Looking in on the Perloff Quad on Friday, one could not help but
notice the anticipation that filled the air as 162 medical school
graduates awaited their transition into the world of medicine.
Passersby caught a glimpse of the David Geffen School of
Medicine’s Hippocratic Oath Ceremony and saw that the leading
man in the country’s health services was in attendance at the
graduation ceremony.
The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona, was present on
stage to give his remarks before the graduates and their
families.
Carmona started his speech with comments about the character and
responsibilities required to be a physician and continued by
talking about his life and how the challenges he had faced helped
him arrive at his current position and be more effective in his
job.
Carmona spent his childhood in a family in New York where
substance abuse and unemployment were everyday issues. He said when
he was homeless at the age of six, homework and studying became
less important to him.
“The further I get from that, the more visible and
important those experiences become,” Carmona said.
In 1967, Carmona dropped out of high school and joined the Army,
which ultimately led him to Vietnam.
Once back home, Carmona took advantage of his second chance to
finish his education, and attended Bronx Community College and
later medical school at the University of California, San
Francisco, finishing in three years.
After graduation, Carmona worked as a trauma surgeon and a
critical care specialist, constantly treating victims of gun shots,
drunk driving and domestic violence.
As a result of his job, Carmona believed he was using science to
reverse bad decisions, and that led to his decision to go back to
school and study public health.
“Now, the president has charged me with the agenda of
prevention,” he said.
He also challenged the graduates to think of the legacy they
will create. He advised them never to underestimate their power and
immense responsibility as physicians or to forget that being a
physician is the most distinctive privilege in society.
“The lessons you learned as kids from loved ones and
family will help you create that legacy. … You are all leaders
because you determine someone else’s destiny,” he
said.
Students of this year’s graduating class may have felt
fortunate to have the surgeon general advise them as they began
their careers in medicine, but Carmona said he was the fortunate
one for being invited to speak.
Carmona is no stranger to UCLA. Before getting the call from the
president to become the surgeon general, Carmona was wrestling with
the decision to accept an assistant dean position for Dr. Gerald
Levy, provost for Medical Sciences and dean of the David Geffen
School of Medicine at UCLA.
“We know the surgeon general’s remarks will inspire
and galvanize our graduating medical students as they embark on
their careers across our great nation,” said Levy, in a
statement released before the graduation ceremony.