This was only the second commencement address that I delivered after becoming Surgeon General. It was longer than many subsequent commencement addresses but the impressive thing about this speech is that it could be given tomorrow at any medical school and it would still be apropos. All that would have to change are the numbers at the end of the speech; but the trends are the same.
This address probably contains more of what graduating medical students should hear then the material presented in subsequent commencement addresses where the constraints of time and program limited presentations.
Aging
Baby Boomers
Chronic Illness
Disabled population
Ethical responsibility
Koop's five principles
Patient as a Trinity
Personal responsibility
Professional responsibility
Quality of care
Science and Art of medicine