This song has been seven years in the making. Back in 2018, I wrote a poem for aspiring medical students about what it truly means to be a doctor. No holds barred. No sugar coating. But also an explanation of why, despite everything, I remained one. I titled it “Don’

What happens when we start to question the stories we carry about our worth

Film review

Reconsidering Patient Centred Care: Between Autonomy and Abandonment By Alison Pilnick Emerald Publishing, 2022 I almost didn't pick up this book. The title felt like academic jargon, and honestly, I was expecting another dry critique of healthcare that would leave me feeling guilty about not being "patient-centered&

Teacher or villain-elle? Here comes another eager-eyed learner, She stutters as her glasses begin to mist, Wisdom or trauma: which will it be, Teacher? Now with beaded sweat and shy demeanour, She asks to examine the pulse at the wrist, Here comes another eager-eyed learner. With eyes now squinted, she

A heartfelt confession and sharing about finding connection, meaning and purpose in the ED

There's a story we're used to hearing about aging. A slow, inevitable decline. A journey of loss — of health, independence, identity. This story plays out in quiet corners of hospitals and in loud headlines celebrating the "oldest person to survive" some illness. In clinics,

There's a particular kind of silence that falls in a consultation room just before a difficult conversation begins. It's the silence that comes when the scan results are not what we hoped. Or when a patient says, "Just tell me what the scan shows,"

Lessons from the "Hospital Playlist" Drama

Working in the intensive care unit is very much a team-based approach, and for those familiar with it, a fairly noisy one at that. On any given day, there’s a gamut of activity (and emotions) which the team must take in their stride… Movement 1: The morning adagio starts