Point of Care: Where Life Meets Medicine
Blogs
- 5/5/2011
Back to Canada, the cold and the Conservatives
I understand why some doctors find it easier to keep working rather than to take vacation—coming back is overwhelming. And I'm not even coming back to a practice of patients! I'm not sure how those in full-time permanent practice do it; I'm in awe! - 4/26/2011
The best perk of a locum life? Time off to travel
As I've stated many times before, I am incredibly lucky to live an amazing life. I locum in Canada and Australia, with a goal of working 26 weeks per year. In my time off, I travel. I have just finished an unbelievable month in East Africa. - 3/10/2011
Coping with the unknown is stressing me out
Coping with the unknown of the fatigued/dizzy/persistently nauseous patient stresses me out. I try to remember that common things are common but the zebras always lurk around the bend in my mind. - 2/23/2011
Worst doctor ever!
Everybody makes mistakes—some are just more noticeable than others. I often shudder to think of the mistakes I unknowingly make and luckily get away with. Last week, I made a big mistake and it was noticed. - 2/16/2011
The seven stages of a locum
The first day of a locum is never good. First off, I have spent hours (and sometimes days) getting to my destination and I arrive tired and hungry. Is it any wonder that giving me a killer call schedule at the same time is going to make me grumpy? - 2/3/2011
When to say no, or how to avoid ‘the ol' locum bait ‘n’ switch’
I recently started a new locum in Western Australia. I'm working in the deeps of the desert in a mining town. Traditionally, this has been a great place to work but recently there has been an exodus of doctors. Of course, nobody told me this before I agreed to come. - 1/17/2011
The life of a locum: One size does not fit all
As a locum, it’s next to impossible to walk into a 15-minute appointment and make any headway into the tangled web of mind-body medicine. The patient profile just can’t tell you enough about the situation. - 1/5/2011
A new locum for the new year
For the next two weeks of Australian locuming, I’ll be working in suburban Perth while house/dog-sitting for friends. I do, however, have a confession to make: I haven’t really done much city medicine and it’s harder work than I anticipated. - 12/22/2010
'I swear I can see the tragedy in their eyes'
The Christmas Islanders describe waking up to screaming. The screams of people crammed into a boat, fleeing horrific pasts in search of a better future, but met by angry seas and rocks, only metres from their destination. They tell of frantic efforts to get help from the Australian Navy for over an hour but of getting no reply. - 12/21/2010
Inside the Christmas Island tragedy
A boat of asylum seekers crashed into the cliffs of Christmas Island during a period of horrendous sea swells and torrential rain. I have never been involved in the medical response to a disaster, let alone one of this scale. - 12/13/2010
The sunny side of Christmas
In reading some of my postings to this blog, I come across as a little gloomy. I need to set the record straight: I love my job! I love locuming! - 12/6/2010
When an island isn’t paradise
I can’t imagine what it would be like to risk my life to flee a country—to leave everything behind to get on a boat that might or might not bring me to another land. Another “country” where I would be detained for months on end and basically be treated as though I were in prison.