December 6, 2023

A doctor is in the House.

Before he joined Congress, Rep. Raul Ruiz, a Democrat from California, worked in another chaotic environment: the emergency department. Today, he says, he tries to bring his background in medicine and public health to policymaking. In particular, he has turned his attention to a shortage of infectious disease physicians that threatens U.S. preparedness for the next pandemic.

"As an emergency physician practicing during the H1N1 pandemic, I know how busy the front lines can be, and I know how important infectious disease doctors are to helping us with diagnosis, with decisions, with administrations, with follow-ups, and also reporting to local agencies. And so that's why I'm so passionate about this issue," he told Torie on this week's episode of the "First Opinion Podcast."

Listen Now