Features

The Medical Profession in Alabama Feature

Alabama is home to a number of distinguished physicians, nurses, and medical institutions. If confirmed, President Barack Obama's recent nominee for Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, would become the third physician from Alabama to serve in that position. Dr. Benjamin received her medical education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). In the early twentieth century the Medical Association of the State of Alabama served as the model for the reorganization of the American Medical Association and was described by the AMA president as "the best medical association in the world." Among Alabama's notable physicians and medical researchers are William Crawford Gorgas, Peter Bryce, and Joseph Volker. The School of Medicine at UAB is recognized as one of the nation's leading medical schools and research institutions, and it plays an important role in the economy of Birmingham and the state.