I’m working at CLSC Parc-Extension, a clinic where most of the patients speak very limited English or French. The most common language spoken by patients is Bengali, followed by Punjabi and Urdu. We work with interpreters all the time. Even the older people are more likely to speak Greek or Italian than English or French. This is a new challenge… Read More »Learning medicine between worlds
In my family, growing up, any major milestone or achievement was celebrated by a trip to Moishe’s. It was reserved for major events because it was at the outer edge of our budget, and so, it had a special almost mystical glow around it. My father was the main creator of this myth; he loved everything about the place. He… Read More »Farewell to Moishe’s, an Elegy
I was in second-year medicine at the Jewish General for our introduction to medicine course, where we learned medical reasoning and how to do a history and physical examination. Our class was the first with a lot of women in the class. We felt like anomalies. We were sat in the intern’s lounge in our new white jackets, their pockets… Read More »A cookbook diagnosis
The doorknob question is the bane of family doctors’ existence. Very often you have gone through an entire interview dealing with trivialities, the whole time a growing sense of unease coming over you as you feel something hovering at the edge of the conversation. “Anything else?” you question. “Anything worrying you?” You let the patient go, writing the prescription or… Read More »The doorknob questions
Kavanah is a Hebrew word which usually translates to “intention” but denotes an intensity and attention to a task, usually prayer, which elevates it from mundane to holy. My work as a family doctor and teacher cries out to be done this way. I try to really hear what patients are telling me and to truly see what they are… Read More »It’s about Kavanah – The sacred moments for doctors