Discussions

I've been a clinic shareholder/partner a number of times. I remember one particular business meeting occurring when our clinic was unusually busy and very profitable. We were given our personal billing reconciliations prior to the meeting and everyone was in a great mood as each of us had the largest payouts we had ever seen. All was jovial until the full clinic financials were presented and we saw where our numbers stood relative to each other.

Medical education is informed by scientific racism and race biology. While these have been debunked as pseudoscience, scientific racism still exists in medical education today.

Virtual care opens up a new world of opportunities for patient care, but it also raises issues that need our consideration, including the legal aspects of virtual care delivery and how to keep confidential patient data and messaging secure.

Wrath can be defined as uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage and even hatred. It often reveals itself in the wish to seek vengeance. For physicians, this deadly sin strikes closer to the bone than might be obvious on plain x-rays. Feelings of wrath can manifest in different ways, including impatience, hateful misanthropy, revenge and self-destructive behaviour, such as drug abuse or suicide.

The healthcare information technology landscape in Canada is evolving rapidly as it tries to balance the need to respond effectively and urgently to the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to manage challenges already placing immense pressure on the Canadian healthcare system.

As healthcare providers, are we taught to follow our intuition or gut feeling? Or are we taught to be methodical, sensible and have justification for every single one of our actions? When is it okay to follow our intuition? Does it matter when it comes to judging the demeanor of a patient given their physical presentation versus being skeptical about adherence in a patient for a life-saving medication? What if the situation entailed picking up on non-verbal social cues of your patient’s partner alluding to abuse, oppression, or vulnerability? When is it too far to follow your gut feeling as a healthcare professional?