Today is National Physicians Day! As I write about this interview to honor my physician colleagues and help protect them and our communities, so many faces keep going through my mind. I have connected by phone, email, or text these last two weeks with so many physicians to offer support, a listening ear, and ensure you have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and all you need. I have been in direct contact with legislators and shared your individual and collective concerns regarding (1) insufficient testing capabilities, (2) inadequate and insufficient PPE, (3) the need for communities to shelter in place to flatten the curve and decrease the speed of viral spread to buy us time and protect people, and (4) a slow (though improving!) flow of information as this pandemic is already upon us.
I am so grateful for my senator’s responsiveness and to be able to play even a small role to help keep you all safe as you care for others. I am also grateful for local, state, and national medical organizations standing up for physicians and patients, organizing PPE drives to get every physician N95 and surgical masks, and ensuring decisions are based on science and evidence as much as possible with common sense and physicians’ clinical judgment upheld. Thank you to the FMA, AAFP, FAFP, AAEM, ACEP, AAEP, other medical and non-medical groups as well as county medical societies throughout Florida.
To celebrate and reach my community today on National Physicians Day, I was interviewed by Lake County’s WQBQ station. A big thank you goes to Suzanne Lynn for helping honor and magnify the voices of physicians on the front lines of this pandemic. We discussed very timely topics, including:
- The urgent need for physicians, nurses, and all medical professionals and first responders in every community to have sufficient and adequate personal protective equipment
- Ways you can help celebrate National Physicians Day by supporting your physicians, nurses, and communities
- The need for physicians to speak up in their hospitals and clinics to ensure science and medical expertise dictates decisions that will impact the health of our patients, medical teams, and communities
- The importance of focusing on the basics during this pandemic, beginning with safety, rest, food, water, trust, and relationships
- An exhortation for physicians to speak up with courage as the leaders of the medical team and experts in medicine. If we don’t lead through this pandemic, it will last longer and more lives will be lost, including medical professionals.
Watch the video interview by clicking on the image below, and feel free to share.
Connect: Physician colleagues, how would you like your community to celebrate you and honor your sacrifices on National Physicians Day and every day? Let me know HERE. As your advocate and one of many physicians working together for you, our patients and communities, I will do what I can!
Together we can accomplish so much more. I’m glad you’re here!
For more information about Physicians Working Together, visit www.ThePWT.org and best2gether.org to learn about PWT’s medical student contest to celebrate National Physicians Week. I am proud to be a member of the PWT advisory board.
To subscribe to inspiring, informative content covering the physician perspective on healthcare reform and other topics, visit www.physicianoutlook.com. For a limited time, you may use code NPW2020 for a free subscription (choose the monthly option). Thank you, Dr. Marlene Wust-Smith!
My book, Recapturing Joy in Medicine, is now available on the shelves at Barnes & Noble stores. If you can’t find it at your local store, just ask and they’ll order it! And if you buy it off their shelves, more of their stores will carry it, so thank you in advance for helping keep this timely, encouraging, and practical book for physicians, medical students, and residents on their shelves! Thank you for spreading the word so our colleagues are empowered and supported as physicians and as human beings to lead and thrive during this unprecedented time.
