Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
Each year, distinguished keynote speakers deliver insightful messages at medical school commencements around the country. Although they may be speaking directly to just one graduating class, the messages they share are often important for all doctors to hear, whether they have been practicing for many years or are newly graduated. Here are some of the most moving, alarming, inspirational, and surprising moments from recent commencement addresses across the nation.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"If Hippocrates had to deal with the EMR, he'd probably have picked a different profession or he'd have changed the oath to 'First do no harm, unless it's breaking the damn computer.' Modern science has allowed us to do things that seem mundane for us but even a few generations back would have been miraculous… Though we bring a vastly different set of tools to the bedside today, we still work at a bedside—a bedside of another human who is ill. That human aspect of medicine, that's what connects us to every doctor who has ever practiced before us, every doctor who has ever sat at a bedside. We're willing to listen to people in pain and work to heal them. We dignify those humans' lives. At best, we inherit their empathy."
Abdul El-Sayed, MD, PhD, at University of Michigan Medical School's 2019 Commencement
Dr El-Sayed was a candidate in Michigan's 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary election and was the youngest health director of a major US city when he served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department from 2015 to 2017.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Take the view from 75 and try to minimize the things you will regret at that age. Here are four things you shouldn't do: Don't be a schmuck; be thoughtful of your fellow human beings. Don't be Werner Heisenberg; minimize uncertainty for your patients as well as your family, friends, and others. Don't be a wimp; be courageous. At least, don't be a wimp when things get going and take principled stands to defend them. And finally, don't do it for the money. You'll make enough money."
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, at Medical College of Wisconsin's 2018 Commencement
Dr Emanuel was founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. He is vice provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of UPenn's Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"We need you in the dark places and in the quiet places. We need you where no one is listening and where others refuse to see… You have chosen to put yourselves on the front lines of some of the most important battlegrounds today. Whether you know it or not, by taking up the profession of medicine and health, you have put yourselves on overwatch. You are now the sentinels, the guardians, the Avengers. Okay, maybe not the Avengers... But almost as awesome! Your responsibility is as crucial and as enormous. It is far-reaching, and it is as close to home as you can possibly get. This is the life that you have chosen."
Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis's 2019 commencement
Dr Hanna-Attisha's research helped expose the Flint water crisis in Michigan. She is the author of What the Eyes Don't See, which the New York Times named one of the 100 most notable books of 2018.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Physicians remain one of the most respected professions in our country. As such, you have great power. I call on you to use that power to influence change—change for your patients, change for your communities, change for your colleagues, change for your profession… There is a perverse culture in medicine where it is a badge of honor to be sleep-deprived and to work exhausted and to work when you're sick. But remember, self-care is essential. You must take care of yourself. Otherwise you are no good to others. We must, together, work to change the culture so that we reward self-care."
Susan Thompson Hingle, MD, at Georgetown University School of Medicine's 2019 commencement
Dr Hingle is an associate dean at the Center for Human and Organizational Potential at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and former chief resident at Georgetown University Hospital.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Think of those who never made it to their fifth birthday because they were born in the wrong part of the world. Think of those with limited access to the kind of education you received and the innovations that you have been part of… [You are] among those who are armed with knowledge to prevent, care for, and treat diseases, but also to fight injustice and poverty. A lot of frustrations await you, because the world is full of injustice. There is a lack of basic human rights, and health is a human right. There is an abundance of poverty, and health will falter in poverty… The people you serve may be poor, but they know and understand their reality better than you do. As you move into the world of work, please remember the poor and sick are human and not only deserve your empathy; they deserve your respect."
Debrework Zewdie, PhD, at Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai's 2018 Commencement
Dr Zewdie is the former director of the World Bank Global AIDS Program and deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the Global Fund.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"To the scientists and the physicians, I say we need to collaborate. We need to work together. We need to work together within disciplines because of the immense diversity of human beings. In the past decade, modern genomics has discovered genetic risk factors for every major human disease, but it only works because we studied tens of thousands of people and built together to create that knowledge. People are diverse, and diseases are very diverse… The only way we are going to make progress is if physicians and hospitals work together, set aside institutional barriers, and share their knowledge about rare diseases. We also need to work together across disciplines. Scientists need to be humble and listen to physicians... Physicians who know what's important will guide the science toward the unsolved problems and the hidden clues. And we all need to listen more to patients. We need to set aside the paternalism and condescension and collaborate with them to solve problems."
