At Length with Steve Scher

At Length with Regina M. Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A., 18th Surgeon General

Prior to her Weight & Wellness series lecture, Advice from America’s DoctorRegina M. Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A., 18th U.S. Surgeon General, sat down for a conversation with At Length host Steve Scher, ’87.

Recorded on April 30, 2015.
Weight & Wellness Poster

Poster from the Weight & Wellness lecture series. Click to enlarge.

As “America’s Doctor,” Regina Benjamin focused her attention on wellness and prevention, and provided the public with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health. From her early days as the founder of a rural health clinic in Alabama — which she kept in operation despite destruction inflicted by hurricanes George and Katrina, as well as a devastating fire — to her leadership role in the worldwide advancement of preventive healthcare as Surgeon General, Dr. Benjamin has forged a career that has been recognized by a wide array of organizations and publications. She is the recipient of 22 honorary degrees and a member of the Institute of Medicine — the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

In this conversation with Steve Scher, Benjamin discusses rediscovering “the joy in being healthy,” the origins of public health missions in America and the inevitable controversies that accompany outside the box thinking.