Below is a message from DMU President and CEO Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D.
Happy National Doctors’ Day! Thank you to our faculty and preceptors!
While we always appreciate the engagement of our faculty and preceptors in the training of our students, I want to take the time to give a special acknowledgment on this National Doctors’ Day.
Every year on March 30, physicians are celebrated for providing care to our nation’s citizens and contributing so much to our quality of life. According to the National Doctors’ Day website, the first Doctor’s Day was observed on March 30, 1933, in Winder, Georgia. This first observance, started by the wife of a physician, included the mailing of greeting cards and placing flowers on graves of deceased doctors. The red carnation is commonly used as the symbolic flower for National Doctors’ Day.
On March 30, 1958, a resolution commemorating Doctors’ Day was adopted by the United States House of Representatives. In 1990, legislation was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to establish a National Doctor’s Day. Following overwhelming approval by both bodies, on October 30, 1990, President George Bush signed Public Law 101-473, designating March 30 as National Doctors’ Day.
I want to send a special thank you to all of the doctors who train our students both here on campus and out in the community. We thank the faculty and preceptors, many of whom are alumni, who mentor our students throughout the year. You have made a wonderful commitment to them while also serving the health care needs of your patients in your communities. You are fulfilling our mission and maintaining excellence in the delivery of care in a competent and compassionate manner!
We thank you! We salute you!
Sincerely,
Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D.
President/CEO
Des Moines University
