Working in government can be a remarkable life experience for anyone but particularly for those who have trained in the worlds of medicine and public health. This article describes some lessons learned from a physician initially based in academic medicine and public health who has since spent more than a decade serving in leadership positions at…

The concerted, strategic efforts of government leaders can create rapid accelerations in knowledge and the application of that knowledge for the public good. Government service can represent part or all of one's career. Working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) early in my career helped me develop a macro-level understanding of how the…

This reflection is on a health education professional's rotation from professor in a school of public health to a government position and back parallels that of Professor Howard Koh's journey to Assistant Secretary of Health, one level higher in the same federal bureaucracy. We both acknowledge the steep learning curve and some bureaucratic…