As Canadians we pride ourselves on having one of the best national healthcare system in the world. That is however not technically correct – instead, we have a jigsaw system that’s cut up into very distinct and different pieces. The Canada Health Act supposedly ensures that all citizens have equal access to quality healthcare, regardless of where you live. Working in a tertiary care center situated right on the border between two of …
July is almost over. You’re safe to come to the hospital now.
The deadly month is almost over. Have you not heard the secret? This warning to the average patient is becoming more and more widespread: “Don’t get sick in July! It is the worst month of the year to be in a hospital.” This supposed pearl of wisdom of course refers to the fact that in Canada, the academic year at teaching hospitals begins on Canada Day – which means freshly minted MD’s are …
The disillusionment of “healthy” patients.
Guest post by Linda B. After spending years in both the Emergency Room and the Intensive Care Unit, I have come to realize that we do a grave disservice to the Canadian Public…people think they are healthy. People think that if they wake up in the morning, swallow a handful of pills and go about their daily lives, they are healthy. Despite the fact that our lives are generally sedentary, we eat too …
Coming to a hospital near you: physician-assisted suicide.
Scenario 1: A 64 year old patient is suffering from advanced Lou Gehrig’s disease – she cannot perform her own activities of daily living, and can do nothing but watch her own body deteriorate until the slow release of death. She wishes to have the opportunity to control how she passes, with the aid of her healthcare providers. Sound reasonable? Scenario 2: A 64 year old patient is suffering from severe depression – …
Acknowledging Death in the ER
Picture the following: A resuscitation is in progress for an elderly gentleman. Health care providers try frantically to restore signs of life. Chest compressions are ongoing, a breathing tube is placed, large intravenous line inserted, electrical shocks and medications given. Eventually the team realizes that they have exhausted all possibilities. To do more would be futile. The team leader “calls the code”. People mill away … one resident chides another about stealing her …
This Just in! BIBEMS suppositorium stat! [LOL]
My good friend and colleague Mark Wahba [read his brilliant ideas here]gave a talk at half day … he referred to a patient as a “BIBEM“. … I am thinking ” what’s a BIBEM? [as in Justin Bieber]” – NO! … turns out that this stands for Brought In By EMS. Later that night I was charting “No ROS; Note S/S Infxn and RTER; Scar teaching √” These are what we call “Acronyms” …