End of Life

‘This Will Make You a Better Doctor’

As medical trainees, we spend years learning to care for patients. But absolutely nothing prepared me to be a doctor better than being a patient.

‘I want to pat dogs until I die’: End-of-life planning should be more than just Living Wills

Flipping the script on Advance Care Planning doesn’t mean I don’t agree with it. But what my approach has done is to take note of what makes up a “good day” and try to incorporate as many as possible.

No physician should be punished for advocating for life-saving services during the toxic drug crisis

As a young doctor-in-training, I feel obligated to speak out against Island Health's unethical treatment of Jessica Wilder.

Death ‘is not a medical process. It shouldn’t be made one’: Suicide pod stirs controversy among right-to-die proponents

Sarco, the world’s first suicide pod, is stirring up controversy amongst right-to-die proponents as an ongoing criminal case takes place.

Bouncing back together: How to build resilience among youth

By addressing structural determinants, we can create supportive environments where resilience is not a rare exception but a common experience among all youth.

Empowering choices: The importance of advance care planning

Advance care planning empowers individuals to have their health-care preferences honoured, offering peace of mind to both themselves and their loved ones. Yet, despite the importance of these conversations, many people delay or avoid them altogether.

MAiD’s vanishing slippery slope

New data on MAiD sheds much needed light on a topic so broiled in hysteria and unforced errors to seem like some sort of deranged game of political and health-care tennis.

New Year’s resolutions from health-care professionals: Advocate, avoid burnout and remember to love

At a time when the problems in Canadian health care can feel overwhelming and reaching our goals seems a daunting task, we wanted to know what health-care experts have on their personal resolutions list for 2025. 

‘When you have severe disabilities, life isn’t over’: Expansion of MAiD raises concerns

As Bill C-7 expands MAiD's eligibility criteria, advocates for those with severe disabilities continue to fight against the pressures to accept an early death.

Cutting for comfort: Understanding the role of palliative surgery

Would you or a loved one undergo surgery knowing that it would not lead to a cure? This question invites a broader discussion about the risks and benefits of such decisions.

Quebec’s move to allow advance requests for MAiD ‘the worst news imaginable’

Quebec’s decision to forge ahead with advance requests for Medical Assistance in Dying could put the elderly and those with dementia at risk, critics say.

Essential exposure: The case for mandatory palliative care clinical rotations

Clinical exposure to palliative care is not afforded the attention it deserves in undergraduate medical curricula. To rob medical learners of such experiences is a travesty.

Excuse me for living: MAiD, autonomy and feeling like a burden

With the option of MAiD squarely on the table for so many, is staying alive becoming a path that requires justification?

It’s time to make compassion more relevant in our world

A generative compassion approach looks at the bigger picture and proactively asks the question: What more needs to be done to prevent more harm from occurring?

Privilege. Blame. Allyship. Reflecting on reconciliation as a non-Indigenous physician

CMA president Joss Reimer writes, "As individuals, we may not be responsible for what happened in the past. But we are responsible for what happens in the future."

Involuntary drug treatment: ‘Compassionate intervention’ or policy dead end?

Involuntary treatment for substance use is being proposed as a solution to the toxic drug supply crisis in provinces across the country. But do programs like this work?

Resident matching can’t start with CaRMS: Why we need a national plan for the health workforce

"Medical residents are a critical part of the health system. Together, we can plan for a future where they and their patients are set up for long-term success."

If not you, who will make your medical decisions?

Imagine finding yourself in a medical emergency, unconscious and unable to communicate. Who then becomes your voice in this complex web of health-care decisions?

Episode 81 – Outcomes Post-Cardiac Arrest and Palliative Medicine Consultation for Seriously Ill Patients

Can we afford to keep ignoring the health of unpaid caregivers?

Unpaid caregivers must be a priority focus if we are to sustain the future of our healthcare system. We absolutely cannot afford to keep the health of unpaid caregivers in Canada invisible.