I am a professional nice person. I have the great privilege of getting paid well to do good in the world. I am able to relieve suffering, help people navigate the difficulties of their lives and sometimes even cure diseases. I take pride in doing it well. I take on patients who are marginalized and I think I go the… Read More »My sister: A New Year’s meditation
As I inch towards a peri-retirement, I am grateful for the long-standing flexibility my on-call group has used for many years—to the benefit of practitioners at many different stages in their careers. In a follow up to my last story, I decided to stop taking obstetrics call. I was very touched by the universal support from my on-call group, who… Read More »Report from Burnoutville: Flexibility creates families out of teams
I went to my butchers recently. Our favorite young butcher, Benjamin, looking even more dapper than usual, came up to us with a smile. “I have news,” he said smiling. “Good or bad?” I was apprehensive; worried that he was leaving the store. I really did not want to lose this personable and capable young man from my life. My… Read More »Report from Burnoutville: To Quit or not To Quit
Our Family Medicine OB group keeps in touch with each other over WhatsApp. This is where we sort out our inevitable On Call issues, ask questions, share the latest gossip, and commiserate with each other. There’s another, allegedly, even more secure app where we tell each other about what we euphemistically call “Patients of Note” i.e. the patients who are… Read More »Story time for patients who won’t listen
Sandra sent me two videos to watch. In the first, Vanessa, looking like a Cranach Madonna or an early Renaissance painting of St. Cecelia, pours the elegance and order of Bach from her Cello de Gamba. This is her award-winning performance from an international competition. As I watch, I marvel at the miracle entailed by a person playing an instrument so… Read More »Catch a falling baby
Hospital food is much maligned and rightly so. It is usually bland, overcooked and just this side of inedible. This has only become worse over the years as hospitals economize by decreasing staff and outsourcing catering to lower the number of unionized employees in the kitchen. As a medical student, the cafeteria lunches and dinners outside the white table-clothed private… Read More »Hospital food: the good, the bad and the ugly
So there are going to be names in this story, because it is a true one. But if your name is not specifically mentioned please know that it is only because there is not enough room to thank you all. You know who you are and you know that I owe you a great debt. You have taught me, helped… Read More »Four decades of collaboration: My life with nurses
My maternal grandparents came to Canada from what is now the Ukraine, in the early 1920’s. My grandfather was sent a ticket by his cousin, my great-uncle Simcha. My grandmother and her four sisters were brought by his wife, my great-aunt Adelle. How they managed to save all that money while working sweatshop jobs in four or five years I… Read More »Bill 96: If you don’t want to do something, one reason is as good as another
When I was a little girl my Bubbie and her sisters, my great Aunties, got me a miniature tea set as a present. It was very special, a full set of dishes made of real china, in the classic Blue Willow pattern. I loved that set, and was only allowed to use it on special occasions and under supervision. I… Read More »Calamity ware: What’s in a plate?
It is one of my favourite sayings that being a family doctor is like having a small but important bit part in many people’s movies. Sometimes, however, it is the patient who plays a small but important role in your movie. It was my husband’s birthday this week and we decided that what he needed for a present was a… Read More »Love stories: Patients as characters in your life