Education

What to know about bivalent vaccines

Health Canada authorized the most recent bivalent vaccine to date, a Moderna booster, to target multiple strains of the COVID-19 virus. But what exactly is a bivalent vaccine? And is it safe? Here's all you need to know.

What are we waiting for? Nurse Practitioners can fill gaps in our ailing health-care system

Nov. 13 to 19 marks Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week in Ontario. NP's are a key, underused resource that have the potential to alleviate many challenges currently facing the health-care system.

The Faces & Phases of COVID-19

The Faces/Phases Project is a portrait of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Through a series of data visualizations, we cover the first two years of the pandemic.

Trust is essential to a functioning social safety net: Lessons from the pandemic

For those who already felt disconnected from the health-care systems and policy-makers, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated lack of trust in health care and public messaging.

The ABCs of combating ageism

We all need to rethink aging. Not only do our beliefs about aging play an essential role in the aging process, but changing these beliefs is not as hard as we might think.

I saw first-hand how the nursing shortage is squeezing smaller centres

As the nursing shortage worsens, we must remain cautious about privatization further creeping into the Canadian health-care system, especially given its potential effects on smaller and rural centres.

Who is monitoring the gatekeepers? The Royal College an impenetrable fortress

Yes, I failed the Specialty Examination of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. But that does not preclude me from expressing what I consider to be wrong.

The Plan to Stay Open: Relief for our beleaguered health-care system or a move to further privatization?

Ontario’s Plan to Stay Open, a five-point strategy aimed at “health-care system stability and recovery,” has been the subject of much debate since its final release in August. We asked a panel of experts what they thought about the plan. Here's what they had to say.

Ten health literacy principles cancer patients need to know

A medical oncologist describes ten health literacy principles to help cancer patients be informed participants in important treatment decisions.

‘Violating Nature’s Health Laws’: How an eccentric early 20th century influencer set the stage for the COVID infodemic

Recognizing historical influences is just the start of tackling the social underpinnings of the infodemic. We must shed the legacy of the idea that a sick person ‘deserved it as a penalty for violating Nature’s health laws.

Take the survey: What are your priorities for primary care?

What trade-offs are acceptable to you? Do you currently have a family doctor or nurse practitioner? How important is it that every person living in Canada has a relationship with a family doctor? These are some of the questions we ask in the OurCare/NosSoins nation-wide survey.

Cross-country project gives patients a say in solving primary-care crisis

Dr. Tara Kiran and a team of collaborators are launching OurCare, a three-phase research project that aims to provide much-needed answers to Canada’s primary care woes. The project kicks off with a national survey of patients' experience.

Let’s talk about part-time: Finding work-life balance in residency

Life doesn’t stop in residency. Marriage and babies happen. Grief and illness and losses happen. Burnout happens. Therapy happens. And with some flexibility, life can happen while we remain present – more present for life and more present for all the work that comes with it.

Episode 43 – Clinical Education and Healthcare Delivery in the CTU with Dr. Brandon Tang

International fellows in the shadows: The other side of post-graduate medical education

International clinical fellows have been the unsung heroes throughout the pandemic. Yet, we still haven’t been able to guarantee some of the basic workplace provisions for them that their Canadian colleagues take for granted.

A pandemic silver lining? Research shows drop in bullying in school and online

The COVID-19 pandemic may have shut down schools but, as new research shows, it also shut down both in-person and online bullying. And bullies are still lying low. But why hasn’t bullying returned since students have gone back to school?

Episode 41 – Module Madness

What we can learn from the evolution of guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic

The only absolute in science is that there are no absolutes. Throughout the pandemic, recommendations have changed based on new data. For the public, this may come across as flip-flopping, but in actuality, it is simply that we are making the best decisions possible in the current context.

Gender segregation, pay inequity. Understanding the ‘pink-collar’ tier in medicine

Understanding the history of health care’s gender segregation, the basis for today’s “pink collar” tier of female-dominated specialties, could help current efforts to improve pay equity in medicine.

Medical council considering alternatives to ‘outdated’ licensing exam

The MCCQE II, a Medical Council of Canada licensing exam, is considered by some critics to be an outdated and unnecessary burden. Temporarily paused by the pandemic, the MCC will soon decide whether and how the exam will return - and what role it will play in the changing world of medical education.