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Former American Medical Association President Jeremy Lazarus, MD '68, talks about life at the helm of the country's most influential medical organization '' One of the most important lessons that I have learned in medicine, in my pursuits — in my life — is the value of persistence. During his year as president of the American Medical Association, Lazarus confronted no shortage of thorny and complex issues, ranging from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act to the association's five-year strategic plan to improve health outcomes. student at the College of Medicine. After a mixed medical internship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, he headed west to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, where he served as a chief resident and teaching fellow. He remained in the Denver area for the next four decades, building a private practice in psychiatry while serving as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Along the way, he assumed many leadership roles that prepared him well for his role as AMA president. From 2007 to 2011, he served as speaker of the AMA's House of Delegates. A past president of the Colorado Medical Society, the Colorado Psychiatric Society and the Arapahoe County Medical Society, he is also a distinguished fellow and past speaker of the assembly of the American Psychiatric Association. The scope of his professional accomplishments is matched by Lazarus' passionate pursuit of his avocations. An accomplished violinist, guitarist and saxophonist and a classically trained singer, he worked his way through college and medical school performing at weddings and bar mitzvahs. He continues to perform with two fellow physicians '' in Dr. Feelgood's Folk Remedy—a trio that entertains audiences at AMA and Colorado Medical Society meetings with classic folk songs and original compositions such as "The Ballad of Sigmund Freud," and a tongue-in-cheek tune about a colorectal surgeon. A father of three and a grandfather of eight, he still runs and swims whenever his schedule allows and enjoys riding a tandem bicycle with his wife, Debbie. On Commencement Day, Lazarus shared some of the wisdom he had gleaned from a life well lived while turning once again to running metaphors. "Surviving and thriving in medical school is a challenge that you have conquered. In that respect, you have run this race—and won," he told the graduates. "Today, you are starting the first leg in the marathon of healing, and your performance still depends on you—your dedication, persistence and willingness to adapt to the changing contours of the course you're running. The goal, as William James wrote, 'is to improve the golden moment of opportunity and catch the good that is within our reach. That is the great art of life.' To me, no calling in the world creates and sustains this art of life better than being a physician." illinois medicine | 31