The importance of a physician cannot be overstated. These men and women deliver our babies, keep us healthy and comfort us during difficult times throughout our lives. In addition to providing outstanding care, our physicians at UF Health take on other roles in our academic health center as teachers, mentors, researchers and scientists.
On Wednesday, March 30 we celebrate Doctors’ Day, a nationally recognized observance to honor our physicians and thank them for the care they provide. Each year we host a Doctors’ Day breakfast and luncheon for our physicians and housestaff. We encourage you to wear red that day and give thanks to our doctors — sometimes even the smallest gesture can go a long way.
When you turn the page, you’ll find a compilation of excerpts from Customer Service is the Key nominations submitted by colleagues and patients, thanking our physicians and their teams for the excellent care they provide. This is our small way of thanking our talented physicians and housestaff for all that they do for us and their patients. Happy Doctors’ Day!
Marvin Dewar, M.D., J.D.
UF College of Medicine senior associate dean
UF Health Physicians CEO
What is a physician’s most important responsibility?
The greatest challenge that all physicians face is making sure that a focus on the needs of the patient stays primary — sometimes even ahead of their own needs. This balancing of time and attention between the patient and the needs of themselves and their families is an everyday and lifelong challenge.
Can you give a recent example of a physician making a patient’s experience a great one?
Recently, a local student — the daughter of a physician — found herself injured and in the care of our orthopaedic trauma team. She was scared, and her family, who learned of the injury from afar, was only too aware of the things that could go both right and wrong in hospitals. But because of the attentive and first-rate care of our orthopaedic trauma team, which included frequent and regular communication with the patient and family, the young student had a good recovery, and she and her family were left with a great impression of how the care at UF Health can be world-class medically and delivered in a highly patient-centric way.
Timothy Flynn, M.D., FACS
UF College of Medicine senior associate dean for clinical affairs
UF Health Shands chief medical officer
How can we thank our doctors?
We’re all human, and I think a simple ‘thanks for what you do’ is great. Most physicians don’t go into the profession thinking they’re going to get a whole lot of thank yous, but certainly all of us like to be recognized for the work that we do. Reinforcing specific behaviors that you see in a physician is especially valuable. If you take an extra minute to not only say thank you, but say ‘thank you because’ … then I think that’s even more meaningful and would really make their day.
How do you feel when you read Customer Service is the Key nominations?
We have some startlingly generous physicians who go so far out of their way to live up to their oath. When I read these CSKs it makes me really happy and it reinforces that we have a culture that’s all about doing the right thing.
Joanne McNeil, R.N.
UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital
Medical/Surgical Oncology Unit 5E Nurse manager
Surgical/Transplant/Urology Unit 6E nurse manager
What makes the group of physicians at UF Health special?
The physicians here are a part of the team. There is a shared voice on the unit. They do not blame, but they try to find the causative factors contributing to the issues with a willingness to improve the outcomes. There is a collaborative relationship. For example, the urology team meets with the nursing staff to discuss the issues affecting patient satisfaction and other aspects of care, acknowledging the barriers and committing to improving patient care delivery with the support of the nursing team. The colorectal surgery team is another great example of a group that works to strengthen the bond between nurses and physicians to improve patient care.
Can you give a recent example of a physician making a patient’s experience a great one?
During rounds last month, there was a patient very complimentary of his physician, stressing that the physician took the time to sit at his bedside and listen to him. The patient could not stop talking about this experience!
