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Maybe someone with a medical degree? Gates can certainly bring some unique skills to the table if he was invited, but it seems like we should have an actual do

Maybe someone with a medical degree? Gates can certainly bring some unique skills to the table if he was invited, but it seems like we should have an actual doctor leading the charge.

hoten 7y ago
He'd obviously consult top doctors. Why would a doctor be better at organizing a large response than a proven business leader who pivoted to disease control?
natalyarostova 7y ago
Why? Being an MD isn't a huge deal in these cases. Not to say that having knowledge of the fundamentals of biology or healthcare isn't useful, but managing thousands of people, complex human systems, mass organizations, and building a plan to eliminate a disease is not something they teach in medical school. Gates has done more to battle malaria and other diseases than anyone currently alive. His track record is second to none, in terms of building a huge strategy, managing complex systems, and executing a pragmatic plan. And I suspect he has many MDs in his close circle of advisers who he relies on. A leader doesn't need to be a specialist -- they need to be a leader, a generalist, and rely on a team for specialist knowledge.
kube-system 7y ago
MDs are good at treating patients, but they're not necessarily good at leading people. Good leaders know how to draw on the expertise of others to organize a coordinated response... which the Gates Foundation has proved themselves very capable of doing, particularly with public health issues. The Gates Foundation employs lots of healthcare professionals. I'd highly suggest looking up some of the talks Gates has done about his work with his foundation. He definitely has his shit together.
- cpascal 7y ago
  Spot on.
ibaikov 7y ago
It's always mostly about business/decision making, once you surround yourself with competent people who you can trust - you don't need to be a world-class expert.
tuna-piano 7y ago
Doctors are people who are trained and have experience diagnosing and treating individual patients. I'm not sure why those skills are necessary for fighting an epidemic? The person in charge of the epidemic will not be doing patient diagnosis and care. The person will be doing some aspects of: Logistics, managing a ton of people, political wrangling, PR/media relations, setting and achieving organizational goals. Of course some disease and medical knowledge will be required, but not being an MD doesn't seem relevant.

Maybe someone with a medical degree? Gates can certainly bring some unique skills to the table if he was invited, but it seems like we should have an actual doctor leading the charge.

hoten 7y ago

He'd obviously consult top doctors. Why would a doctor be better at organizing a large response than a proven business leader who pivoted to disease control?

natalyarostova 7y ago

Why? Being an MD isn't a huge deal in these cases. Not to say that having knowledge of the fundamentals of biology or healthcare isn't useful, but managing thousands of people, complex human systems, mass organizations, and building a plan to eliminate a disease is not something they teach in medical school. Gates has done more to battle malaria and other diseases than anyone currently alive. His track record is second to none, in terms of building a huge strategy, managing complex systems, and executing a pragmatic plan. And I suspect he has many MDs in his close circle of advisers who he relies on. A leader doesn't need to be a specialist -- they need to be a leader, a generalist, and rely on a team for specialist knowledge.

kube-system 7y ago

MDs are good at treating patients, but they're not necessarily good at leading people. Good leaders know how to draw on the expertise of others to organize a coordinated response... which the Gates Foundation has proved themselves very capable of doing, particularly with public health issues. The Gates Foundation employs lots of healthcare professionals. I'd highly suggest looking up some of the talks Gates has done about his work with his foundation. He definitely has his shit together.

cpascal 7y ago
Spot on.

ibaikov 7y ago

It's always mostly about business/decision making, once you surround yourself with competent people who you can trust - you don't need to be a world-class expert.

tuna-piano 7y ago

Doctors are people who are trained and have experience diagnosing and treating individual patients. I'm not sure why those skills are necessary for fighting an epidemic? The person in charge of the epidemic will not be doing patient diagnosis and care. The person will be doing some aspects of: Logistics, managing a ton of people, political wrangling, PR/media relations, setting and achieving organizational goals. Of course some disease and medical knowledge will be required, but not being an MD doesn't seem relevant.