Cornelia Bargmann, PhD, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's 2019 commencement
Dr Bargmann was awarded the Kavli Prize in neuroscience in 2012 and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2013. She is head of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at Rockefeller University.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Have a plan, but be flexible with that plan. There will be storms in the ocean that is your life. You have to learn to surf each wave as it comes… Pay attention to the reality in front of you, not the rules and models you learned in schools. In 20 years, much of what you learned here will no longer be valid. So keep an open mind, and you might be one of the people who brings forth new knowledge to share with others. Develop resilience. We are not born with patience, and perseverance does not come into play until we meet circumstances in which it's possible to give up. Resilience is like a muscle; hard times are never fun, but they are the way we develop character."
Huda Y. Zoghbi, MD, at University of Massachusetts Medical School's 2018 Commencement
Dr Zoghbi was awarded both the Canada Gairdner International Award and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2017 for her work in investigating the genes responsible for Rett syndrome and other conditions. She is a professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine.Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Here are some of the things that happen when doctors' work no longer feels joyful or meaningful: Doctors become disillusioned in their profession and may even counsel their kids and other people's kids to seek other lines of work. They find it easier to abandon their commitment to professionalism and become cynical. They find it easier to engage in conflicts of interest. They experience burnout and are more likely to suffer from depression. They are more likely to leave practice prematurely, leaving gaps for others to fill. What's even worse? Consider what happens to patients who are cared for by joyless doctors. They feel like they are treated like objects, not like human beings. They report less satisfaction with their care. Indeed, they are likely to receive poorer-quality care. Medical errors are much more common under such circumstances. Maybe worst of all, patients who are cared for by joyless doctors lose trust in their doctors, lose trust in the medical profession in general. Remember, trust is the glue that binds us as professionals to our social contract. Trust is earned, not owed just because we have an MD behind our name. We must earn that trust every day that we are engaged in this noble profession. Tinkering around the edges of our current dysfunctional healthcare system, with its myopic belief that good medicine can be delivered on a conveyer belt, will not suffice to ensure that your work continues to be meaningful and joyful. What's required at minimum is recognition by payers and policy makers that humanistic medical care is not just good medicine, it's good business. It's good for the bottom line. Your task is to raise your voice. Exercise your First Amendment rights. Engage with your colleagues. Make the business case for valuing the time required to establish and maintain meaningful relationships with your patients."
Jordan J. Cohen, MD, at Zucker School of Medicine's 2019 Commencement
Dr Cohen is the former president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"I would submit to you that for the privilege of the education that you have received, for the gift of citizenship you have, you also now have the social, moral, and ethical responsibility to go forth, and from your unique vantage points, to make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and more secure place. Work to eradicate social injustice globally. Help extinguish health disparities. Create dialogue. Preach tolerance and mutual respect, to begin to remove the asymmetries that lead to disenfranchised populations using terrorism as a tool to achieve equality. Work to enhance our nation's global image so that we continue to inspire, embrace, and welcome diversity. For, paradoxically, although diversity sometimes divides us, make no mistake: It is our nation's greatest strength—diversity. Last but not least, as health professionals, it is we and we alone who have the privilege and obligation to probe the hearts, minds, and souls of the fellow citizens we sometimes call patients."
Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, at University of Illinois College of Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Carmona was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"At times when you're not sure, and that's going to happen a lot, and at times when things seem hard, and that will happen every day, you've got to remember that it is possible to do good and to be good at the same time. They go hand in hand. As you progress through your career, you're going to do so much good for so many. But don't forget to be good: good doctors, good citizens, good human beings… Don't let money dictate your decisions, and remember what it was that made you happy before everyone else started trying to define it for you. You know what makes your heart swell. You know what makes the breath catch in the back of your throat. You know what gives you that chest tightening with anticipation. I hope you go get that."
Sanjay Gupta, MD, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine's 2019 commencement
Dr Gupta is chief medical correspondent for CNN, host of the CNN show Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and the winner of multiple Emmy Awards. He is also associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital and assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"One of the wonderful things about a career in medicine and the other health professions…is that the journey has so many possible itineraries and so many possible destinations. I would hope that none of you will ever feel hemmed in or confined by choices you made early on. Sometimes these can last a lifetime, but sometimes another aspect of yourselves may play a more prominent role later on. Try to be open to such evolution… If you are able to tap into this notion of a calling, you will be fortunate indeed, for it holds the key to a career characterized by fulfilment, contentment, and a sense of accomplishment. The simple secret is, you just have to believe in it."
Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, at Baylor College of Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Lefkowitz was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He is James B. Duke professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Duke University Medical Center.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Every generation of physicians has its own challenges. For you, these challenges include mastering ever-changing technology without losing the human touch; coping with rising healthcare costs, complex health systems, and bureaucracy; and a challenge you all know so well: creating health equity for all people and all communities. And, of course, for health professionals of color, for female physicians, the challenges we face often run far deeper… We need each of you to stand in your authentic voice, to achieve your own goals, and to achieve our common goals as a community. Like me, each of you may one day find yourselves in the role of the 'first' or the 'only.' The first female medical officer of a particular health system. The first Latina dean of a medical school. The only African American physician in a rural practice. When that happens, there is a huge responsibility to get it right. As a 'first' or 'only,' our responsibility is to make sure we are not the last—that others can follow in our footsteps."
