Sat. Apr 20th, 2024

I want to wish every physician who reads this a Happy Doctor’s Day! Those who are doing DPC can now truly appreciate the meaning of this day. Please understand that it is harder for our hospital-employed colleagues. On average, over 50% of hospitals do not recognize this day. This is from surveys done on my other website, Authentic Medicine, over the last 14 years. It’s the simple things in life that keep physicians engaged. But, unfortunately, people 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.

Many hospitals disrespect us, and this day, so much so that they will lump you in with NPs and PAs and call it a “provider day”. It is not. THIS IS DOCTORS’ DAY!

If you are not a doctor, don’t hesitate to tell a physician that you appreciate him or her. If you are a DPC doctor then take a little extra time to thank your employed physician friends, many of whom are truly burning out.

For all of us, 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. Do not forget yourselves!

Happy Doctors’ Day!

11290cookie-checkHappy Doctors’ Day 2021
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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