February 2016 – watercress words by Dr Aletha

Remember it’s Spring forward and Fall back to Daylight Saving Time

Most of the United States will change to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday March 10.2019.

So you will either be going to bed an hour later than usual, or awakening an hour earlier.

Either way, your body will tell the difference until your sleep cycle adjusts; I know mine always does. WebMD offers these tips to make the change easier.

St. Patrick’s Day

Of course you know that March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. Here is my previous post about one of my favorite places, Chicago, Illinois, where they dye the river green to celebrate.

Welcome Spring.

We will welcome the first day of Spring, March 20, in the northern hemisphere, with the occurrence of the vernal equinox.

graphic of the earth explaining equinox and solstice — original source not known

Match Day

March 16 is Match Day. No, not the kind of match you light fires with.

It’s the day graduating medical students find out what residency program they will join through the National Resident Matching Program , which “matches” them with available positions in residencies all over the United States.

Why should you care? This matching process determines who will care for our medical needs in the next 30-40 years; our family physicians, internists, pediatricians, general surgeons, obstetricians, dermatologists, psychiatrists, and the multitude of other medical specialties. Most doctors will continue in the same specialty their entire career, although some switch after a few or many years.

National Doctor’s Day

March 30 has been designated National Doctor’s Day in the United States. You may not have heard of a day to honor doctors.

The first Doctors’ Day observance was March 30, 1933, in Winder, Georgia. The idea came from a doctor’s wife, Eudora Brown Almond, and the date was the anniversary of the first use of general anesthetic in surgery.

The Barrow County (Georgia) Medical Society Auxiliary proclaimed the day “Doctors’ Day,” which was celebrated by mailing cards to physicians and their wives and by placing flowers on the graves of deceased doctors.

In 1990, the U.S. Congress established a National Doctors’ Day first celebrated on March 30, 1991.

Of course, the most important physician for you to know is your own personal physician.

Learn how to choose a doctor and how to establish a good working relationship in this article by Dr. Danielle Ofri, author of

A Doctor’s Guide to a Good Appointment

Madness

And yes sports fans, I am aware that the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, aka March Madness, starts in March. Like many of you, I will be following my favorite regional teams. Good luck everyone.