Education

Medical libraries are essential. So why are we imposing cuts on them?

Health-care providers should be spending their time treating patients, not hunting for resources. Medical libraries and their staff are essential for supporting their work.

Nicotine pouches: Salvation for smokers or temptation for teens?

Instead of being promoted as a smoking cessation tool, nicotine pouches been portrayed by some as an attempt by Big Tobacco to addict a new generation of youth to nicotine, obscuring its life-saving potential.

Patient partners add value to health research

Involving patients and caregivers in research can make research more relevant. So, how can patients and caregivers partner on a project?

Students call for improved refugee health education in Ontario medical schools

While Canada accepts thousands of refugees each year, refugee health care falls short. Improved education on refugee health in medical schools can help bridge the gap.

Access to family doctor crucial step in weeding out fact from fiction

Everyone deserves access to accurate, evidence-based health information. A robust primary care system helps patients weed out fact from fiction, build trusting relationships with providers and ultimately live healthier lives.

Match Day 2024: ‘Take 3 deep breaths … and have faith’

The NFL draft is much like the CaRMS match. It distills years of hard work and sacrifice into one binary answer: matched/unmatched.

Climate justice for medical learners: Breaking down silos in Planetary Health

Canadian medical schools have made significant strides in recent years toward incorporating principles of Planetary Health into their curricula. However, more work must be done to enrich future physicians’ understanding of climate justice as a medical, social and moral imperative.

Setting the record straight: Medical experts debunk the biggest myths in their field

These days, it's hard to know what to believe. We polled a panel of health experts on the most pervasive misinformation in their specialty and asked them to set the record straight.

Waging war on our immune systems: Immunologist explains the horrifying toll of measles

Immunologist Samira Jeimy breaks down the horrifying toll that measles takes on our bodies and communities - and what can be done to stop it.

Introducing the Canadian Covid Society – because we need it

It’s time for Canadians to organize and advocate for patients, for ourselves and for our kids. It’s time for better COVID-19 policies from our health authorities and politicians.

‘That Women Will Have the Same Opportunities as Men’

What the life stories of pioneering female physicians teach us about Canadian medical culture today

The Discount Code Doctor is in

There are different ways doctors use social media, all of which hinge on the authority that a medical degree provides. But the rise of the physician influencer begs the question: How should doctors present themselves online?

Why screening guideline committees should not include ‘experts’ as voting members

The challenge to those who do not like the Canadian Task Force recommendations is this: Can you provide or research the new evidence required to show how a different policy is better?

Increase in online ADHD diagnoses for kids poses ethical questions

During the pandemic, Ontario swapped out in-clinic ADHD assessment and prescriptions for a virtual care model. Should we continue allowing it for kids?

Tackling HIV stigma: Why it’s important and what needs to be done

Experiences of HIV-related stigma are still incredibly high in Canada. However, given the continued lack of understanding about how stigma makes people feel unwell, it is a challenge to design solutions to reduce its impact.

Navigating the health-care system is not easy, but you’re not alone.

Hello, dear reader! This is my first column for Healthy Debate as a Patient Navigator. This column will be devoted to providing patients with information to help them through their journey with the health-care system and answering your questions.

Please leave politicians out of the exam room. Proposed changes to transgender health policies set a dangerous precedent

Government insertion into medical care is a dangerous step for all Canadians. While it may seem limited to a small minority of people, it sets a precedent that health care is subject to the whims of the current political party. Medical decision-making should be left to the patient and the provider.

Beyond adaptation and resilience: A call for health-care transformation

A key challenge we face is to envision a health-care system that is compatible with a future society that is in turn compatible with the Earth’s limited biocapacity and resources. That would be a resilient health-care system.

Organizational accountability in medical errors

Providers often find themselves at the forefront of accountability, facing repercussions for a sequence of events that result in patient harm. By evaluating system considerations, we can associate individual behaviours with preventable measures that can be implemented to mitigate safety incidents.

Resolutions and solutions: Health-care experts set goals for 2024

In a time of upheaval and undoubtedly significant professional strain, we wanted to know what health-care experts themselves had on their New Year’s resolution lists.