Bangalore: It will soon be "Doctors Day." But not many, including doctors, are aware of this. And it usually passes off without much grandeur and celebrations.

Doctors Day was first celebrated in the U.S. on March 30, 1933. It was an idea suggested by Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Cha Almond, a doctor.

In India, it is celebrated on July 1 as a mark of tribute to physician B.C. Roy who was born on the day in 1882. He was not only a physician, but also a social reformer and freedom fighter who went on to become the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

Celebrations

Ashok Pai, psychiatrist and director of Manasa Nursing Home, celebrates the day by spending time with mentally challenged children and organising various activities for them. Doctors were congregating in metropolitan cities and as a result, the rural sector was being neglected, he says.

"It is unfortunate that commercialisation has crept into the profession, defeating its service motive", he says.

Sudarshan Ballal, director of The Manipal Institute of Nephrology and Urology, feels that with improvement in the economy, there will be a major explosion in the health are industry at the speciality and super speciality levels. The importance of the day lay in promoting health awareness, he adds .

`Focus on prevention'

Gurunath, who runs Ananya Ayurveda Centre, feels that doctors should focus on prevention rather than cure.

"Although some have become money-minded, there are a good number of service-minded doctors," he says.

Organising awareness programmes and lectures on health is the best way to celebrate the day, Dr. Gurunath says.

Doctors across the world should take a resolution to serve the poor and be proud of their profession, he adds.

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