Doctors play an important role in our society. When you get ill the most important person in life is the doctor. A doctor performs diagnosis and treatment. He cares for the patient and keep them well. It is not enough just to pay the bill or says "Thanks" for doctors are the life saviors who strive tirelessly to cure the ailments of the patients. This calls for a special day when doctors can have exclusive attention. Yes! The day is Doctor's Day.
More than the application of science and technology, medicine is a special calling, and those who have chosen this vocation in order to serve their fellowman understand the tremendous responsibility it entails. Referring to the work of physicians, Dr. Elmer Hess, a former president of the American Medical Association, once wrote: "There is no greater reward in our profession than the knowledge that God has entrusted us with the physical care of His people. The Almighty has reserved for Himself the power to create life, but He has assigned to a few of us the responsibility of keeping in good repair the bodies in which this life is sustained." Accordingly, reverence for human life and individual dignity is both the hallmark of a good physician and the key to truly beneficial advances in medicine.
The first Doctors Day observance was March 30, 1933 in Winder, Georgia. Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, decided to set aside a day to honor physicians. This first observance included the mailing greeting cards and placing flowers on graves of deceased doctors. The red carnation is commonly used as the symbolic flower for National Doctors Day.
Doctors Day marks the date that Crawford W. Long, M.D., of Jefferson, GA, administered the first ether anesthetic for surgery on March 30, 1842. On that day, Dr. Long administered ether anesthesia to a patient and then operated to remove a tumor from the man's neck. Later, the patient would swear that he felt nothing during the surgery and wasn't aware the surgery was over until he awoke.
In India, National Doctors' Day is annually celebrated on July 1, to commemorate the famous medical personality Dr. B. C. Roy. He was born and died on July 1 of 1882 and 1962 respectively.
There may be several reasons that can be attributed to the significance of a Doctor's day being celebrated in India
- The large population of India depends on the efficiency and responsibility of doctors to a large extent at all times.
- Doctors in India over the years have shown remarkable improvements and made definite progress in medical treatments that need to be acknowledged.
- It may also be seen as an encouragement and an eye opener to all such doctors who have been struck by a flailing career owing to a lack of commitment.
- There have been instances of public violence and protests against doctors when they have failed to perform. Doctor's Day could be seen as an approach by the same people as a mark of respect for all those doctors who have relentlessly made efforts to sustain the life of their patients against all odds.