- 8/23/2012
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.
- 8/2/2012
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.
- 7/24/2012
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.
- 7/3/2012
While some people drive to work, I fly. I’m a great flier—I don’t get motion sick and I can generally read or sleep at will. After years of flying in bush planes, I’ve become a bit blasé about the entire thing. But last week, I came closer to a plane crash than ever before.
- 6/27/2012
The federal government naively suggests its proposed cuts will save Canadians $100 million. Refugee health problems will not go away; instead, they will fester untreated until they become a medical emergency that lands these vulnerable people in the emergency room. So, doctors certainly understand that the health of refugees, and indeed the health of the general public, is at risk with these proposed cuts but very few of us are actively speaking out or protesting. Why is this?
- 6/15/2012
Today I told a lovely woman that her aggressive cancer had returned. I hate this part of my job. The “breaking bad news” lecture was one I took very seriously in med school. I realize that many of my patients will remember what I say and how I say it for the rest of their lives.
- 5/22/2012
I’m generally feel quite proud when I read about the work done by physicians in both past and present times. I am thrilled to have the privilege of being a doctor and enjoy the work that I do. Last week, however, I didn’t feel so proud. In fact, after eight hours with a tour group, it never once slipped out in conversation that I was a doctor.
- 5/15/2012
Yesterday I stumbled upon "the hospital in the rock"—a hospital built in caves under the Castle District in Budapest. I had never heard of this hospital and it isn't even mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide. Despite its fairly steep entry price (about $30), I decided I had to go and have a look.
- 4/30/2012
I’ve just embarked on my favourite journey of the year: the time when I trapse from country to country and leave all work behind. The part of the year when I try to make it home from Australia without adding too much weight to my luggage. Do me a favour, though—don’t call this time a “vacation.”
- 4/16/2012
Every house has its quirks, and locum houses are not an exception. I’ve done battle with resident mice, frogs, roaches and roosters, but before this week, I’d never lost. This week, I was out-smarted by a lizard.
- 4/3/2012
I spend a fair amount of time extolling the virtues of my globe-trotting lifestyle. I travel! I meet new people! I work in cool places! But here’s the secret: I miss important moments at home.
- 3/22/2012
I like to think of myself as a semi-professional vacationer. About two years ago, I decided I was living to work rather than working to live, so I stopped working so much. Yep, I massively cut back my work, happily lost two-thirds of my wages, and started travelling (and working while travelling). I’m typing this blog from Bali, Indonesia. Cue the relaxed sigh.
