A physician recently recalled to me a situation he found himself in on the last National Doctors’ Day. Those of you reading who work in health care, will already be aware that this is on March 30th every year. I have seen this day celebrated in every hospital I’ve worked in since I first came to the United States over a decade ago. I actually think it’s a nice gesture, and always good to reinforce appreciation for any dedicated group of professionals — whether they be physicians, nurses, pharmacists or physical therapists.
This physician works in a busy office next to a large hospital, and knew that there were treats laid out in a special conference room. He had received a correspondence inviting him to pop over during the day, to get some food and snacks, to celebrate the occasion. He was extremely busy in clinic that morning but did find some time to head over for a few minutes during his lunch break. As he recounted to me, he walked into the room, only to find that there wasn’t a single other physician in there! Instead, there were a number of administrators — many of them in their 20s and 30s — all helping themselves to lunch, cakes, ice-cream and sodas. He was a bit surprised, as he expected it to be a collegial scene, where he would get to bump into some of his physician colleagues that he rarely gets time to interact with anymore.
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