Surgery Expands National Doctor Day to a Month-long Celebration

Although National Doctor’s Day officially took place on March 30, Stanford Surgery celebrated department faculty all month-long with a series of events.

“It was such a blast to host a surgeon appreciation event on my sailboat,” said Department Chair Dr. Mary Hawn, who volunteered to take fellow surgeons out on the bay for an afternoon. “The calm weather allowed for lots of conversation, and everyone got a chance to take the helm!”

Six events offering a variety of different activities—from sailing to strength training to a spa day—were hosted throughout the month.

“We felt a series of events throughout the month would give faculty more flexibility to participate depending on their schedule,” said Dr. Crystal Chang, associate director of wellness for the department. “We also wanted it to feel like a month of celebration culminating in Doctor’s Day rather than just one thing.”

The campaign was able to reach about 50 unique attendees, not including the partners and children who joined in at the pool party, hosted by Drs. Cindy Kin and Janey Pratt.

“Janey and I wanted to host a family-friendly event because it’s all about work-life integration,” said Kin, who stepped into the director of wellness role in December. “It’s a way to show our gratitude to the people in our lives that support us in pursuing our careers and getting to know each other’s families creates real community.”

Only when we are well can we help others get well!

The Spa Day hosted by the Division of Plastic Surgery’s Drs. Dung Nguyen and Rohit Khosla catered to an entirely different crowd, literally.

“When I arrived, the space was all decked out with food and champagne. It felt like the royal treatment,” said Vascular Surgery’s Dr. Chris Cheng, who broke out of his comfort zone and tried radiofrequency microneedling. “Even after rotating through the different stations, everyone was hanging out and talking. It was an excellent break from the day-to-day.”

“As physicians, we spend most of our time at work taking care of other people,” said Nguyen. “I think it is important that we remember to take a little time to treat ourselves, because only when we are well can we help others get well!”

Chang says feedback from those who participated has been overwhelmingly positive, and that there are lots of other wellness campaigns currently in the works. In addition to formalizing a peer support pilot group to help surgeons navigate adverse events, the Department is sponsoring physical therapy one on ones on Tuesday, April 16 and Friday, April 26 at 300P.

REMEMBER: Use “tell us about it” so we can tailor our wellbeing campaigns to what faculty are experiencing in the now!

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The Stanford University Department of Surgery is dedicated to inventing the future of surgical care through:

• pioneering cutting-edge research, 
• developing the next generation of leaders, and 
• healing through incomparable surgical skills and compassion. 

To learn more, please visit surgery.stanford.edu