200 Congregation booklet_1701_Final

15 But what does all of this mean to you? These open-ended, societal questions may not be top of mind for you as you go about your daily responsibilities in the laboratory or the clinic or the hospital. But I urge you to give these issues some serious thought. The best clinicians, researchers, and public health professionals take an expansive view of their role. They reach out to others and work together within and beyond their own professions. They use their resources, their position, and their influence to ensure more equity and justice in our world. Their care for their patients should help ensure not only their physical well-being, but also their mental, emotional, and societal well-being. In the end, we must remember that these advances and new technologies are tools for all health professionals to employ. They can aid you greatly, but they cannot substitute for the compassionate you . Only you can provide your patients with wise counsel based on evidence, knowledge, and experience. Only you can give your patients the attention, care, and commitment they need and deserve. As the late, pioneering brain surgeon Harvey Cushing once said, “A physician is obligated to consider more than a diseased organ, more even than the whole man – he must view the man in his world.” As you embark on a career in the health and biomedical field, you need not only a lot of education, skill, and experience, you also need to develop a strong social consciousness. You need to do everything possible to make sure that everybody can attain their best health and has access to the best available treatments. And you need to guard against those who would put profit and convenience before people's well-being. It's a tall order, I know. And it won't be easy. But, your informed voice on these issues is essential. With your actions and words, you will be shaping the future – not only of health and medicine, but of our society. Besides that famous oath, Hippocrates also has some other pretty wise words for you: “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also the love for humanity.” Let us never let our love of progress in science and technology outweigh our love of humanity. Indeed, helping our patients and our society should always be the most important measure of progress in the first place. Let that be your guide, and you will surely help steer health and medicine toward the right side of history. So once again, let me congratulate you and welcome you to this wonderful career you have chosen. I know your future patients will be in good hands. And I'm confident that, because of you, our society will be, too. Thank you!