So more than anything, I will come to this role as a doctor—one who learned the most important lessons about medicine not in medical school, but in the clinic my parents opened when they first came to America as immigrants decades ago. As a child, I saw how they took the time not just to diagnose illnesses, but to ask about their patients’ families and lives, happily poring over photos of children and grandchildren taken from wallets, listening deeply to people’s stories and struggles, often running well over the appointment time.

They taught me that the best doctor is not an authority figure who writes prescriptions, but rather a partner in healing someone who sees patients in their fullest humanity and empowers them to take control of their health. That is the kind of doctor I have always tried to be. And if confirmed, that is the approach I will take as I serve as America’s doctor. I will dedicate myself to caring for every American, driven always by science and facts, by head and heart, and endlessly grateful to serve one of the few countries in the world where the grandson of a poor farmer in India can be asked by the president-elect to look out for the health of the entire nation.

That is a testament to the promise of America—one that I will work to fulfill every day as Surgeon General.

Thank you.”