Patrice A. Harris, MD, at Morehouse School of Medicine's 2019 Commencement
Dr Harris received a Presidential Commendation in 2018 and is the first African American woman to be elected president of the American Medical Association.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"In a nation and world full of pain, misery, and suffering, you have placed yourselves in a position to be capable and willing to respond and to find innovative solutions to prevent and ameliorate that pain, that misery, and that suffering... You have been blessed to receive the invitation to accept a special kind of calling, an urge to concern yourselves with the larger purposes and transcended values that lie at the heart of a civilization: the concern of whether or not the human beings who share your time and space shall live or prematurely die, and the quality of that survival. And because you live in a society with the aspirations of a democracy, you have accepted to concern yourselves with whether all of the people who share your time and space shall live, prematurely die, and be free of preventable misery and suffering."
Reed V. Tuckson, MD, at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's 2019 Commencement
Dr Tuckson was executive vice president and chief of medical affairs for UnitedHealth Group; senior vice president for professional standards of the American Medical Association; president of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; senior vice president of the March of Dimes; and commissioner of public health for the District of Columbia. He is currently managing director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"I cannot overemphasize the conceptual significance and the potential power of our knowledge of the human genome to transform medicine. This knowledge, however, will intensify the conflict between intellect and political and religious authority, as we continue to address questions concerning the origins of humans, the nature of our genetic differences, and how these differences define our biological character. Indeed, the sequence of the human genome affords a view of the internal genetic scaffold around which every human life is molded. This scaffold has been handed down to us from our ancestors, and through it we are connected to all other life on Earth. The sequencing of human DNA has allowed us to reveal just how similar humans are to one another and to other species, and most importantly, how these differences are responsible for human variability, human variation, and human disease. As a consequence, our lives, and those of our descendents, will be inexorably changed. It is your responsibility as young physicians and young scientists to assure that it is for the better."
Richard Axel, MD, at Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine's 2019 Commencement
Dr Axel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center's department of neuroscience and is co-director of Columbia's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"What an exciting time to be delivering the-best-in-the-world medical services! Every day, you will do more than ever before possible to save lives, restore lives, and improve lives. You will perform miracles every day that previously could only be imagined. You have worked hard to develop the skills to deliver those miracles. May you never lose sight of how incredible they are or forget how priceless they are to your patients. What an exciting career you have selected. You could never have chosen any better."
Former Governor Mark Dayton at University of Minnesota Medical School's 2019 Commencement
Dayton served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019 and was a Minnesota senator from 2001 to 2007.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Teamwork is particularly important today, in science and medicine alike, because we are tackling more and more complex problems. We are using modular solutions, which require input and help from many people with distinct expertise. This is also what I think makes now such an exciting time to be entering the medical field. Biomedicine is entering a new era, where we are taking more rational, personalized approaches to therapeutic development. It will be up to you and your colleagues to help realize the potential of these new therapeutics."
Feng Zhang, PhD, at Albany Medical College's 2018 Commencement
Dr Zhang has been recognized with a number of awards for his work on optogenetics and the development of CRISPR. He holds the James and Patricia Poitras Professorship in Neuroscience at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and is in the departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Physicians, by their encounters with and proximity to patients displaying a range of pathologies, are often the first to identify novel and disruptive aspects of human biology. Indeed, physicians have initiated some of the most significant discoveries that changed the course of medical thinking and progress… Medicine is not for the faint-hearted, for it will engage every ounce of your powers of patience, understanding, and empathy… Aim high and keep learning, be skeptical of accepted certainty, and stay fast in the belief that facts matter."
Paul Berg, PhD, at Stanford School of Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Berg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980 for his role in creating the first recombinant DNA.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"The oaths go back to Hippocrates in the fifth century BC and have been expressed in different ways in the centuries. While some of the wording of past oaths has become dated with changes in mores and societal expectations, there are common features in all of the oaths that define our professional responsibility. And these are: First, we must put the needs of our patients and the public over our own. This speaks to altruism and empathy. Second, we are responsible for a specialized body of knowledge that we must master, improve upon, and pass on to the next generation. This speaks to competence, fact-based improvement, and generativity as our professional responsibility. Remember, the Greek word for doctor means 'teacher.' Third, in exchange for doing all these things, society confers special status on us, and patients trust us in their most vulnerable moments and with their most precious secrets. We must earn that trust in how we behave individually and collectively."
