Naming a woman family doc as Surgeon General was music to my ears!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
The power of social media was sure felt yesterday when the White House announced that President Obama named 
Dr. Regina Benjamin as our next Surgeon General. Facebook, Twitter and emails from all the major news sources came flooding in almost instantaneous. From this tweet from @doctoranonymous, to the many others online, it was clear that people felt very positive about this announcement.
I had hoped we’d have a Surgeon General that was a primary care physician and that is just what we have with Dr. Benjamin. The core of health care reform is the family on the patient side and the primary care physician on the professional side. One a primary care physician really gets the issues involved for both groups so this was a wise choice by the White House…actually, the likely only choice if health care reform is to be successful in a meaningful way for all.
Beyond being a family physician, being a woman will be a strong asset for Dr. Benjamin because of the unique skills being a woman will give her in managing the health care crisis, and as a role model for our young daughters who need to see more smart, career-focused, creative women in leadership positions in our country. We still have too much gender inequality for such a civilized country. The more women who are in leadership positions today, the better off our daughter’s paths will be in the future.
So, yesterday’s announcement was welcome music to my ears in a multitude of ways.
Now we have to sit back, see if Dr. Benjamin gets confirmed, and see if the White House and Federal Government can actually let her have the freedom to do the job that needs to get done.
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