Were You Recognized?
[poll id=’5′]
Sometimes I think we, as physicians, are the prototypical April Fools. We work hard, treat patients, and yet get more and more disrespected each day by the “businessmen” who run the hospitals. In that light, please answer the above poll.
I will spread the results around so please get other docs to click a response as well. Make this viral to show the world how poorly we are treated.
I think we got a snack or meal or something, but that was to make them look good. They are quite quick to prove they don’t give a crap about us. The hops admin once actually told me “I don’t give a SH!T what you think” and called one of the hospital internist “a whiney Bitch” in a meeting because she didn’t feel safe seeing her 37 pt’s a day. May he burn in hospital hell!
The hospital board members all signed a Hallmark card that I found on my desk at the end of the day. The girl who is in charge of Medical Records at the hospital sent a heartfelt e-mail to the 5 doctors of our hospital. The local nursing home sent us some chocolate shaped like medical tools (I ate the chocolate rectal thermometer (YUMMY!)and gave the chocolate reflex hammer, pill bottle, and syringe to my kids. CEO told me “Happy Doctor’s Day” in passing in the hallway. No food, no raise, no help with out-of-line call responsibilities, no EMR, no anything else. Our hospital goes crazy for nurses week. For the record, our hospital has a really top notch nursing staff, but the nurses get fed and pampered for a week, we get a card. Sigh. Whomever wrote above that they themselves told the other docs at their practice Happy Doctors Day since the establishment didn’t, good for you! I wish I’d thought of that.
Thanks for reminding me!
My hospital had breakfast at a staff meeting (they don’t usually do so) that was a few days before Doctor’s Day. I got a potted plant from a local Hospice (I am an oncologist), which I gave away before I killed it. The best gift I got was from the head of my practice, which was Godiva chocolate.
I got a small bag of carmel popcorn from a drug rep.
We got a special breakfast and a $100 gift certificate to the local seafood joint.
Nothing whatsoever.
The double whammy was that my kids totally forgot my birthday the same week.
They had a lunch. But it was off site and I was working in the ED. So, I couldn’t go.
A sign on the wall in the hospital that people were encouraged to write nice things on. Someone called me a Rock Star!
$3 coupon for Starbucks coffee. I don’t like starbucks coffee.
Our hospital has an annual event on Doctor’s Day. The have a memorial lecture with CME named after my father who started the CME program at our hospital and who also founded the Medical Library here. The hospital (Providence Holy Cross in Mission Hills, CA) also supplies a special lunch and gives us a gift (this year it was a travel bag).
With the intermittent exception of Administration (who are mostly docs at our hospital), everyone else treats the docs with a lot of respect. So I’ve always felt Doctors’ Day is kind of like Give a Millionaire $5 Day – I’ve always felt we are respected and looked at as the top people in the hospital, even when we don’t deserve it.
Still – I’m not above enjoying a free breakfast!
Well, there was a lunch which I was too busy to get to. They used to give us useful stuff, one year a nice umbrella, another a cooler with the hospital logo, but for the last few years, just a hard time, like every other day.
Yep, buffet breakfast and free massages, along with labs paid for by the biggest clinic without walls in the area (but they’re in bed with the hospital administration). The best news was that my PSA is still WNL and my cholesterol is low. Otherwise it might as well have been National Celebrate Slavery Day.
How about a coupon for a free cup of coffee in the biweekly Medical Staff?? As my son would say: “That’s lame.”
There was no official recognition, but my receptionist, who is a lovely young woman, put up a little sign about it, so all the patients said something, too. She also bought me tea from the cafe next door.
The surgeon general of the Army sent a nice email thanking us for what we do. The administrator of my hospital doesnt even remember that I’m deployed to Afghanistan…not a word in 3months. You think he would remember doctor’s day?
Why is it social worker’s month, nurse”s week and only doctor’s nanosecond….. er, I mean day? We need a stronger lobby….
The Mayor of our small town of 2,400 issued a proclaimation. The next day, the hospital administrator (he prefers to be called the CEO) told the board how nice the proclaimation was, but did absolutely nothing himself. My clinic co-workers gave everyone a red carnation (the official Doctors’ Day flower) and provided a nice luncheon for everyone, including my favorite cake for desert!
Our hospital and the Western North Carolina Medical Society Auxiliary have a Doctor’s Day celebration each year. Doctors are invited to the hospital from 6-10 AM for blood draws for lab studies, blood pressure check and PPD, followed by a buffet breakfast. I have always considered it a genuine show of appreciation for the physicians practicing in our community, not all of whom are on this hospital’s staff but are welcomed anyway.
Our small-town hospital treated the medical staff very well: a gift card for the Academy stores plus a catered evening meal with professional entertainment co-sponsored by other area hospitals and nursing homes.
Wow! Where do you live? I’m moving there!
They invited me to a luncheon which I could attend IF I WAS WILLING TO PAY $20!!!
that is truly crappy
Nurses Nurses Week May 6-12, each year. http://www.speakersfornurses.com/planning/NursesWeek.htm
National Student Nurses Day is May 8 each year
Doctors Day.
Just so you know where we stand in the pecking order.
The CEO sent around a brief email AFTER I sent out an email because no one had acknowledged my colleagues. Prior years brought a small trinket like a passport folio w/ the company logo. Sounds like Stella found the right place to work!
Note the date on Stella Fitzgibbons comment.
We were sent an email inviting us to join “them” for breakfast in the doctor’s dining area. Time stamp on the email was 9:48AM.
I made it a point of wishing everyone a happy doctors day since the organization didn’t do diddly… they celebrate every other ‘day’ including Administrative Professionals Day so I’m not sure what the deal was.
No,we dont have any doctors in our organization anymore. We are all ” caregivers” . This includes everyone in the organization from housekeeping to the numerous administrators. Pretty arrogant to give doctors their own day.
Not a word about it where I work. I’m graduating from residency in three months; shouldn’t feel this bitter right out of the gate. My wife made me a nice dinner and brownies though; good to have someone who cares.
An electric fork to see if my meat is done.
one dentist sent a girl to our office with his business cards, for me to refer to him. She wished me a “happy Dr.’s Day” through my receptionist.
I was soooooooo excited.
Yummy food in the doctors’ lounge all week (sushi chef brought in on Wed.) and a noontime awards ceremony on Friday with prizes ranging from Top Doc to Best Smile, Funniest Doctor and other fluff. Very meaningful since it was the “real people” who work there voting on the awards.
I’ll bet Dr Doug has already faxed a C-V to your hospital. If we knew where, most of us might do the same!