Family Medicine: September 2010 Archives

Thursday September 30, 2010

Money, money everywhere?

If you want to start the eye-rolling among Canadians, you need only to talk about the pay packets of their doctors. They make a good living, no doubt about it. GP's generally pull in $100,000-plus a year; high-earning specialists like opthamologists, cardiologists and interventional radiologists typically make several times that. However, for all the talk of benefits, we rarely look at the costs of being a physician.

This Youtube video is a quick lesson in the financial reality for a lot of physicians. It's from the US, so the numbers vary somewhat, but the basics remain the same: a lot of doctors make a lot of money, but they aren't necessarily getting rich doing it.

Read more »

Categories: Blog Archives, Family Medicine, Health Professionals

 

Wednesday September 29, 2010

Wednesday Mailbag

We had our usual high volume response to last week's show on MDs who are political activitists. 

Mary-Sue Haliburton of Nepean, Ontario writes:

"Dear Dr. Goldman, thank you for your extremely thoughtful presentation of the Quebec uranium issue and the individual and collective aspects of medical professional opinion in the debate in the public debate over the incipient mine.  There's a very real danger of contaminating the water supply.  As some residents pointed out, they would not want to raise their children in those circumstances.  I commend the doctors for standing up and objecting to uranium mining."

Dr. Peter Ross of Montreal said there are other stories in Quebec that merit a dose of MD activism.  "Dear Brian, I used to practice emergency medicine like you.  I have changed careers and am now studying environmental science.  I loved your show today about the Sept-Iles doctors.  Even more worrisome is shale gas drilling in Quebec and the widespread contamination of our watershed.  It's our privilege to practice and our duty to protect."

It's a duty not all of us make the time for.  The fact some physicians, nurses and other health professonals are willing to put their jobs on the line for their principles is something that merits our admiration.

 

Categories: Accountability, Family Medicine, Green Health Care, Health Professionals, Law & Ethics

 

Monday September 27, 2010

Sneak Preview of WCBA's Next Show on Social Medicine

A visit to the doctor sometimes involves getting a prescription or a poke with a needle. But what happens when a doctor visits you with a text message or a facebook poke?

This week on White Coat, Black Art we look at social medicine -- when health professionals use blogs, tweets, texts and other forms of social media as a way to keep in touch with their patients.

Some doctors even become facebook friends with their patients. Listen to Dr. Jen Dyer's thoughts on the matter. She's a pediatric endocrinologist and public health researcher in Columbus, Ohio:

Download Flash Player to view this content.

Categories: Blog Archives, Communication, Family Medicine, Law & Ethics, Technology & Innovation

 

• October 2011
  • Tue., 18 – Want Better Treatment From Your Doctor? Be Likeable
     
  • Fri., 7 – Respect Show
     
• September 2011
  • Fri., 23 – Rural Medicine Show
     
• April 2011
  • Thu., 21 – Nurses and Physician Assistants: Make Nice and Get Along!
     
  • Tue., 12 – Older Doctors: Update
     
• March 2011
  • Thu., 17 – Concierge Mailbag
     
  • Mon., 7 – Breaking Up: Reaction to Your Reaction
     
  • Fri., 4 – Breaking Up Show
     
• February 2011
  • Wed., 9 – No Appointment Show Mailbag
     
• January 2011
  • Mon., 31 – Shared Medical Visits Help People Lose Weight
     
• December 2010
  • Fri., 3 – The Stress Show
     
  • Thu., 2 – Thursday Mailbag
     
• November 2010
  • Fri., 19 – Home Care Episode
     
  • Wed., 17 – Sneak Peek of our Home Care Show
     
• October 2010
  • Fri., 29 – When Your Life is Circling The Drain Episode
     
  • Fri., 15 – Friday Mailbag
     
  • Sat., 9 – Pain: a Terrible and Misunderstood Affliction
     
  • Wed., 6 – Wednesday Mailbag
     
  • Wed., 6 – Don't Call Me Fat!
     
  • Mon., 4 – Want to Friend Your MD? Go Rural!
     
• September 2010
  • Thu., 30 – Money, money everywhere?
     
  • Wed., 29 – Wednesday Mailbag
     
  • Mon., 27 – Sneak Preview of WCBA's Next Show on Social Medicine
     
  • Fri., 24 – Put down the scalpel and raise a fist
     
  • Wed., 15 – Telling Tales
     
  • Wed., 15 – Wednesday Mailbag: Reaction to MS Show
     
• July 2010
  • Thu., 22 – MDs and Patients as Facebook Friends? Think Twice