Yes, March 30 is Doctors’ Day, an annual observance aimed at appreciating physicians who help save our lives everywhere. The holiday first started in 1933 in Winder, Georgia, and since then it’s been honored every year on March 30 which was the first anniversary of a doctor using ether anesthesia by Dr. Crawford W. Long. Today we continue to celebrate medical advances like these and thank all doctors everywhere who’ve spent so much time and energy mastering their field of expertise.
On May 6, we recognize the important role nurses play in our lives by celebrating National Nurses Day and the beginning of National Nurses Week. At the end of the 19th century, “The Lady With the Lamp”— or as she is more widely known, Florence Nightingale — founded modern nursing. Thanks to her strict use of hand-washing and hygiene practices while caring for wounded soldiers in the Crimean War, Nightingale and her helpers reduced the death rate from 42% to 2% — ushering in nursing as we know it today.
For an updated list of healthcare celebrations, please visit National Day Calendar.