Throughout Penn Medicine’s history, many staff members have worn two uniforms: one as they worked in medicine, and another as they served as active members of the National Guard or Reserve forces.
Last month, leaders, faculty, and staff from across the health system gathered to celebrate the promotion of Jeremy Cannon, MD, medical director and section chief of Trauma at PPMC, to the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. The promotion and formal pinning ceremony — presented by C. William Schwab, MD, and Colonel Todd E. Rasmussen, MD — drew a packed audience to Penn Medicine University City.
After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1994, Cannon attended Harvard Medical School before serving ten years of active duty — including three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq — at the San Antonio Military Medical Center in Texas. When he transitioned to PPMC in 2015, Cannon became an active member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. For Cannon, his invaluable experience as a trauma surgeon in the military gave him the opportunity to practice the craft in a setting that had a huge impact on high-risk, high-acuity patients. Because the lines between “military” and “civilian” trauma are increasingly blurry, he notes that the lessons learned can help trauma physicians and critically injured patients both in the military and civilian worlds.
“It was heartwarming to feel the outpouring of support at the ceremony,” Cannon said. “It showed the value that the health system’s leadership — and my PPMC colleagues — place on employees’ military experience, and for me, it underscored the opportunities for synergy of trauma care across civilian and military populations.”