Surgeon General Website Dr Satcher example essay topic

There are many leaders in the United States today. These men and women help to form the nation into what it is today and what it will be in the future. One of these important leaders of the United States is the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General has many responsibilities and priorities that form our nation's Public Health System. These responsibilities and priorities of the Surgeon General will be explained throughout this paper.

According to the Reader's Digest Encyclopedia the Surgeon General is the chief medical officer for the United States Public Health System. This means that since 1871 the Surgeon General has been the nation's leading spokesman on matters of public health. The first person to hold the position of Surgeon General was Dr. John Woodworth. Dr. Woodworth put together a group of physicians to assist him with health issues. The Congress recognized these men and women as the Commissioned Corps. Over the years the position of Surgeon General has changed in many ways.

In 1873 the official title of the Surgeon General was changed to Supervising Surgeon General and then back to just Surgeon General in 1902. According to Funk and Wagnall's New Encyclopedia the Surgeon General was the head of the Public Health System and reported directly to the Secretary of Health. After 1968 the Surgeon General reported to the Assistant Secretary of Health. The current Surgeon General for the United States is Dr. David Satcher.

He was born in Anniston, Alabama on March second 1941. Dr. Satcher, his wife Nola, and his four children live in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Satcher received his M.D. and PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 1970. Dr. Satcher is the sixteenth Surgeon General and also the first African American man to hold this position. Fourteen men and two women have held the position since it originated in 1871. Dr. Satcher was sworn in on February thirteenth 1998 and his term will end in February 2002.

He also held the position of Secretary of Health from February 1998 to January 2001. He was also the Surgeon General at this time. According to the Official Surgeon General website, Dr. Satcher has many jobs and responsibilities. First off his job is to administer the U.S. Public Health System. This is a group of public health professionals who respond to current and long-term health needs of the Nation.

Dr. Satcher also provides leadership and management to the Public Health Service in the field of emergency preparedness and response activities. Another one of Dr. Satcher's jobs is to protect and advance the health of the Nation by educating the public. He does this by holding disease prevention and health promotion programs and activities. This shows national commitment to protecting and improving the public's health. Dr. Satcher also advises the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on health, medical, and health system issues facing the Nation. Dr. Satcher also provides leadership in many other separate departments like the tobacco and HIV prevention efforts.

He does this with governmental and non-governmental departments as well as domestically and internationally. Dr Satcher also evaluates the quality of public health through research. The final job that Dr. Satcher has is to represent Federal boards and governing bodies around the United States. Such as 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.

According to the Surgeon General Website Dr. Satcher has four priorities that he thinks will, "make public health work like it's never worked before'. The first priority is to move toward establishing a balanced community health system. This includes health promotion, disease prevention, early diagnosis, and access to quality care. He says that it should be community based in schools and faith-based organizations. Dr. Satcher goes on to say that every child should have an opportunity for a healthy start in life and that our system must promote healthy lifestyles. Dr. Satcher's second priority is to improve the mental health system.

He wants to develop strategies for suicide and violence prevention as well as detecting mental illnesses early on so something can be done about it before it is to late. Dr. Satcher's Third priority is to maintain a global approach to public health. This means that we must work with other countries to improve health overall worldwide. The Surgeon General has identified four areas of global health that he thinks are important. These are polio eradication, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, violence, and tobacco prevention and control.

The forth and final priority of the Surgeon General is to eliminate disparities in health. This means that everyone in the United States should be treated the same way in regards to public health. Recently in the area of public health President Bush is frustrated with the Surgeon General, due to his controversial report on sex education. According to the article, White House Distances Itself From Surgeon General, Dr. Satcher says that Americans should have a greater understanding towards gays and lesbians which President Bush does not agree with.

Officials expect that President Bush will appoint his own Surgeon General when Satcher's term is over in February. As explained, the Surgeon General has many roles, which benefit the nation in various ways. Without the Surgeon General healthcare in the nation would be far less advanced than it is presently. Dr. Satcher said that he "would most like to be remembered as the Surgeon General who listened to the American people.".