Celebrating doctors’ day
Paying tribute to our physicians
On our UF Health Shands Hospital Labor and Delivery Unit, an obstetrician smiles and holds up a squirming baby girl, bringing the mother and her family to tears. Across the street, an oncologist discusses a patient’s chemotherapy treatment. In another location, a faculty physician explains a complex medical procedure to a group of medical residents. A few miles away, another doctor spends her nonclinical time conducting research, hoping to ease the suffering of patients battling disease.
Each day, our physicians are transforming the lives of their patients and making an impact on the health care industry with their expertise and insights.
On Thursday, March 30, join us in celebrating Doctors’ Day, a national observance to honor physicians for their contributions. We encourage you to wear red that day and thank our doctors.
When you turn the page, you’ll find a compilation of excerpts from Customer Service is the Key nominations submitted by colleagues, patients and family members, thanking our physicians for providing outstanding care.
If you could tell your doctor one thing, what would it be?
To watch a UF Health physician read a thank you note from a special patient, please visit giving.UFHealth.org/doctorsday.
Wear red on Thursday, March 30 to celebrate Doctors’ Day and click here to read CSK excerpts praising our physicians.
MARVIN DEWAR, M.D., J.D.
UF COLLEGE OF MEDICINE SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN
UF HEALTH PHYSICIANS CEO
How have Customer Service is the Key nominations shaped our culture of care?
It’s been said that we are what we celebrate. To that end, celebrating those who go above and beyond to provide excellent service is one way of demonstrating that we place great importance and high value on our service culture.
How has our culture of hospitality and service affected our doctors?Going out of the way to give people extraordinary service is infectious. When I see a staff member deliver great service to patients, it makes me proud of UF Health and motivates me to go above and beyond in my own efforts to provide great service. In this way, individual acts become multiplied into a virtuous cycle of service excellence by the whole organization.
How do our physicians work to improve our patients’ experience?I have been impressed with the way that many doctors, nurses and staff are stepping up to improve patient access. Whether it is adding after-hours clinics or an extra patient to the daily schedule, the net effect is that we are improving access, which improves health care and makes for more satisfied patients.
C. PARKER GIBBS JR., M.D.
UF HEALTH SHANDS CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
UF COLLEGE OF MEDICINE ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
DIVISION CHIEF
EUGENE L. JEWETT PROFESSOR OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
What three words describe our physicians?
Smart, dedicated and passionate.
In your new role as UF Health Shands chief medical officer, what has struck you most about our medical staff?
Their willingness to step up and offer their time, energy and insight to help improve patient care.
Tell us about a time you witnessed a physician making a patient’s experience a great one?
In pediatric oncology, they often throw small ‘end of chemo’ parties for patients. One of our young patients wanted a pool party. As we don’t have that luxury in our hospital, a remarkable young physician hosted a pool party at her home, making that child’s experience amazing.
IRENE ALEXAITIS, D.N.P., R.N., NEA-BC
UF HEALTH SHANDS HOSPITAL CHIEF NURSING OFFICER
NURSING AND PATIENT SERVICES VICE PRESIDENT
How do our doctors reinforce nursing’s mission of “experienced care and expert caring?”
Our physicians are key players in the culture of care nursing has developed. They assist in teaching classes for new nurses orientations, thoroughly explain procedures and patient needs and are always open to questions. This level of accessibility and expertise provided by our physicians develops our nurses and helps us become experts in our own practice.
Can you give a recent example of a physician making a positive impact on a patient?
A woman was recently admitted to the UF Health Shands Emergency Center at Springhill and although the staff was busy, she praised the level of care she received from everyone she encountered, from technician to nurse. The patient described her physician as warm, caring and professional, and went into detail about how she took the time to listen and get to the root of her problem, although she had others to care for as well. This type of feedback comes across my desk every week, and the attentive, personalized care that our physicians provide makes them one of a kind.
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