Sarah Giles
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 11/27/2012
Must doctors now be masters of their domain?
I’ve noticed a recent creep in the qualifications required to work in an urban centre. Many job adds now say that a “master’s or PhD is considered an asset.” In the world of academic medicine, we need academics. Having said that, does every single attending at a major urban centre need a master’s or PhD? Of course not. - 11/19/2012
Looking for a cure for a case of ‘the piles’
I was very proud that I didn’t have stacks of unread magazines lying around the house. I vowed I would never become one of those doctors (who I secretly judged as poor time managers, out of touch, and out of date). - 11/5/2012
Fitness goal achieved! (with a little help from my friends)
In late August, I made I set a fitness goal of biking 100 km before the snow started to fly. Well, I pushed it to the very end of the no-snow season when I biked 100 km yesterday! The Weather Network informed me that it felt like -1 C with the wind chill and there were sustained winds of 15 to 20 km/h. It was freezing and challenging, but I did it! - 10/28/2012
The real two-tier care in Canada
While everyone is busy talking about Dr. Brian Day’s Charter challenge, afraid that it will create a truly two-tiered system within Canada, I’d like to talk about a two-tiered system that is already in place: urban versus rural medical care. Here are three examples. - 10/14/2012
I’ve hit a few bumps on the road to my fitness goal
A little while back I decided to make a SMART-P fitness goal (Set specific goals, Measure performance, Adjust to keep goals Realistic, and have Time-sensitive goals that are Public)—100-km bike ride before summer is over. I thought I’d let you know how the training was going. - 9/25/2012
Dear province of Quebec: Pay up, S.V.P.
For those of you not familiar with the Quebec healthcare system, please believe me when I say it pays their doctors poorly and there is a huge shortage of every type of doctor in the communities that border Ontario. It’s not surprising, therefore, that many Quebec patients seek care in Ontario. Ottawa has all of the facilities one expects in a big city and the closest big city on the Quebec side is Montreal, so patients will often seek care at the closest place available. Unfortunately, here is where things get tricky. - 9/9/2012
Hazy shade of billing
Recently, I’ve found that I’m working in environments that are fee-for-service and hospital/clinic’s revenue is generated by claiming a portion of my billings as overhead. - 8/22/2012
Following my own advice is not as easy as I thought
I realize I have fallen off the exercise wagon. It was easy to swim almost every day in Australia but, since returning to Canada, I have seemingly lost the ability to work and exercise in the same day. - 8/1/2012
A wild night in the land of the midnight sun
For part of this summer I’ve been working in the Northwest Territories in a community that hasn’t had a permanent physician in four years. After a frustrating day, I decided to see the sights outside of town with a local; what a night I had! That evening (a super long one in the land of the midnight sun) was a wonderful affirmation that though I work hard for the patients, my locum life has the wonderful perk of allowing me to see our amazing country. - 7/23/2012
Carrying a torch for the miracles of medicine
This week I watched my older sister, Ceinwen Giles, run 330 m through the streets of London, England. Several hundred random people and more than 50 members of her close friends and family joined me in cheering, snapping photos, and grinning like a mad fool. You see, statistically, my sister shouldn’t be alive today. She shouldn’t have lived to have the Olympic torch in her hands as she paused during her run to kiss her adorable two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and her husband.
