This holiday is commonly celebrated in healthcare organizations to recognize the contributions of physicians to individual lives and communities. These events are typically organized by staff at a healthcare organization. Staff may organize a lunch for doctors to present the physicians with tokens of recognition. Historically, a card or red carnation may be sent to physicians and their spouses, along with a flower being placed on the graves of deceased physicians.
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Cuba
In Cuba, in Cuba this holiday (December 3) commemorates the Birthday of Carlos Juan Finlay. Carlos J. Finlay (December 3, 1833 – August 6, 1915) was a Cuban physician and scientist recognized as a pioneer in yellow fever research. He was the first to theorize, in 1881, that a mosquito was a carrier, now known as a disease vector, of the organism causing yellow fever: a mosquito that bites a victim of the disease could subsequently bite and thereby infect a healthy person. A year later Finlay identified a mosquito of the genus Aedes as the organism transmitting yellow fever. His theory was followed by the recommendation to control the mosquito population as a way to control the spread of the sickness
India
Also celebrated on July 1 all across India to honour the legendary physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. He was born on July 1, 1882 and died on the same date in 1962, aged 80 years. Dr Roy was honoured with the country's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna on February 4, 1961. The Doctor's Day is observed today to lay emphasis on the value of doctors in our lives. It is an occasion to give them their due respect through commemorating one of their greatest representatives. India has shown remarkable improvements in the medical field and July 1 pays a perfect tribute to all the doctors who have made relentless efforts towards achieving this goal irrespective of the odds.
Iran
In Iran, Avicenna's birthday (Iranian Month:Shahrivar 1st=August 23) is commemorated as the national day for doctors.
United States
In the United States, National Doctors' Day is a day on which the service of physicians to the nation is recognized annually. The first Doctors’ Day observance was May 9th, 1933, in Winder, Georgia. The idea came from Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, and the date chosen was the anniversary of the first use of general anesthesia in surgery on May 9th, 1842, in Jefferson, Ga., Dr. Crawford Long used ether to anesthetize a patient, John Venable, and painlessly excised a tumor from his neck.The United States Senate and House of Representatives passed S.J. RES. #366, which President Bush signed on October 30, 1990 (creating Public Law 101-473), designating Doctors' Day as a national holiday to be celebrated on March 30.
This first observance included the mailing of cards to the physicians and their wives, flowers placed on graves of deceased doctors, including Dr. Long, and a formal dinner in the home of Dr. and Mrs. William T. Randolph. After the Barrow County Alliance adopted Mrs. Almond's resolution to pay tribute to the doctors, the plan was presented to the Georgia State Medical Alliance in 1933 by Mrs. E. R. Harris of Winder, president of the Barrow County Alliance. On May 10, 1934, the resolution was adopted at the annual state meeting in Augusta, Georgia. The resolution was introduced to the Women's Alliance of the Southern Medical Association at its 29th annual meeting held in St. Louis, Missouri, November 19-22, 1935, by the Alliance president, Mrs. J. Bonar White. Since then, Doctors' Day has become an integral part of and synonymous with, the Southern Medical Association Alliance. Through the years the red carnation has been used as the symbol of Doctors' Day.
Dr. Marion Mass along with Dr. Kimberly Jackson and Dr. Christina Lang applied to officially have physicians day changed to physicians week. This was accepted in March 2017.
Vietnam
Vietnam founded Doctor's Day on February 28, 1955. The day is celebrated on February 27 or sometimes dates closest to this date.