Family, service, and leadership were key themes of Dr. Jason Higginson’s presentation to nearly 100 first year ECU Brody School of Medicine students at the 15th Annual José G. Albernaz Golden Apple Distinguished Lecture Thursday, July 27 at the East Carolina Heart Institute at ECU.

Funded by the Albernaz family in partnership with the ECU Health Foundation, this lecture was established in 2006 with the goal of providing support for physicians to share their expertise with the medical education community. In a presentation titled “Learning to Lead: Lessons from My Military Life and Beyond,” Dr. Higginson, executive dean of Brody and chief health officer at ECU Health, outlined how his experience in the U.S. Navy, alongside the lessons he learned from his family, mentors and patients, has shaped his journey as a leader and medical doctor.

“Leadership is about finding what you do best and using that to help the people around you,” Dr. Higginson said. “You cannot achieve anything in life without the people around you. A good leader finds a way to use their knowledge and skills to solve problems for others.”

Dr. Higginson has been at Brody since 2012, following 13 years of active duty in the U.S. Navy, where he now continues to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve holding the rank of captain. His previous roles include chair of Brody’s Department of Pediatrics, Pediatrician-in-Chief of Maynard Children’s Hospital, chief of neonatology and medical director for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Newborn Medicine.

“Being a medical doctor is not about self, it’s about a calling to serve a higher need,” ECU Health CEO and Brody Dean Dr. Michael Waldrum said in his introduction at the lecture, “Dr. Higginson is a shining example of that. He is a highly engaged and highly purposeful leader who is helping us build something special at ECU Health. We’re excited that you, our students, have an opportunity to learn from him today.”

Despite his prestigious rank in both the military and the clinical field, Dr. Higginson said the lessons learned early on taught him the skills he needed to successfully lead others. He recalled joining the Navy shortly after getting his medical degree and being told to master the skills of a broom as he swept floors during his first week. That experience taught him that everything, even the simplest tasks, matters in the organization.

Those lessons, Dr. Higginson said, will serve Brody’s newest cohort of students as they embark on their own personal journeys through medical school.

“All of you are going to stand up and take the oath to be a doctor,” Dr. Higginson said. “As you are reading the words for the first time in front of those you love, I encourage you to pause and reflect on the words and what they mean to you. If you take that oath seriously, you will succeed.”