I recently came across an interesting concept, postulating that intelligent people disbelieve science; this excellent article discusses why in the age of well-educated individuals with easy access to information (both reliable and unreliable), so many well-meaning people still doubt scientific facts and expert consensus. The conclusion is eye-opening, and is in line with other studies like this one that demonstrates solely using logic and scientific facts on disbelievers will likely be ineffective in changing …
Disaster Medicine: Access Block in the ED
Bed pressure: anyone who has worked in the Emergency Department has felt it. I make a routine practice to come in for my shifts 15 minutes early and find a dark corner of the ED where I can “take the temperature of the department” and get a sense of the day’s pressures. On a day with heavy bed pressure there’s a frenetic buzz in the air, a tension that is almost palpable – …
Sick Notes off Work/School.
The health care professions have finally begun to revolt. Over the recent years, medical associations have mustered up the courage to publicly denounce the value of having employees and students alike dragging their sick bodies into a doctor’s office (or *gasp*, an Emergency Room!) for the sole purpose of obtaining a sick note. The Ontario Medical Association officially issued their plea early this year, and Doctors Nova Scotia quickly followed suit. And for the first …
Quit Stressing About Ebola, We’ve got Bigger Problems.
John Arnold, in Jurassic Park likely said it best; “Hold on to your Butts”. This is going to be a long rough winter inside Canadian Hospitals, because Ebola isn’t likely to kill Canadians, but Influenza certainly will. In Medicine we rely heavily upon the media to help disseminate information and policy to the public, but unfortunately I suspect that they are currently doing more harm than good. The current Ebola crisis has taken over …
The real challenge with the #IceBucketChallenge.
Social media went a little bit nuts recently. Newsfeeds on multiple platforms were flooded with short video clips of individuals dunking ice-cold water onto themselves (or variations of), all in the name of raising awareness and funding for ALS, under the label of #IceBucketChallenge And like all viral trends, the skeptics and critics weren’t far behind. Check out this opinion article published in the Canadian national magazine Maclean’s, where the author questions the …
Slippery Slope of Physician Assisted Death & Euthanasia.
Physician assisted death and euthanasia is not a new topic of discussion, but is creeping to a tipping point in Canada with recent legislative decisions (see Bill 52 in Quebec, and other bills tabled). Anyone who has had experience with end-of-life care, whether personally or otherwise, would understand the complexity of the issues involved. If you haven’t already, have a read through this article published on HealthyDebate which nicely summarizes some of the …