Happy Doctors’ Day 2024!
Every year I wish every physician reader a Happy Doctors’ Day! We have expanded this to National Physicians Week in 2016 when the advocacy group Physicians Working Together (PWT) sought to celebrate and acknowledge physicians everywhere.
On average, over 50% of hospitals do not recognize this day. This is from surveys on this site for the last 20 years. How easy would it be to send an email or a simple token of appreciation? It’s the simple things in life that keep physicians engaged. But, unfortunately, the administrators (if you are employed) usually forget about us.
You may think this is a bogus holiday or occasion but it isn’t.
For those who don’t know how it started, here goes:
On March 30th, 1933 Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Cha Almond, commemorated the anniversary of the first use of anesthesia back in 1842. From 1933 to 1958, the Women’s Auxiliary of the Southern Medical Association kept the tradition of Doctors’ Day alive by mailing cards to physicians and by placing flowers on the graves of the deceased doctors every March 30th. In 1958 the United States House of Representatives adopted a resolution to commemorate March 30th as Doctors’ Day. In 1991, President George Bush signed a resolution proclaiming March 30th as the first National Doctors’ Day.
I hope you all are reading our blog regularly because there is tremendous upheaval in the medical world. Doctors are continually losing their jobs to NPPs (nonphysician providers). This needs to change to protect patients.
If we don’t stick up for ourselves then who will? Many hospitals disrespect us, and this day, so much so that they will lump us in with NPs and PAs and call it a “provider day”.
It is not.
THIS IS NATIONAL DOCTORS’ DAY!
If you are an administrator and want to learn more about why not recognizing this day is losing you doctors then get my book The Hospital Guide to Physician Retention: Why Creating A Physician-Friendly Environment Is Critical For Your Organization’s Success.
If you are not a doctor, don’t hesitate to tell a physician that you appreciate him or her.
If you are a doctor, take a second for some introspection. You directly help people every day. You can brag about this to your friends, your family, and your community (even though you won’t). That is what this day is for. Don’t let your organization forget you, but if they do, then do not forget yourselves!
Happy Doctors’ Day!
There’s an “R.N.” after my lovely wife’s name on our headstone as she died 1/25/2019. There’s an M.D. after my name
after my time comes. Just chisel my date of demise. Wonder if anyone will put artificial flowers on our headstone. Cripes have vases integrated on the headstone too. 🙂 I found that using wire to wrap around the base of the flowers with lead fishing weights makes ’em last a lot longer and keeps them from blowing away.