World Family Doctor Day Celebration: 5 Things You Can Do

As a tribute to the doctors from whom we usually get the primary or first level of care, May 19 is observed as World Family Doctor Day every year. This celebration was declared and initiated by WONCA in 2010 [1]. WONCA is the abbreviation for the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies, and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians. However, WONCA is commonly referred to as the World Organization of Family Doctors in short.

Observing World Family Doctor Day is important because it highlights the contribution and role of family doctors and primary care physicians and their teams in the healthcare systems spread across the world. Globally, the celebration of this day helps spread awareness through meetings and activities.

The main agenda behind all this on is: 

• Recognizing all the family doctors for all that they do 
• Bringing attention to the overall contributions of family doctors worldwide 
• Increasing the morale of these doctors everywhere 
• Highlighting essential aspects related to family doctors and the work performed in supporting healthcare for everyone around the world

The celebration is perfect for acknowledging and appreciating the role of family doctors. After all, these doctors provide constant and comprehensive healthcare for everyone [2]. The World Family Doctor Day theme this year is ‘family.’ The three pillars of World Family Doctor Day 2022 are ‘always,’ ‘there,’ and ‘care.’

 Read on to understand more about the ways in which you can celebrate World Family Doctor Day 2022.

Additional Read: International Nurses Day

5 Ways You Can Celebrate World Family Doctor Day

Send a message of thanks to your family doctor. 

As it is extremely important to acknowledge the efforts of doctors and give something back, you can use the occasion of World Family Doctor Day to show your respect and love for your doctor. You can write them a letter, send a text, or put up a social media post mentioning how they help you lead a healthy life. Highlighting a story where your family physician went above and beyond the call of duty can also help spread awareness about their contributions. After all, it is common for family doctors to answer calls at odd hours and even visit patients’ homes, which lies outside of their normal duties.

Facilitate local family doctors 

To acknowledge the contribution of local doctors to the healthcare services in your residential area, you can arrange a facilitation ceremony for them on World Family Doctor Day. Invite all the doctors and other important figures in your locality, pick a topic for discussion that matters to all present (such as beating lifestyle diseases), allow the audience to ask questions, and gift the doctors a small token of your gratitude for their services.

Do a social media live session with local doctors. 

With the pandemic still on and considering the busy schedules of doctors, bringing them together in an offline session may be difficult. An easy alternative would be for you to arrange a social media live session with your local family doctor. Ask them questions regarding the healthcare challenges they are facing. Also, ask them to answer questions from the people online. This will help much in raising awareness about the crucial roles family doctors play in our lives.

Build awareness about doctors’ mental health 

Due to the excessive stress and workload in their profession, doctors often fall prey to anxiety, stress, depression, and more. So, it is important to use the occasion of World Family Doctor Day to bring the mental health concerns of doctors into focus. In the offline facilitation or online live session, you can invite mental health professionals to speak on how people need to be sensitized about doctors’ mental health, which, in return, will help them get better care.

Donate blood 

Donating your blood helps the healthcare system to function without pause, so it is indeed a good way to observe World Family Doctor Day. Healthy individuals across genders can donate blood every four months.

Additional Read: World Red Cross Day

Doctors have been and always will be the backbone of our society. If you are suffering from any health condition, do not hesitate to book a teleconsultation on Bajaj Finserv Health with some of the best family doctors. Apart from that, also watch out for the importance of other such days like World Population Day, International Yoga Day, and more. To keep your family doctors in good health, start following their advice and lead a healthy lifestyle yourself!