George E. Thibault, MD, at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Thibault served for 10 years as the seventh president of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. He currently serves on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"We revere doctors. We revere people who know what you know how to do. We're in awe of you, a lot of the time. Many of us, I dare say, can tell stories of almost falling in love with a doctor who somehow helped us through it, some moment in which we came to you vulnerable, and you sent us out strong. You have a chance to do that in your laboratories and in your clinics and in your hospitals and in interactions with everybody you touch. I hope you will use all of your training, all of the research, to say to those people you see, 'I see you. I'm here to heal you. I'm here to empower you also to heal others.' All I'm asking you is to lift us up, bring us together, restore our faith in each other, restore our trust in the relationships that bind us together more strongly than those that divide us. And remember: Eyes wide open. Eyes always open. Because if you can see all of our wounds, and if you can bring science and the spirit together, you can heal our bodies and our country too."
Timothy P. Shriver, PhD, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai's 2018 Commencement
Dr Shriver is chairman of the Special Olympics and board member of Malaria No More, a New York-based nonprofit with the goal of ending all deaths caused by malaria.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Each of you has many stories to tell of patients you will never forget. You will always remember their valor, their dignity, their humor, their determination, as well as their anger and defeats. You must tell their stories. Your patients will suffer greatly from the consequences of their own poor choices, habits, and actions, and it will be your job to help them respond to those consequences in healthier ways. Obesity, gun violence in schools, lack of access to good healthcare are too often Hippocratically explained away as 'unfortunate facts of life.' We now live in this bizarre fugue state of trying to cope with these 'unfortunate events,' rather than changing the social structures, laws, and policies that allow them to linger and metastasize. These are public health problems, and there is a solution, and that is through storytelling. I call the stories that moved you, the stories that will stay with you always, your 'private stories.' I believe that our duties as physicians lie not only in the clinic, in the wards, or in the OR, but in making our private stories public."
Neal Baer, MD, at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Baer is a television writer and producer best known for his work on ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the founder of ActionLab, a social-action platform designed to improve human health and well-being and to spur action for social justice.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"As doctors, as researchers, you are the guardian angels for so many people, for those you meet and get to know as patients, but maybe some you will never meet or some who will not remember you. That doesn't matter. Because you are their angels. That is a lot on your shoulders. But I know you are up for it; you've got some pretty heavy wings yourself. So give those patients and those people that you are working for and researching for and advocating for, give them the wings to fly."
Senator Amy Klobuchar at the University of Minnesota Medical School's 2018 Commencement
Senator Klobuchar currently serves in the US Senate and is Minnesota's first elected female US Senator.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Lesson number one is to be open for your passion, and when you feel it, pursue it. Sometimes your passion chooses you… Lesson number two: Be humble. And I know this is a surgeon saying 'be humble!' Be humble, acknowledge your gaps, and address them to truly master the terrain you're trying to conquer. Now, that being said, passion and manic mastery is not enough... Lesson 3: Find your caravan and don't let go. Some days you'll lead and some days you'll follow. Your caravan of teammates will aid you on your journey."
Adil Haider, MD, MPH, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis's 2018 Commencement
Dr Haider is director of the Center for Surgery and Public Health, a joint initiative of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also deputy editor of JAMA Surgery.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"The call for social mission is by no means limited to primary care or for those who see themselves as activists. We need physicians of all specialties to work in rural areas and to treat poor and low-income populations. We need physician research scientists and policy leaders equipped to tackle these equity problems. We need the hospital chief medical officer who opens a Disparities Solutions Center that turns hospital-wide attention to inequities within the institution. We need the anesthesiologist who is concerned about differential patterns of pain management in her institution that seem to fall along racial lines for no good or stated reason. We need medical school deans who will make it a personal priority that graduates of their local, inner-city high school are entering their medical school class 4 years later. Physicians and the institutions that train them need to see social mission as a living part of the medical skill set rather than an elective perspective exercised by some who are particularly compassionate."
Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, at Yale School of Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Mullan is a founding board chair for the Beyond Flexner Alliance and a professor of health policy and professor of pediatrics at The George Washington University.
Words to Inspire: 24 Powerful Moments From Recent Medical School Commencement Speeches
"Every patient has a 'why.' We need to listen. We need to hear it so we can help them with the 'how,' so that they can achieve it. You will learn about each person's unique 'why' they want to live, that gives them the strength, the will to persist, to survive, to recover from life-threatening illness. Your soul will be enriched by each person you care for. Pursue your calling with vigor, with commitment, with kindness, and whenever in doubt, remember the 'why' that's in your hearts today."
Thomas Nasca, MD, MACP, at Georgetown University School of Medicine's 2018 Commencement
Dr Nasca is president and chief executive officer of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
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