Dr. Koop’s Legacy: Reflections on Mentorship

June 20, 2013

By Allen I. Goldberg, MD, Master FCCP

The late C. Everett Koop, MD, ScD, FCCP (Hon), is widely regarded as the most influential surgeon general in American history. He is remembered for many things: his influence in changing public attitudes about smoking, his role in educating Americans about AIDS, his work advancing the rights of disabled children, and his pioneering contributions as a pediatric surgeon. Long-time ACCP members remember his remarks at the annual CHEST conferences in 1999 and 2000. And one member, Allen I. Goldberg, MD, Master FCCP, had the honor of knowing C. Everett Koop as a mentor and friend over a 35-year period. Here, Dr. Goldberg shares some of his thoughts about that relationship.

In the early years of our relationship when Dr. Koop and I were both working at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he invited me into his office one day “just to chat.” He sensed that I needed to talk, and he was right.

That connection became a pattern throughout the course of our 35-year relationship. Years later, in Chicago, I just knew I needed to pay him a visit in Philadelphia. It turned out that he was concerned about his future as he was facing mandatory retirement and needed to talk to a trusted friend. Later, when he was surgeon general, I just “happened” to call him minutes after the CDC told him about the emergence of a new disease that later came to be known as AIDS, which he told me, “would be like the plague of the Middle Ages.” Many years later, he invited me to Washington “just to talk” when I was searching new directions for my future. He reminded me about some advice I had given him years before when he was in a similar situation, which was what I needed.

I have a vivid memory from 1984 when he felt the urgent need to talk and came to my office at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. My colleagues couldn’t believe their eyes as he passed by in his official uniform!

And there are many other examples as well. Over 35 years, I had many personal and private conversations with Dr. Koop. When we called each other it was sometimes for a reason we didn’t know that eventually became clear.

That is how it often is with mentors. We are not brought together by accident. We welcome the opportunities to get together in person, and we know we can connect at any time. Sometimes, we know just when to call or write, and we do not hesitate to do so.

In our personal and professional lives, we need others with knowledge, wisdom, and experience to direct and guide us. As we meet those who become our mentors – or whom we mentor – we know that they are special and that our relationship is unique. We invite the development of honest communication, which benefits and blesses both of us, and others as well.

The mentor-mentee relationship is enhanced by commitment to shared beliefs and values and a common purpose and vision. Dr. Koop and I shared a belief in self-care. He believed, and I believe, that individuals, families, and communities need communication of health information – information they can trust, understand, and use to make decisions; to take actions to manage their health, to navigate the health-care system, and to negotiate for the resources they need. This belief is based on the foundational idea that  people can achieve health when they are informed and empowered with knowledge that will make them a care partner in collaboration with their health professionals.

Those of us who are blessed to have a true mentor always feel that person’s presence and influence on our thoughts and actions. I know that to be true for me and my relationship with Dr. Koop.

Read More

In 1999 and 2000, Dr. Koop and Dr. Goldberg conducted live telechats via satellite at the annual CHEST meetings. Read transcripts of those conversations:

1999: A Conversation Between Drs. Koop and Goldberg

2000: C. Everett Koop’s Global Vision for Health Care

Allen I. Goldberg, MD, MBA, Master FCCP, is a past president of the American College of Chest Physicians. He is a home care physician with expertise in high-technology home care, telemedicine/eHealth, and mobile health care. Formerly he served as Professor of Pediatrics at Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine and Director of Respiratory Care at Children’s Memorial Hospital. He also developed the pediatric home health program at Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital of Loyola Medical Center.