The word “gossip” comes from “God-Sisters” which were traditionally the friends who were close enough to a woman to attend her in childbirth. In those days before the Industrial Revolution when a woman went into labour, all her gossips would descend on her home. Clean the house, cook some food, care for the older children, and help support the woman… Read More »Gossip and the art of storytelling
When I interview medical students for positions in the family medicine residency, I often ask them to tell me the story of a patient who has been meaningful to them, or taught them something important. It is remarkable to me how often these stories are about death, and their first or early encounters with the dying. In our culture we… Read More »A physician of a certain age
The College of Family Physicians of Canada exam season is upon us. In a few weeks, the senior residents in our program will undergo two days of testing that will have a profound impact on their futures. I’m pretty sanguine about the prospects for most of my own particular group of potential family docs—but being the classic Type As they… Read More »Distinguishing the capable from the dangerous
I’m out for dinner with my residents and colleagues. It’s our first in-person party in three years. It feels a little bit illicit to be lounging on the couches of a Couscous Restaurant and chatting. One thing that came up in the conversation was where we all fell in our family constellation. Most of us were either the eldest in… Read More »“Opener of the womb”: The burden and privilege of being the first born
I’m in Labour and Delivery. I have a grand multip with ruptured membranes in labour, so I do not dare to leave the floor. This 41-year-old woman just switched to me after her obstetrician retired. She has had all her previous eleven babies at another hospital and I want to make her feel safe. My vacation starts tomorrow and not… Read More »The other side of Roxham Road
In the past few weeks, I’ve been witness to several crimes or injustices. In one, I was complicit. I will not go into the disturbing tale of the estranged husband who did not inform his wife that her application for landed immigrant status had been accepted; or the man who ended his financial contributions to his family as well as… Read More »Crimes and misdemeanors
I have always hated housework. I often joke (though it’s not really a joke) that I became a doctor in order to have a good excuse not to do it. I’m extremely lucky that, among his many virtues, my husband loves to do housework. His idea of a really good day is to be puttering around the house, creating order… Read More »Dirt, marriage and cataract surgery
As I sat at my kitchen table, coughing while immersed in self-pity and surrounded by snotty tissues, my friend Eva texted me from Labour and Delivery at NYGH in Toronto. She was waiting for her multiparous patient to open fully to the idea of getting her baby out. “Have you read Ted Jablonski’s column this morning? I almost spit up my coffee,… Read More »A profound response
I have previously written about how I slid across the floor and caught a baby just in time. Now I have a confession to make: I once dropped a baby. This was the second month of my rotating internship and I was so excited to be doing my obstetrics rotation at St. Mary’s Hospital in Montreal. I was eager, scared and green… Read More »Perle Feldman drops the baby
Last week, I was on-call in Labour and Delivery. I was working with a first-year family medicine resident. She’s part of the cohort whose entire clerkship took place during the pandemic. McGill made the decision that since the students were not yet physicians, they should be protected from the virus as much as possible. As a result, this resident, like… Read More »In praise of hands