SheepOfBlue

Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General | 44 | washingtonpost.com

Any comments navydevildoc? Sounds like he might have been close to your people once

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JimCulp

I'm not knocking Gupta, but if it was me I'd nominate Don Arthur in an eyeblink. He retired a year or so ago as Surgeon General of the Navy, and having an 800,000 plus mile motorcycle rider in such a prominent health policy position wouldn't hurt.

navydevildoc

Funny seeing this, as I have had the pleasure of having met both Dr. Gupta and Admiral Arthur. Well, I worked for Adm Arthur when he was the commander of NHCL... nothing too crazy.

Dr. Gupta, who is already very well regarded in Navy Medicine, flew out to us on the USNS Mercy when we were underway in response to the 2004/5 Tsunami. He was there to report on the work the Navy was doing, and was on the ship for a day or two. He would walk around without an entourage or anything, talked with the crew, etc. I have a picture of me and him on the mess decks somewhere. He is a very easy going and articulate individual, and has the knack for making sure laymen are not swamped in medicalese.

Either would be good picks, but in the end Surgeon General is more of a public health education and PR job; and it is this that Dr. Gupta excels at.

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Baketech

That's the conclusion we drew last night, and it seems to make sense.

Now we are crossing our fingers, hoping that the hiring of a capable point man is step #1 in their plan to address the obesity problem...

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SheepOfBlue

Thanks I was afraid he was a very political pick and then read his bio. Seemed to be what you described but I distrust the media....glad to hear your opinion though thanks

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JimCulp

I certainly agree that Gupta is the real deal, and have no problem with his being appointed; I think he'd make a fine choice. Over the past 7 or 8 years I've gotten to know Don Arthur through distance/endurance riding circles, honestly like him, and guess I am somewhat of a fan.

slickwill

I'd like to see someone chosen who has 20+ years of practicing everyday medicine and treating real patients everyday, day in day out. Not someone who talks about practicing medicine, tells others how to practice medicine, or just does surgeries when it's convenient or an overly interesting case.

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