertise in public health policy.