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HOWARD GOLDSTEIN

Author Profile

Dr. Howard Goldstein is a recently retired Toronto-area GP. His blogs offer personal perspectives and reflections on the many facets of medical practice, informed by his 49 years of experience.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

  • 3/17/2026

    Can the heart of healing endure?

    What I’ve come to realize is that anyone or anything can write the stories, especially AI. But not everyone can live the stories, and it is in the living that metrics and algorithms and data banks fail the test.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 1/19/2026

    The coming of age

    The intersection of retirement and ageing can be dangerous to your health. They are often coincidental, conjoined phases of life.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 12/2/2025

    The ‘walkout clinic’

    With primary care sometimes difficult to access and ER wait times high, the number of patients leaving without treatment has spiked.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 10/8/2025

    Five years into retirement

    I’m sitting patiently in a confining, V-shaped waiting room that barely accommodates six time-eroded faux-leather chairs. This professional building has a familiar, déjà vu vibe, perhaps because I had done time here in a previous life—25 years in fact.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 8/27/2025

    The black bag chronicles

    My SUV was stolen right out of my driveway on my 50th wedding anniversary. As I listed the vehicle's contents for my insurer, I realized my five-decades old black medical bag would never make another house (or cottage) call with me again.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 8/17/2025

    Finding relevance

    Two former medical professionals head in for a clinical consultation and come out . . . pleased as punch?
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 7/8/2025

    Defined by age or defying reality

    Dr. Howard Goldstein just got a letter reminding him that now that he has reached age 80, renewing his driver's license comes with a few extra steps—and it brought him back to a time when he has to evaluate another physician's competence in relation to his age.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 6/19/2025

    The medical textbook depository

    Dr. Howard Goldstein reflects on the endurance of paper ephemera and what an old medical textbook means in a world of tablets, phones, frothing knowledge and limited storage space.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 4/24/2025

    Runway 23, revisited

    A more recent plane crash at Pearson brought back a flood of memories for Dr. Howard Goldstein, remembering his participation in helping those injured in a crash all way back in 1978.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 3/10/2025

    The madness that was March 2020

    When I look back today at what life was like for physicians beginning in March of 2020, it is likened to an extended night terror. The initial months were frenetic.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera