Myrdith Leon Mccormack: The Village Doctor: Doctor Sampson Davis

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Back in the day, this title alone made someone the most powerful person in any community. No matter the culture, the race or the geographic location of any village, big or small. With this title you were the most sought out person next to the chief.

Powerful is the adjective the best describes Dr. Sampson Davis. Not because of the "God-Like Complex" that some physicians may have because they know they have the power to save lives. But because this man, once a young and rebellious teenager who nearly lost not only his life but his freedom after a run in with the law, learned from a bad experience and went on to empower his own life.

It was that pivotal moment that forever changed his life. From that day on he made a committed to himself and his two friends, Dr. Rameck Hunt and Dr. George Jenkins. Together, they vowed to drastically alter the course of one another's lives. They bonded immediately and shared the same dedication to making life more than what Newark usually provided. They became each other's primary support system and began studying and socializing almost exclusively with each other.

Growing up in the once dangerous city in Newark, N.J., this young, good-looking doctor, father, mentor to others and inspiration to many did not only gain success for only his own life, but sought success for others right in his own backyard.

For many, the goal when you're growing up in the poor and harsh environment of an inner city is to make lots of money, get a great job, a great education and move out quickly. Dr. Davis evidently didn't get that memo.

You may have seen him on Dr. Oz or picked up his book, Living And Dying In Brick City, a book that I am sure will land him on the New York Times best-sellers list just as his other book, with his two companions, The Pact landed there as well. He chose to come back to his hometown and make a difference. He chose to be that change they so desperately need. He was the body of hope that they so desperately want and would have lost sight of otherwise. He chose to be the face of the "good doctor," a face few young black boys may not see or feel they themselves can become. He took on a responsibility that of a big brother, father, leader and a role model.

It is often said that black men run from responsibility to themselves, and their families. But once again, Dr. Davis didn't read that memo either. He took on the role not only of being responsible for his own choices in life, but becoming a positive influence to his community and a sense of pride to his friends and family.

I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Sampson Davis at an amazing event where his two partners of The Three Doctors Foundation celebrated their 13th anniversary and honored legendary songstress and mother of the late Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston. In the room also was my all-time favorite, Dionne Warwick. When I tell you I was in awe, in awe... The woman is solid gold! She has elegance, poise and is so approachable. Also in the same room was my other favorite diva, Jackie Reed, who hosted the event and was truly a star.

Why do I mention these women? Because nothing beats the pride and applaud of women when they watch one of their own soar in life. Dr. Davis and his partners made the room light up. They stood tall for those young men. They mad their village proud.

Dr. Davis values friendship to the extend that he walks, travels, and builds communities with these same young men he made a pack with some 20 years ago. As men of honor, they kept their word. The bond will never be broken... To each other and to their community.

So when you hear that the Dr. Davis is in the house, I guarantee you, it won't be a painful experience. You may cry a lot, but the tears will be of joy. Bravo, Dr. Davis, you are "The Face of A Real Life Hero!"

See more about Dr. Davis at www.drsampsondavis.com, and be sure to follow him on all his social media outlets at:
www.facebook.com/erdocdavis
www.twitter.com/drsampsondavis
www.facebook.com/drsampsondavis

Follow Myrdith Leon Mccormack on Twitter: www.twitter.com/brandmebookme

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Insight into being a Doctor in America

In late 2010, Dr. Grady Snyder saw the writing on the wall. He was burned out, his revenue was shrinking and it was getting too expensive to run his rural practice in Pueblo, Colo.

It was time to quit. On August 19, 2011, Snyder sold his practice to a localhospital 30 miles away.

"I gave up on health care in America," he said. Later that year, he moved to Australia and took up rural medicine there.
The choice was heart-wrenching for Snyder. He didn't want to feel like he was abandoning his nearly 5,000 patients, and he'd been the only family physician in the area for 16 years.
"I wasn't just a doctor there, I was part of this community," he said. "I coached youth basketball here. My kids went to school here."

Snyder's decision to leave was years in the making.
A third of Snyder's rural patients were on Medicare. When Medicare reimbursements to physicians started shrinking in the late 1990s, his revenues fell. At the same time, thecost of running his practice was rising. Snyder tried to control expenses as much as he could.
Then in 2009, a law was passed requiring doctors and hospitals to move to electronic health record systems by 2015. If they didn't, their Medicare payments would be cut further.
That was the final straw. "I couldn't afford that expense. I didn't have $100,000 lying around," he said.

...

