Editor's note: This post was originally published March 30, 2016 and has been updated for accuracy and timeliness.
While many of those that work in the healthcare profession know that March 30th is National Doctors' Day, there is a lot that’s unknown about the origins of Doctors’ Day.
Doctors’ Day dates back to the 1930s when a physician's wife in Georgia, Eudora Brown Almond, had a luncheon to celebrate the important role that physicians have always played in the local community.
Why was March 30th chosen to celebrate Doctors’ Day? Some say that March 30 wasn’t chosen arbitrarily but is linked to the day in 1842 when Dr. Crawford W. Long administered anesthesia to a patient for the first time which revolutionized how surgery was performed from that day on.
Doctors’ Day became recognized nationally when George W. Bush officially proclaimed on February 21, 1991 that March 30th of each year was to be National Doctors' Day. His proclamation begins with the following words that summarize the special calling and noble reason why many doctors go into the practice of medicine, “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 fellow man understand the tremendous responsibility it entails.”
Thanks to all of the doctors practicing medicine around the world and a special Happy Doctors’ Day from all of us at VISTA Staffing Solutions.
