Happy National Physicians Week!

Celebrating a day or a special occasion is a great opportunity to recognize and appreciate it. Even though I have been a physician every day for years, it is nice to have a day dedicated to be recognized. I love celebrations and expressing gratitude. Just like celebrating birthdays, celebrating National Doctors Day is an opportunity to honor physicians who dedicate their lives to heal.

National Doctors Day was started by Endora Brown Almond on March 30, 1993. She was the wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond. In 2015, Dr. Kimberly Jackson founded Physicians Working Together. In 2016, the organization initiated National Physicians Week to be held every year from March 25^th through 31^st.

It is interesting how I just found out about National Physicians Week. I remember as recent as last year, some healthcare organizations celebrated “National Providers Day” on March 30^th, which included physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. I am not saying that physician assistants and nurse practitioners should not be celebrated. In fact, National Physician Assistant Week is celebrated every year from October 6^th through 12^th, and National Nurse Practitioner Week is celebrated in the second week of November every year. I think it is fair to have one day, March 30^th, to celebrate only the physicians. I am very grateful for Dr. Kimberly Jackson who extended the celebration to be a week long.

Thank you, physicians, for all your hard work that started before you are doctors. You studied hard to get into medical school. You went through many years of school and post-graduate training. You experienced hardships in clerkships. You put everyone else first and put yourself last. You always try your best to do your best.

Thank you for your dedication. Working long hours and accept it as the norm without realizing for many people, that is not a sustainable lifestyle. Thank you for caring for your patients. When you have depleted your mental and physical reserve, you still try to give.

Thank you for providing healthcare in a system that is broken and in need of a major overhaul. Thank you for doing your best to keep your physical, mental and emotional well-being. For the doctors who are having difficulty in managing medicine and life, thank you for recognizing it and asking for help.

Thank you for lifting one another up. As physicians, we can change things. We have the power to make things better. Thank you for those showing us the hope.

Thank you for the physicians who are in academic medicine and who are doing research. Thank you for always giving us discoveries and innovative things.

Thank you for the physicians who are venturing into non-medical work. You have opened the eyes of many physicians (and other people) to what is possible. You provide hope. You provide different ways toward financial freedom. You show that it is possible to live life in your own terms.

Thank you for the healers of physicians – as physicians for the doctors, as mentors, counselors or coaches. Physicians are human beings too. We all need someone to guide us, to take care of us, to make us better. You know the pain. You know the challenges in medicine that non-medical friends do not understand.

Thank you, all the physicians out there, for all our hard work, no matter what you are doing. Let us appreciate physicians by telling them how much they mean to you. For the institutions or healthcare organizations – let your physicians know that they are appreciated. Let them voice their opinion and concerns. Together, make a better environment for doctors to practice. Together, make healthcare less exhausting and more enjoyable and fulfilling.