As he researched opportunities online, a video caught his attention. It was from an Australian nonprofit, Rural Doctors Workforce Agency, which specializes in recruiting freelance primary care doctors from overseas to work in rural parts of southern Australia.
In February, 2011 he interviewed with RDWA. By May he had a contract. He quickly sold his practice, and got his work visa and medical licensing paperwork squared away.
...
The work was strenuous and challenging personally and professionally, said Snyder. He traveled a lot and was away from home every other week. He couldn't easily refer patients to specialists, because there weren't many practicing in rural towns around Adelaide. Lack of medical technology was another challenge. "Here you don't have an MRI or CAT scan facility at every corner," he said.

Still, Snyder embraced the experience in a country where he said the locals were welcoming and "loved my accent."
In America, Snyder hardly ever took time off. In Australia, Snyder is contracted to work only 36 weeks a year, plus he gets four weeks' paid vacation time. That's given him time to travel -- he and his wife have visited Sydney, Malaysia and elsewhere in the region.
Even with a much lighter schedule, Snyder is making the equivalent of U.S.$250,000 a year -- $100,000 more than he made practicing in Colorado year round.
Moving overseas has made being a doctor fun again, he said.
"Primary care is highly respected here. That's not the case anymore in America," said Snyder. "In the United States, health care has become more about the business of making money. The personal side of medicine is going away."

CNN

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'Doctor Who' Special News: 'Sherlock' Scribe To Pen 'An Adventure In Space And Time'

If you've ever wondered about the origin story of "Doctor Who," wonder no longer.

BBC America announced Tuesday that it will co-produce "An Adventure in Space and Time," a scripted special that will tell the story of how the sci-fi series, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, came to exist.

Mark Gatiss, who has written episodes of both "Sherlock" and "Doctor Who," will write the special. "Harry Potter" actor David Bradley will portray the first Doctor, William Hartnell, and "Call the Midwife's" Jessica Raine will play producer Verity Lambert.

Brian Cox of the "Bourne" films will play the BBC's Head of Drama, Sydney Newman, who is credited with creating "Doctor Who" five decades ago. Steven Moffat -- head of all things "Doctor Who" at the moment and also a writer-producer on "Sherlock" -- will act as a producer on the "Doctor Who" special.

"Mark has written such a wonderful script not only about the birth of a cultural phenomenon, but a moment in television’s history," Bradley said in a statement from BBC America. "William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time and as a fan I want to make sure that I do him justice. I’m so looking forward to getting started.”  

No air date for the special has been set (the BBC's statement only said it will arrive "later this year"), but smart betting has "An Adventure" airing in the fall, around Nov. 23 or so. "Doctor Who" debuted on the BBC on that date in 1963.

The new season of "Doctor Who," starring Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, arrives March 30, the network recently announced.

There's still no hard information on something "Doctor Who" fans are clearly salivating for -- a special episode of the show that would reunite all the actors who have played the interstellar traveler (all those who are living, that is: Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant).

As we wait for that reunion special update, we'll wonder if Troy and Abed will be thrilled about today's news. Doesn't the "Doctor Who" program announced today sound a lot like "Inspector Spacetime," their favorite sci-fi show?

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Amir Yazdan, California Doctor, Saves 'Lifeless' South Carolina Boy Who Had Asthma Attack On Road (VIDEO)

An 11-year-old South Carolina boy having an asthma attack told his mother, "I'm dying," and then stopped breathing, the Orange County Register reports.

If not for a doctor nearby, Teigue "Tiger" Winge of Powdersville may have never said another word.

Amir Yazdan, a part-time ER physician from Irvine, Calif., happened to be taking pictures of his new car near where Tiger's mom, Marjie Britz, had pulled over on a rural road in South Carolina on New Year's Eve.

He heard the mother's screams for help and sprung into action. He began performing CPR on Tiger, breathing the inhaler drug albuterol into the child's airway, the Register reports.

Yazdan estimated Tiger's heart had stopped beating a minute or so before he arrived. Yazdan told Greenville Online the boy had turned blue and was in full cardiac arrest.

“He was dead,” Yazdan told the Register. “Completely lifeless. I really did not think he was going to come back.”

According to CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, about two more minutes passed without signs of life.

Eventually, Tiger's heart started to beat, and he took a breath on his own. An ambulance arrived 10 minutes later, and Tiger began breathing regularly on his own at the hospital.

"When I woke up, I was in the hospital," Tiger told WSPA. "Everything was blurry and all I could think of was, 'Who are you, where am I -- and what is stuck on my arm?'”

Yazdan said he didn't even think twice.

“It wasn’t an option for me to let this kid go," he told WSPA.

Britz, who's a professor at Clemson University, told USA Today there was no doubt that Yazdan saved her boy.

"What do you give a person who has given back your whole world?" Britz told USA Today. "It's just a Christmas miracle, delayed."

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