As a child, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but a guidance counselor told me I was too small to care for cows, horses and hogs. As I became older, my desire to care for others developed into a desire to treat patients and educate the physicians of tomorrow. I’m not alone in that spirit. People who enter medicine – and other healthcare fields – do so because they want to serve others. And while the public might believe people become doctors to make money, my 40+ years in the profession have taught me something much different.

Students enter medical school for one of three reasons. Some want to provide wonderful, individualized care to every person they meet. These are our future Mother Teresas. Others go into medicine because they want to find the cure to cancer, AIDS, heart disease – the diseases that plague all of us. These are our future Nobel Prize winners. The third group wants to improve care for entire populations – medically underserved people across our country and the world. These are our future surgeons general.
The best medical schools help make each student’s dream take flight.

March 30 is National Doctors Day across America, a time to thank the doctors in our lives for their knowledge and care. At UCF Health, our College of Medicine practice, we’ll be celebrating the entire month of March, not just one day. As we do that, let’s take time to remember that the word doctor comes from the Latin, meaning “teacher.”
I am honored to work every day with doctors across Central Florida who are taking care of you and teaching our students. They are in every hospital system across our community and many clinical practices. I want to thank them for the selfless care they provide to their patients and to the education of our future Physician Knights.