This week, Dr. Richard D. Krugman’s 2014 commencement speech at the University of Colorado School of Medicine entitled, “The Real Challenge: Balance” debuts via the Medical Commencement Archive. This piece is my personal favorite within this year’s archive.
Dr. Krugman is a respected educator and leader in the medical field. Dr. Krugman received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine. He went on to complete his residency in Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the University of Colorado, Denver, where he oversees all five hospitals of the university in addition to providing support for deans and faculty. Among many esteemed positions, Dr. Krugman has served as a member of the Institute of Medicine and the board of University of Colorado Hospital. Dr. Krugman is internationally recognized as an authority on child abuse prevention.
Dr. Krugman begins his speech by discussing his desire to hold the title of spouse of the President of the United States.
“I have watched for years as each Presidential spouse came to the White House, starting with Jacqueline Kennedy, and each took as a cause some area of public policy that instantly got attention and, over the next four to eight years had billions of dollars appropriated toward resolving the issue.” He goes on to discuss his future endeavors.
With a humble nature, Dr. Krugman comments on the common nature of forgetting commencement speeches. He focuses his speech on what he believes will be the single most important piece of advice that the novel physicians ought to remember,
“it is probably easier to learn the facts and the technical skills you will need to practice medicine than it is to learn how to balance lives that are relentlessly crammed with the demands of your families and friends, your patients, your supervising residents and attending physicians, your students…”
Take some time to read Dr. Krugman’s recommendations for maintaining balance alongside a career in medicine.
Read Dr. Krugman’s 2014 Commencement Speech at the University of Colorado School of Medicine: https://www.themspress.org/index.php/commencement/article/view/69
