Adam Beckman is the kind of guy who, when you ask him about his achievements, is quick to credit everyone else involved. Reflecting on being named a STAT Wunderkind, he said he doesn’t feel particularly special. What he does feel, he said, is grateful to be surrounded by doctors working hard to make this country more just and fair. “That’s really exciting to me.”
OK, sure. But this is the same Adam Beckman who was chosen by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to be his special adviser at the start of the Biden administration, working on issues including Covid-19 and mental health. The same Adam Beckman who, at the outset of the pandemic, helped distribute personal protective equipment and advised Congress on public health funding. The same Adam Beckman who’s co-authored over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals focused on public health, health insurance, and primary care. And this was all before getting his medical degree and Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. He graduated in May and is now in his first year of internal medicine residency.
The fact that he chose internal medicine speaks to Beckman’s relentless focus on helping others. “Primary care doctors work hard to improve people’s health despite all of the challenges that may exist,” he explained. He studied business to better understand why so many primary care clinics are underfunded. Now, his experiences working at the Brookside Community Health Center in the Boston area will inform his work wherever he goes next — whether that’s an exam room or back to the Hill.
— Tara Bannow
