In the fourth episode of the Physicians as Humans project, I speak with Dr. Kevin Dueck, a family medicine resident at McMaster, about his decision to take parental leave during residency. Also check out the blog post that led to this podcast and his personal blog! This is an ongoing project, so if you or anyone you know have a story about managing personal struggles while in medicine, please contact velmurug@ualberta.ca. If you are unfamiliar with the …
Physicians as Humans Podcast E03: Struggling with Depression
In the third episode of the Physicians as Humans project, I corresponded with a Canadian emergency physician who sent me her personal account of depression. The result is this beautiful, thoughtful story that she has graciously allowed me to read for the podcast. This is an ongoing project, so if you or anyone you know have a story about managing personal struggles while in medicine, please contact velmurug@ualberta.ca. If you are unfamiliar with the …
Physicians as Humans Podcast E02: An Illness Close to Home
In the second episode of the Physicians as Humans project, I speak with Dr. Rob Rogers (@EM_Educator), a leading educator in emergency medicine and director of The Teaching Course. He shares his experiences of dealing with a devastating illness in his own family and the effect it had on his career as an emergency physician. This is an ongoing project, so if you or anyone you know have a story about managing personal struggles …
Physicians as Humans Podcast E01: An Addiction that Almost Killed Me
On behalf of the Physicians as Humans project, I’m thrilled to present the first episode of the series: An Addiction that Almost Killed Me. If you are unfamiliar with the project, please read this post for more information on the origin of this podcast series. In this first episode I speak with a Canadian medical student about his personal battle with drug addiction during medical school. He candidly describes his experience and the powerful impact it has had on his …
Physicians as Humans: Starting the Conversation
Lately, I have been thinking about the lies we tell each other as doctors. Mostly, these are lies of omission. We share stories of slick procedures, clever diagnoses, and post-shift half-marathons. We skip over the mediocre feedback that followed us home. We hide the weekends that we waste wallowing in exhaustion and self-pity. Sometimes it seems harmless – considerate, even – to keep this heavy stuff to ourselves, but these lies create a climate of inadequacy and isolation. There is nothing lonelier than believing that no one is struggling but you.