Graduates Urged to Face New Medical Challenges
The medical school’s 144th Graduation Convocation, held May 24 at Navy Pier, featured David Satcher, MD, PhD, former U.S. surgeon general. In his address, “The MD Responsibility to the Health of the Public,” Dr. Satcher urged the graduates to tackle existing medical challenges while acknowledging past progress. “The 20th century was a great century in health,” he said. “Major accomplishments took place, but much remains to be done. We made progress in controlling infectious diseases and yet today, as you graduate, almost one million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS. Infectious diseases and new drug-resistant organisms are emerging all the time….We need to develop a community health system that balances health promotion, disease prevention, early detection, and universal access.”
During the holiday weekend ceremony, 169 graduates received MD degrees. Of those, five also received PhD degrees, three others MBAs, and 10 others MPHs. Dean Lewis Landsberg, MD, noted that although the graduates now have their degrees, much learning lies ahead. “It’s a truism, one worth emphasizing, that medical education really begins for you now,” he said. The students were hooded by their college mentors: Frank V. Lefevre, MD, GME ’91 associate professor of medicine; Helen G. Martin, MD, GME ’82, assistant professor of clinical medicine; Kathy J. Neely, MD, GME ’85, assistant professor of medicine; and Angela Nuzzarello, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.