Dr. Regina Benjamin was recently sworn in as the 18th U.S. Surgeon General. AMSA Jack Rutledge Legislative Director and AMSA On Call Blogger Farheen Qurashi (pictured with Dr. Benjamin) attended the event, which was held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from the White House.

Benjamin, a family physician from Alabama, will bring extensive experience to the position of the nation’s top public health official. After Hurricanes Georges and Katrina, she rebuilt her rural health clinic and set up networks to maintain contact with her uprooted patients. Her family practice allows her to treat uninsured patients in the region, many of whom she travels to due to their lack of transportation.

Benjamin has served as associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama’s College of Medicine and as the first black woman to head the State of Alabama Medical Association. Benjamin was the recipient of the 2008 MacArthur Genius Grant.

What are the most important issues for Dr. Benjamin to address during her term? What should her agenda look like?