Surgeon General of the United States
(Redirected from United States Surgeon General)
Categories: U.S. Surgeons General | United States Department of Health and Human Services
The Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service is a leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the Government of the United States. The Surgeon General is nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed by the Senate for a 4-year term of office. In carrying out all responsibilities, the Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary for Health, who is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on public health and scientific issues.
The Surgeon General functions under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Health and holds the rank of Vice Admiral (VADM) and operationally heads the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, a cadre of health professionals who are on call 24 hours a day, and can be dispatched by the Secretary of HHS or the Assistant Secretary for Health in the event of a public health emergency. The Surgeon General is also the ultimate award authority for several Public Health awards and decorations, the highest of which that can be directly awarded (the highest award bestowed by board action is the Distinguished Service Medal)is the Surgeon General's Medal.
The Surgeon General also has many informal duties, such as educating the American public about health issues and advocating healthy lifestyle choices.
The office also periodically issues health warnings. Perhaps the best known example of this is the "Surgeon General's Warning" labels that can be found on all packages of American cigarettes.
Past American Surgeons General have often been characterized by their outspoken personalities and often controversial proposals on how to reform the US health system. Because the office is not a particularly powerful one, and has little direct impact on policy-making, Surgeons General are often vocal advocates of unconventional, unusual, or even unpopular health policies. General C. Everett Koop and Joycelyn Elders were two former Surgeons General who were well-known for their controversial ideas, especially on sex education.
The U.S. Public Health Service was under the direction of the Office of the Surgeon General and was an independent government agency until 1953 at which point it was integrated into the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and later into the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Although the U.S. Public Health Service and the Surgeon General were at various times under the umbrella of the Department of the Treasury or the Federal Security Agency, the agency operated with a substantial amount of independence.
The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force also have officers overseeing medical matters in their respective services who hold the title Surgeon General.
Outside the US the term chief medical officer is a common equivalent.