Gingerbread Post

Stories From a Night On-Call or How I Spent My Youth Saying Goodbye Mr. T.Y. had difficult problems.  He was a 60 something pipe fitter who was suffering from metabolic disease.  Metabolic disease is a term that doctors use to lump together health problems that are related to problems with glucose and fat metabolism and often lead to heart attacks, stroke and kidney diseases.  Mr. T.Y. was overweight, had high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, and he had some smoking-related lung disease.   I had met him several times over my first two years of my internal medicine residency.  Usually we met late at night in the emergency room.  He would come in, finding it hard to breathe, leaning forward on his swollen knees huffing and puffing saying “Doc, I just can’t catch my breath, my feet have swollen up and I feel like crap”.  Our usual routine was to do some tests, and start him on some diuretics; often he was suffering from heart failure related to underlying heart disea

Professor Timothy Caulfield gave a very entertaining lecture this evening as part of the Edmonton Community Foundation's ECL Lecture Series.  In fact he has done a lot of research and published extensively in both the scientific and lay press about how popular culture is shaping our approach to health, and our attitudes towards science.  Interesting reading. The rise of pseudoscience, propagated by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jenny McCarthy, and Dr. Oz just to name a few, has led to our society believing and trying all sorts of weird and wonderful things in the name of beauty and greater health.   As a physician, I am often struggling to debunk myths and provide my patients with solid medical advice and references that they can access to answer their questions. Unlike Dr. Caulfied, I have not done a lot of rigorous research in this area; so hats off to him for doing this and in such an interesting area.  As a consumer, mom, professional, and human being I am interested

Since my recent experience I've been doing some advanced reading about how individuals can be induced to behave in ways that may not be congruent with their own beliefs.  It's a very interesting topic that I have not really looked at or thought much about since residency.  I was really surprised to stumble upon several different scholarly articles that outlined some very similar theories.  These focussed on individuals exposed to both minor and some very stressful events.  The human mind is a very interesting thing, complex and I think surprising.  We all live in a certain culture, surrounded by individuals who, day to day have certain ideas.  When we move out of that group we become aware of new ways of thinking or being.  I've experienced this a few times in my life, as I'm sure we all have. Here below, I've put a summary of Dr. Margaret T. Singers' 6 Conditions for Thought Reform. Dr. Margaret T. Singer's 6 Conditions for Thought Reform Keep the per

I was recently invited to share time with some parents in our school community with the goal of "creating an outstanding community for our kids".  I'm in I think, I'm in.  I've often felt that I should get more involved at school, but time for gathering with other parents is limited to a small few who we have found connection to (they are great).  While there are many I really like, I simply can't manage time with everyone.  Its just who I am.  Outside of that, there are many fabulous parents, teachers, students who I chit chat with on the playground/ in the hallways, but I really don't have a lot of time for casual small talk - I prefer closer connections, and look for that in the path I am on. My life is full.  But it's a good full.  I really am in a good place. Well, with this context in mind, I proceeded, on election day in Alberta, to race from a busy clinic, to the voting booth, to the home of a "friend" who has invited a few of us to