A Day to Celebrate the Dedication of our Physicians

Today is National Doctors’ Day, when we reflect on the knowledge, skill, hard work and most importantly, the dedication of our physicians.

My first remembrance of doctors is, as a little boy, hearing my mother speak of our pediatrician and her obstetrician in Paterson, New Jersey. I remember being amazed at the complete trust that my mom had in these two physicians. She was almost reverent in her words about them. It was apparent to me even at that early age that they had earned my mother’s trust. They were learned, caring and always there when she needed them.

As a teenager, I remember our family general practitioner making house calls. This man was also the father of my sister’s friends. This fact gave me new insight into the meaning of a physician’s dedication to his or her patients.  He, too, had a large family and was clearly devoted to his wife and children, but, if my mother called him, it seemed that he always figured out how to meet our needs either by seeing us in his office or coming to examine us in our home.

Being a physician myself, I have had the incredible good fortune to meet and work with hundreds of outstanding physicians, men and women who have been exemplary in their care and compassion. We are blessed to have so many wonderful physicians at GBMC. A marker of their excellence is that more than 160 of our physicians, in 80 unique specialties, were named in Baltimore magazine’s “Top Doctors” listings last year, the most for any community hospital in our region.

Doctors’ Day was first celebrated on March 30, 1933, in Georgia. It was started by Eudora Brown Almond, the wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, and occurred on the anniversary of the first administration of anesthesia by Dr. Crawford W. Long in 1842. In 1990, March 30 was officially designated National Doctors’ Day. Today at GBMC, we are continuing this tradition.  We had a Breakfast-to-Go earlier this morning, and physicians in attendance were given ear-buds and card-holders for their smartphone. Later this afternoon we are holding an ice cream social in the physicians’ lounge as another way to show our appreciation for all that they do.

As we celebrate National Doctors’ Day, please take a moment to recognize all of our outstanding physicians, from the surgeons and hospitalists to the Emergency Department physicians, primary care doctors, geriatricians and other specialists all throughout GBMC. Thank you for caring for patients and families from every walk of life, through all types of illnesses and injuries, and for helping GBMC move toward our vision: To every patient, every time, we will provide the care that we would want for our own loved ones.

In honor of Doctor’s Day and your physician, please share your thoughts and stories of the dedication of physicians here: https://gbmc.formstack.com/forms/doctorsday