- 2/6/2013
My own case of imposter syndrome waxes and wanes depending on the cases I receive in clinic and the ER. Unfortunately, I’ve found it rears its ugly head when I’m in a classroom full of really remarkable people studying my weakest area.
- 1/21/2013
I remember at the end of residency thinking, “I never have to take another exam again!” Well, here I am in London, U.K., taking the three-month Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and between the eight-hour lecture days and the not-really-clinical sessions, it's exhausting.
- 1/11/2013
- 12/20/2012
I was in a community where I have done locums off and on for the past four years. Notably, I hadn’t been to this community in a year. While I remembered most of the staff, I remembered few of the patients, and while this patient’s face looked familiar, I couldn’t place him.
- 12/5/2012
Throughout Canada, there are many hospitals that depend on every single employee/contract worker showing up to work each day. I make occasional appearances in a hospital where two doctors alternate working one week on, one week off. I have had discussions with them in the past that their high-work-volume-to-low-rest ratio could potentially have negative effects on their health—but I didn’t think I’d be the one to drive home the example.
- 11/28/2012
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.
- 11/20/2012
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 I vowed I would never become one of those doctors (who I secretly judged as poor time managers, out of touch, and out of date).
- 11/6/2012
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!
- 10/29/2012
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.
- 10/15/2012
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.
- 9/26/2012
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.
- 9/10/2012
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.
