# What are the qualifications for Surgeon General? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045 "2009-07-14T21:53:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/1 "2009-07-14T21:53:24Z")
I didn’t see this being discussed. Barack Obama will supposedly nominate Dr. Regina Benjamin for Surgeon General. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31890252/ns/health-health\_care/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31890252/ns/health-health_care/) > [@](#): > > An administration official said Obama will announce the nomination of Dr. Regina Benjamin later Monday. [After quoting this, I refreshed the link and now it says “President Barack Obama nominated for surgeon general…”, so maybe now it’s official, but now I don’t seen anything about this on [MSNBC.com](http://MSNBC.com).] She seems like a wonderful human being, but is she qualified to be Surgeon General? Does the SG need to be someone with 50 years of experience? Or just someone that can be a good “cheerleader”? > [@](#): > > Benjamin became the first black woman and the youngest doctor elected to the American Medical Association’s board. She also received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998, and Pope Benedict XVI awarded her the distinguished service medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. I’m not denying her accomplishments, but she seems kinda young to me. [I was going to put this in GD, where I expected to find a thread on this already, but it seems like the answer might be the straightforward, GQ-type.] ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/2 "2009-07-14T21:58:03Z")
She is 50 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/3 "2009-07-14T22:06:49Z")
I’m not sure that there are any formal qualifications but per the Wikipedia [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States), the Surgeon General heads a staff of 6,000. So some sort of management skills would be useful, although perhaps there are permanent employees who handle the day-to-day management. The surgeon general is also a spokesperson on health and medical issues so some public speaking skills would be good. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/4 "2009-07-14T22:08:43Z")
The qualifications for Surgeon General are codified at 42USC § 205. > [@Congress](#): > > The Surgeon General shall be appointed from the Regular Corps for a four-year term by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Surgeon General shall be appointed from individuals who > (1) are members of the Regular Corps, and > (2) have specialized training or significant experience in public health programs… I don’t know if the nominee in question is currently a commissioned member of the PHS, but it’s moot since the President can commission anyone he wants by executive order. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/5 "2009-07-14T22:10:09Z")
I am not sure if I fully understand the question. The Surgeon General post is a political position that is more focused public health policy than practicing medicine. I used to work down the hall from C. Everett Koop, the famous retired Surgeon General, at Dartmouth and he did seem like he made a good cheerleader as well as a strong political image. I still wouldn’t have picked him to be my personal doctor though even if there was such an opportunity possible. I have no opinion of the Dr. in question because I don’t know much about her but she could be great for the job especially because she has worked in lots of poor, rural areas in the South that have always had problems with politicians understanding their health care issues. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/6 "2009-07-14T22:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > She seems like a wonderful human being, but is she qualified to be Surgeon General? Does the SG need to be someone with 50 years of experience? Or just someone that can be a good “cheerleader”? > > I’m not denying her accomplishments, but she seems kinda young to me. Someone else pointed out that DBenjamin was 50 years old (she’s actually [52](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_Benjamin))… the exact same age as Richard Carmona was when President Bush nominated him as the previous Surgeon General. His predecessor (David Satcher) was 47 when nominated. 52 is probably older than the historical median. C. Everett Koop was 65 when nominated by president Reagan in 1982, but that was an unusual exception. Nixon nominated a 42 year old. LBJ’s nominee was 44. Besides, a doctor with fifty years of experience would be close to 80 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/7 "2009-07-15T02:44:00Z")
A roughly comparable position is the head of the FDA. David Kessler became head of the FDA at the age of 39. Because he was so young, he was sometimes jokingly referred to as “Doogie Kessler, M.D.” He was very popular in the position and was appointed by the first Bush and then reappointed by Clinton: > **[David A. Kessler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Aaron_Kessler)** > > David Aaron Kessler (born May 13, 1951) is an American pediatrician, attorney, author, and administrator (both academic and governmental) serving as Chief Science Officer of the White House COVID-19 Response Team since 2021. Kessler was the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from November 8, 1990, to February 28, 1997. He co-chaired the Biden-Harris transition’s COVID-19 Advisory Board from November 2020 to January 2021 and was the head of Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. gover... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-surgeon-general/503045/8 "2009-07-15T04:26:24Z")
The Master chats about the Surgeon General: [Why Does the US Surgeon-General Wear a Uniform?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1037/why-does-the-u-s-surgeon-general-wear-a-uniform)