Family Medicine: October 2010 Archives

Friday October 29, 2010

When Your Life is Circling The Drain Episode

Most of us aren't ready to face or even talk about the end of life.  Patients and their families aren't.  How could they be?  What may surprise you is that physicians, nurses and other health care providers have difficulty recognizing and accepting that their patients have made the turn from curable to comfort measures only.  On this episode of White Coat Black Art we come to grips with accepting death and what that means for you.

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Categories: Blog Archives, Communication, Family Medicine, Health Professionals, Hospitals, Past Episodes

 

Friday October 15, 2010

Friday Mailbag

Sorry to be late with this week's mail bag.

On Tuesday, our team was frantic putting the finishing touches on our townhall 'To Err is Medicine'; You'll get to hear highlights from the finished product on tomorrow's WCBA.

Wednesday, I was saluting long time volunteers and health care workers at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). Yesterday, I spoke to undergraduate medical students at Queen's University and faculty about human frailty in medicine and creating a climate in which it's safe for people like me to open up about our mistakes and to gently point them out in our colleagues. I was impressed by the committment to service at PRHC, and by the passion of med students at Queen's.

But before we move on to tomorrow's townhall episode, I wanted to reflect on last week's episode.

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Categories: Blog Archives, Family Medicine, Pharma

 

Saturday October 9, 2010

Pain: a Terrible and Misunderstood Affliction

 In 1931, the French physician and medical missionary Dr. Albert Schweitzer wrote, "Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself."  In its acute stage, pain is a teacher, a harbinger of danger.  Without acute pain, a child would not learn to never place his hand on a hot kettle, and the grown up with chest pain would not seek medical attention for a heart attack.

Acute pain is therefore useful.  Chronic pain is not.  Sometimes, pain persists beyond the of the disease or injury about which the acute pain heralded.  Constant, mind-numbing, energy sapping and soul destroying, I've see chronic pain ruin marriages and lives. 

This week, we dip into the archives to bring you our show from last season on chronic pain.  It features an interview with Dr. Pam Squire, a pain physician from BC who treat patients with severe forms of chronic pain.  I also speak with Dr. Doug Gourlay, an expert in pain and in addiction; he talks about the dilemma of treating the patient with severe pain with powerful narcotics that carry the risk of addiction.

Click below to listen to the show.  And let us know what you think by commenting on this blog or by emailing us at whitecoat@cbc.ca.

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Reminder:  our live townhall is on Tuesday October 12 from 7 to 830 pm at Glenn Gould studio at the CBC Broadcasting Centre.  Doors open at 630 pm and seating is first come first seated.  

Click here for more townhall details.

Categories: Blog Archives, Family Medicine, Health Professionals, Past Episodes, Patient Safety, Pharma

 

• 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