Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former surgeon general of the United States, will present an address on the topic "Medical Education and Personal Responsibilities" during a visit to the School of Medicine on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Her talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 5 p.m. in Mary S. Harkness Auditorium, Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St. The presentation is cosponsored by the Yale chapters of the American Medical Women Association and American Medical Student Association, Medical Students for Choice, the Offices of Multicultural Affairs and for Women in Medicine, the Yale Women's Center and the Yale Medical Student Council.
Now professor of pediatric endocrinology at her alma mater, the University of Arkansas College of Medicine, Dr. Elders was director of the Arkansas Health Department when President Clinton nominated her to be U.S. surgeon general. She served for 14 months in that post, from September of 1993 to December of 1994, eventually resigning to continue her career in academic medicine.
During the Senate hearings on her confirmation, Dr. Elders said: "I want to change the way we think about health by putting prevention first. I want to be the voice and vision of the poor and powerless. I want to change concern about social problems that affect health into commitment. I would like to make every child born in America a wanted child."
The oldest of eight children, Dr. Elders grew up on an Arkansas farm. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, she attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock. She served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant and later received her medical degree from the University of Arkansas College of Medicine, attending on the G.I. bill. She joined the school's faculty in 1967 as a pediatric endocrinologist.
Dr. Elders has written about her life and career in her autobiography, "Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States," which was coauthored by David Chanoff and released last year.
For further information, call the medical school's Office for Women in Medicine, 785-4680.