National Doctors Day: Read about 10 DOs doing awesome things

March 30 is National Doctors Day, a day to honor doctors and their life-saving contributions to society and medicine. National Doctors Day was first celebrated in the 1930s in Georgia and was federally commemorated by Congress and President George H.W. Bush in 1990, according to the National Doctors Day website.

Every day, osteopathic physicians throughout the country and the world are working hard to make positive changes in the health care system and improve the lives of their patients. Here are 10 DOs to know, and read, about.

J.D. Polk, DO: As NASA’s top doc, he oversees the health of astronauts.

In this article, Dr. Polk shares how his background in aerospace medicine led to his new post as NASA’s chief health and medical officer.

Marie Budev, DO, MPH, directs the Cleveland Clinic’s world-renowned Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program.

Read about Dr. Budev’s record-breaking program and what she says primary care physicians need to know about lung transplants.

Kevin Morton Jr., DO, is now a surgery resident at the same hospital where he recovered from a gunshot wound nearly 10 years ago.

Read Dr. Morton’s inspiring story of perseverance and forgiveness.

Hala Sabry, DO, is the founder of both National Women Physicians Day and the Physician Moms Group.

Read about Dr. Sabry’s efforts to connect and support physician moms and raise awareness of women physicians’ contributions to medicine.

Jennie H. Kwon, DO, MSCI, is the 2016 National Academy of Medicine Osteopathic Medicine Fellow and the recipient of a $450,000 CDC grant.

Dr. Kwon is researching antibiotic resistance and what happens to a healthy person’s microbiome when he or she is given antibiotics.

Last Thanksgiving, Safi Mohammed, DO, spearheaded an effort to serve free dinners to 300 people three nights in a row.

Learn how he did it and why he’s committed to community service.

Octavia Cannon, DO, will soon make history as the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOOG) first African-American president.

Dr. Cannon says her mantra is “I just want to serve.” Learn more.

Osteopathic internist Jay Bhatt, DO, MPH, is chief medical officer at the American Hospital Association.

In the role, Dr. Bhatt helps physicians across the country understand health policy.

Rebeccah R. Rodriguez, DO, serves on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board.

Dr. Rodriguez is also the CEO of the Latina Strong Foundation, which promotes health and wellness in Latinas.

A few years ago, Gerald A. Coleman III, DO, saved the life of a man who had been lying in a snowbank for at least 10 hours, had no pulse, and was presumed dead.

“As far as we’ve been able to find in the medical literature, Justin had the lowest core body temperature—68 degrees Farenheit—that anyone has ever survived in North America,” Dr. Coleman says. Read more.