Going Gorgas

I often wonder how I would behave were I in my patients shoes. In Spanish, the saying is the same: “caminar en los zapatos de otro.” How would you react if you were suddenly blind? Suddenly couldn’t walk? Suddenly were completely dependent on others for the continuation of your existence? Today, ... Read More about Caminar en los zapatos de otro

Life’s great irony is that sometimes what you need most is exactly what you’re least able to give yourself.  That gap between the idea in your head and enacting that same idea with your fingertips. One of the most startling examples of this is severe acute malnutrition. Those in the worst state of ... Read More about Starved, but can’t eat

Disappointment is almost always predicated on a prior expectation.  That moment in time where you determine in your brain that ‘x’  + time = ‘y.’    Whether or not the equation is grounded in science or emotion is irrelevant.  You consciously or unconsciously link a present item with a future ... Read More about Grounds for self-pity

Imagine lying to your doctor about your phone number and/or address.  They attempt to contact you and, surprise!, you’ve vanished. We visited a primary health care centre last week, and one of the issues we discussed was prevaricating patients. Patients can’t register without an address, and there ... Read More about The Trouble with Treatment

You have $10 to work-up your patient. What tests do you order? This question is never posed in Canadian hospitals, but is an everyday reality for most physicians and patients worldwide. How can you deliver the appropriate treatment if you don't know exactly what you're dealing with?  Should you ... Read More about $10 Work-up

The age-old difficulty with communicable disease is that question of culpability:  how much should we blame ourselves for our infection? We’ve all been infected with --at the very least-- a common cold (+/- a healthy cleanse of profuse traveller's diarrhea.) Whenever I get sick, I tend to ... Read More about Infectious self-blame