Ending the Surgeon General, D.O. debate!

[aquaboy]

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There have been many of you that have stated in the past that past surgeon generals of the U.S. have been D.O.'s. There have in fact been 17 surgeon generals in the U.S. since the creation of the position. However, none have been D.O.'s. They have all been M.D.'s. I am not trying to start a flame war but I just want everyone to know that they shouldn't believe everything that people post on this forum. I'm sure in the future some of the surgeon generals will be D.O.'s but up to this point none have. If you don't believe me, here is the link, look at their profiles:

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/sglist.htm

Now try telling me that past surgeon generals have been D.O.'s!😍

 

[DW]

hmm, its funny how few of these recent surgeon generals are actually "surgeons"

i never knew C. Everett Koop was a Cornell alum. Go Big Red 😍

 

[group_theory]

Quite right.

There has been some miscommunication/misunderstanding in the past. NO osteopathic physicians have ever been the US Surgeon General (who overseas the US Public Health Service Corps)

However, there have been osteopathic physicians who served as surgeon generals of the military - such as the army. Look up former Lieutenant General Ronald R. Blanck, D.O., who served as a Surgeon General of the Army and is currently president of TCOM/UNTHSC.

Col. Ronald A. Maul, D.O., M.C., U.S.A., the command surgeon of the U.S. Central Command. In this position, Dr. Maul serves as the senior medical adviser to General Tommy Franks, U.S.A., the commander of military forces in the central command area, now leading the U.S. forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dr. Maul also serves as General Franks' personal physician and is the immediate past president of the Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (AMOPS). Dr. Maul is currently directing all medical operations involved with providing health care to the U.S. armed forces stationed in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and southwest Asia.

Rear Admiral Joyce Johnson, D.O., serves as the U.S. Coast Guard's chief medical officer and director of health and safety. In this capacity, she is responsible for the health needs of 150,000 active duty members, dependents, and retirees. In addition, she oversees medical care at sick bays and clinics, on land and at sea, worldwide; food safety at more than 380 galleys; afloat safety on over 1,900 marine vessels; and aviation safety at approximately 30 air facilities.

So to date there have never been an osteopathic physician appointed as the US Surgeon General. However, given that the profession was "accepted" 50-70 years ago, we're making great progress.

 

[skypilot]

The Surgeon General of the Army was a D.O.



http://www.wvsom.edu/Welcome/WhatsNew/army.htm


woohoo!

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by DW

i never knew C. Everett Koop was a Cornell alum. Go Big Red 😍

Good God DW, I think you win the "school spirit" award 😉

 

[Deuce 007 MD]

What about the highest USMLE step 1 debate. I've seen it posted many times in these forums that for the past 2 years the highest scoring students were DO. Is there any truth to this or internet forum legend? Can anyone provide a link?

 

[jkhamlin]

I thought this might be relevant here:

"What this nation's health care system needs today is the type of physician that the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine is educating and training--a physician who is concerned with the total family and realizes the importance of primary care."
-- C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D.