--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A few colleagues and I began Doctors for…" description: "\"A few colleagues and I began Doctors for America with a simple belief that physicians should play a leadership role in designing and running our nation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg" --- # A few colleagues and I began Doctors for America with a… ![“A few colleagues and I began Doctors for America with a simple belief that physicians should play a leadership role in designing and running our nation's health care system.” quote by Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg) > “A few colleagues and I began Doctors for America with a simple belief that physicians should play a leadership role in designing and running our nation's health care system.” [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physicians should lead in designing and managing national health care. **In simple terms:** Doctors should guide health system design. Key Takeaway Encourage physician leadership in policy. Themes healthcare leadership physician advocacy system design Mood concerned hopeful Type advocacy policy When to use this quote - hospital administration - legislative testimony - community health planning Key Concepts public health policy making clinical expertise Questions to Reflect On - What barriers do doctors face in policy roles? - How can medical training include leadership? A Different Perspective Physicians may lack political experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Health care system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care-system/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) ## Related quotes > [The AMA puts the lives and well being of the American citizens well below it's own special interest...It deserves to be ignored, rejected, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/the-ama-puts-the-lives-and-well-being-of-the-american-citizens-well/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [By declaring yourself a leader, you're taking initiative and moving into a role of influence in a lively and vital network that's changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/by-declaring-yourself-a-leader-you-re-taking-initiative-and-moving/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Taking on a leadership role doesn't mean that you only have to be personally ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinda-ardern/taking-on-a-leadership-role-doesn-t-mean-that-you-only-have-to-be/) [Jacinda Ardern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinda-ardern/) > [I am convinced that your Mayor must take the leadership role in education too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-am-convinced-that-your-mayor-must-take-the-leadership-role-in/) [Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/) > [On the security front, the United States must continue to play a leadership role. There simply is not another country in the world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/on-the-security-front-the-united-states-must-continue-to-play-a/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [One must also acknowledge that there are moments in an organisation's development when fresh blood and new vision are required, which may imply that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/one-must-also-acknowledge-that-there-are-moments-in-an-organisation-s/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [To improve humanity's chances of survival, it is critical that Canada assume a leadership role, first ramping up our own ambition and then pushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/to-improve-humanity-s-chances-of-survival-it-is-critical-that-canada/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [In terms of having views and being prepared to express them, yes, I think New Zealand's had a leadership role in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark/in-terms-of-having-views-and-being-prepared-to-express-them-yes-i/) [Helen Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark/) > [My administration is committed to a leadership role on the issue of climate change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-administration-is-committed-to-a-leadership-role-on-the-issue-of/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I think in a lot of ways, I handle the leadership role a little different than others. I'm not going to rah-rah or slap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan-mcnabb/i-think-in-a-lot-of-ways-i-handle-the-leadership-role-a-little/) [Donovan McNabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan-mcnabb/) > [I realize that as the quarterback, you have to assume some sort of leadership role because you have to talk in the huddle on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-luck/i-realize-that-as-the-quarterback-you-have-to-assume-some-sort-of/) [Andrew Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-luck/) > [“Your character and attitude is what takes the lead in your leadership role and you follow them as a true leader". Poor character and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/your-character-and-attitude-is-what-takes-the-lead-in-your-leadership/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [You do not deserve the level you are on or the lofty position that you have if simple agreed meetings/appointments, you cannot even comply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-sta-ana/you-do-not-deserve-the-level-you-are-on-or-the-lofty-position-that/) [Myron Sta Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-sta-ana/) > [Just to be told 'you're in a leadership role' - I'd relish whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-ramsdale/just-to-be-told-you-re-in-a-leadership-role-i-d-relish-whatever/) [Aaron Ramsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-ramsdale/) > [IBM has taken a leadership role in this area and is prepared to be a technology partner with companies around the world to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick/ibm-has-taken-a-leadership-role-in-this-area-and-is-prepared-to-be-a/) [John Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick/) ## More by Vivek Murthy > [I think people often forget how powerful they are. Sometimes it just takes one voice to save a life. When we speak up we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/i-think-people-often-forget-how-powerful-they-are-sometimes-it-just/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [We don't do enough to help older people recognize how much they matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/we-don-t-do-enough-to-help-older-people-recognize-how-much-they-matter/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [When I was Surgeon General, I spent a lot of time talking to people in living rooms and town halls all across the country,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/when-i-was-surgeon-general-i-spent-a-lot-of-time-talking-to-people-in/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [We can experience an erosion of self-esteem when we're lonely, as we come to believe that it's because we're not likable or because something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/we-can-experience-an-erosion-of-self-esteem-when-we-re-lonely-as-we/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [Climate change poses a serious, immediate and global threat to health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/climate-change-poses-a-serious-immediate-and-global-threat-to-health/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [I trained in internal medicine, and I expected most of my time would be spent on diabetes or heart disease or cancer. What I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/i-trained-in-internal-medicine-and-i-expected-most-of-my-time-would/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [I do not intend to use the Surgeon General's Office as a bully pulpit for gun control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/i-do-not-intend-to-use-the-surgeon-general-s-office-as-a-bully-pulpit/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [We know that chronic loneliness has consequences. It certainly depresses our mood. And in terms of our health, people who struggle with loneliness also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/we-know-that-chronic-loneliness-has-consequences-it-certainly/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [Gun violence is a problem that this country should be addressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/gun-violence-is-a-problem-that-this-country-should-be-addressing/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [You can be surrounded by many people but still feel quite lonely if you don't have strong connections and if you feel you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/you-can-be-surrounded-by-many-people-but-still-feel-quite-lonely-if/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [When people tell you that you're less-than and that you don't matter and that you're inferior, you internalize some of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/when-people-tell-you-that-you-re-less-than-and-that-you-don-t-matter/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [Service is a powerful pathway of getting out of loneliness. It takes the focus off of you and puts it onto someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/service-is-a-powerful-pathway-of-getting-out-of-loneliness-it-takes/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [Addiction is a chronic disease of the brain and it's one that we have to treat the way we would any other chronic illness:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/addiction-is-a-chronic-disease-of-the-brain-and-it-s-one-that-we-have/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [A lot of people have misconceptions about what the surgeon general does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/a-lot-of-people-have-misconceptions-about-what-the-surgeon-general/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [I firmly believe that everybody in America needs a safe place to walk or to wheelchair roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/i-firmly-believe-that-everybody-in-america-needs-a-safe-place-to-walk/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) [Explore all 110 Vivek Murthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A few colleagues and I began Doctors for America with a simple belief that physicians should play a leadership role in designing and running our nation's health care system.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vivek Murthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for-america-with-a-simple-belief/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for-america-with-a-simple-belief/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/vivek-murthy-4508_america_a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for_1000603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A few colleagues and I began Doctors for America with a simple belief that physicians should play a…” — Vivek Murthy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vivek Murthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A few colleagues and I began...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for-america-with-a-simple-belief/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/a-few-colleagues-and-i-began-doctors-for-america-with-a-simple-belief/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```