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03/30/2023

A Message to Cincinnati Physicians on National Doctors Day

Area Physicians,

This year, when our Academy team thought about how we might recognize physicians on National Doctors Day, it was a bit of a struggle.

Emailing out a generic “Happy National Doctors Day” on a nice graphic seemed too trivial. Sending donuts or treats to 6,000 physicians was impossible (and quite frankly, not in the realm of our not-for-profit budget). So, we landed on hosting an event last night for any doctors who could make it. It was a great evening with excellent company.

This morning, as I was tired from what I considered to be a long day, I had a text from one of the evening’s attendees. He thanked us for putting the gathering together, and apologized for leaving early, stating he had to get to the hospital to see a patient from his practice who had taken a turn for the worse. He wanted to be there to talk to the patient’s family so they had a familiar face when hearing the news.

That physician started his day at 6:30am, and ultimately ended it at 11:30pm. And here I am thinking my day was long.

Now as a physician, you’re probably reading that (if you even have the time to read this message) and thinking “yes, and??” because that type of day can be your “normal.” But that is exactly my point. When you’re in it, when it’s your “normal”, you don’t always see it, but we do.

We see your long days.

We see your extra miles.

We see you leaving social functions and personal time to be the one delivering difficult news.

We see you giving those extra few minutes to a patient, knowing it’ll back up the rest of your day.

We see you powering through your day after little sleep, convincing yourself that one more cup of coffee will do the trick.

We see you frustrated and burned out when you want to do more and are met with barriers, whether it’s for a single patient or the practice of medicine in general.

We see you improving and saving lives in spite of those barriers.

We see you, and we thank you.

Not just today, but every day.

 

With gratitude,

Jessica Sellar
Executive Director

On behalf of The Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati
academyofmedicine.org

 

 

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