Excerpts from the keynote commencement remarks given by Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho on May 19 at the New York Institute of Technology's (NYIT) College of Osteopathic Medicine's hooding ceremony.
Thank you President Guiliano, Vice-President Barbara Ross-Lee, NYIT Board of Trustees, distinguished alumni and faculty, Family members, friends, and finally, the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2014.
I am humbled and honored to accept the Riland Medal for Public Service on behalf of all the men and women who have served in military medicine and especially those who serve today around the globe. Thank you.
Today's medicine is almost entirely focused on the science of medicine and not the art of healing, and we as a nation are not getting healthier. You here today have an advantage. NYIT is unique in its curriculum which instills both competency and compassion -- the science AND the art of medicine.
Why is that important?
Just like music is more than the notes, health is more than healthcare. Healthcare is what we dispense during patient visits to our offices, clinics, and hospitals. That's not where health happens. Healthcare for sure, but not health. Health happens between patient visits, in their homes, at their work, and in their communities. It happens in the thousands of decisions they make every day. So how do you as a doctor influence their health? Stop, Look, Listen and Feel.
In the high tech world of modern medicine it's easy to focus only on the monitors, lab tests, and imaging studies to rely on pills, procedures, and invasive diagnostics. The path to health doesn't reside there, treatment for sure, but not healing. Optimal healing occurs onlyafter you've developed a mutual trust, built a relationship and truly understand the source of a problem, and not just the chief complaint. To do so doesn't require hours, days or months. It's done by taking the time to hear their story, know their Family, profession, hobbies, whatever it is that makes them -- well -- them.
Everyone is more than a patient, more than an illness, an injury, or a disease. There lies the true art of medicine, the ability to influence the patient's health and healing outside of the bricks and mortar of our facilities -- to provide curative and not simply palliative therapy, to help them maintain, and improve their health; not simply restore it after it's lost.
And what about your Life?
In today's fast-paced world, we have to make a conscious decision to Stop, Look, Listen, and Feel. The risk, if we don't, is that we simply exist, carried day to day by the torrid currents of daily life. And before we know it, we miss it. In the ordinary minutes of our day, there are extraordinary moments to be experienced.
That is Life.
It is what happens between the notes, in the quiet moments, in the struggles,the tragedies, and the triumphs. It's the connections, the love, the joy, the peace, and well-being. It's your friends, your colleagues, and your loved ones. It's the laughter, the birthdays, the dog, and the cat. They all provide the richness, texture, and color to life.
That is the art that balances the science.
The most important thing that's engraved on tombstones isn't the dates, though that's where we focus most of our attention. It's the dash. That's where life happens. It's what's between those dates that matters.
As I conclude my remarks, I challenge each of you in all of your endeavors to Stop, Look, Listen and Feel. Use the experiences of your upbringing, your formal education, and your actions going forward to restore and maintain a balance between science and art. Reclaim a focus on health that values equally, the Science of Medicine, and the Art of Healing.
That would make Hippocrates proud, make your Families proud, and at the end of long and successful careers that begin today, make you proud to have served as medical professionals.
Remember to practice the Art -- in medicine and in life. With that, I again congratulate you all. I encourage you to go out and do great things, live a balanced life and once again claim medicine's nobility of service to humanity. There is no greater gift one could give to future generations. I wish you Godspeed on your journey.
Horoho is the first military member and nurse to receive the NYIT's Riland Public Service Award. Horoho also commissioned nine graduates into the Armed Forces (three Army, three Navy, and three Air Force). The complete speech and photos from the commencement can be found at http://www.nyit.edu/commencement/.
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