surgeon general of the United States

surgeon general of the United States, supervising medical officer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. surgeon general oversees (but does not directly supervise) the members of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and speaks for the government on public health issues. He or she conducts duties under the direction of the assistant secretary for health, who in turn advises the secretary of health and human services. The surgeon general is appointed to a four-year term; the appointment is made after a recommendation from the president of the United States and the endorsement of the U.S. Senate.

The position of U.S. surgeon general was created as a result of the reorganization into a national hospital system in 1870 of the Marine Hospital Service, a group of hospitals originally constructed to provide health services at key sea and river ports to merchant marines. Expansion of the military and growth in the science of public health led to the need for a national hospital system with centralized administration. The newly reconstructed Marine Hospital system was overseen by a supervising surgeon from 1871 to 1872, a supervising surgeon general from 1873 to 1901, and a surgeon general from 1902. Also in 1902 the Marine Health Service was renamed to the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. American physician John Maynard Woodworth was appointed the first supervising surgeon, a position that he held until his death in 1879. The first person to hold the title of surgeon general was American physician Walter Wyman, who was appointed as supervising surgeon in 1891. He served as surgeon general until 1911.

The term surgeon general is also used to refer to the senior medical officer within the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, or the U.S. Navy. Outside the United States, many governments have equivalent positions but do not make use of the same title.