Academic Medicine Open Forum

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  • 1.  Question of the Week: Is there a veteran or active service member who inspires you?

    Posted 11-09-2020 08:27:00 AM

    In honor of Veterans Day this week, we want to know: Is there a veteran or active service member in your life who inspires you? 


    Please share in the thread below.



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    Stephanie Weiner
    Director, Digital Strategy & Engagement
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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  • 2.  RE: Question of the Week: Is there a veteran or active service member who inspires you?

    Posted 11-10-2020 07:49:00 AM
    As a veteran, I've known several veterans who have inspired me but I'll mention only two. My father was a WWII soldier who rarely spoke of his time in the Army. The son of immigrants, he felt it was obligation to volunteer. After his death 14 years ago we found a box containing letters that he had sent to my grandparents and my grandparents sent to him while he was in Europe. His descriptions of what it was like during the Battle of the Bulge and freeing concentration camps were frightening. Of the 120 enlisted men in his company, only 6 were not wounded, killed, or captured. He was one of the lucky 6. And I have a son-in-law Riaz (Andy) Zaidi who has had three combat tours (one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan). This is an individual who got 800's on his SATs and could have followed any career path...he chose to serve his country. They both have, and will continue to, inspire me.
    My best to all veterans!

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    John E. Prescott, M.D.
    Chief Academic Officer
    AAMC
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Question of the Week: Is there a veteran or active service member who inspires you?

    Posted 11-10-2020 11:37:00 AM
    My dad served 20 years in the U.S. Navy. Every Wednesday morning he would get up early, and make a hot breakfast for the homeless people living on the steam grates in front of the State Department, across the street from his office at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.  One morning, a State Department employee asked him to stop doing that, because it attracted more homeless people to the square. My dad asked him what he was doing to help them, and when the response was about "programs to help those people," my dad insisted that every one of us must help people in need personally.  Every year, on Veteran's Day, he asked people to remember those vets who came home alive, but with unseen wounds, like PTSD or TBI.  He remains my hero.


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    Carolyn Pointer
    Assistant Professor
    SIU School of Medicine
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Question of the Week: Is there a veteran or active service member who inspires you?

    Posted 11-11-2021 09:02:00 AM
    In observance of #VeteransDay, I want to acknowledge the sacrifice and service of all in our Armed Forces. The AAMC is continuing in our commitment to care for those who have risked their lives to make our world a safer place. http://ow.ly/7qPi50Gyyes

    Continuing this conversation from 2020, I'd love to hear from the community: Is there a veteran or active service member in your life who inspires you? 

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    David Skorton
    President and CEO
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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  • 5.  RE: Question of the Week: Is there a veteran or active service member who inspires you?

    Posted 11-12-2021 09:49:00 AM

    My dad served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years.  He embodied honor and service.  Working in D.C. for several years, he would get up early on Wednesday mornings, bake hot biscuits, and bring them to the people living on the steam grates in front of the State Department.  When a worker confronted him, and said he was just "encouraging" them to live there, my dad asked what he was doing for the homeless, personally.  He taught me the importance of empathy, and of doing something concrete to help others, in big and small ways.  After he retired, he spent several years at Providence Hospital, as a dietitian, and working in their community outreach to pregnant women.  At his burial, I learned even more about his service in the Navy, including his work with restoring nutritional health to returning POWs.  



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    Carolyn Pointer
    Assistant Professor
    Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
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    Original Message