Medical Education

‘I understand’: Words of empathy that have helped me through residency

"That evening, they walked me past the point we usually diverged and sat with me in my apartment lobby. They sat as I cried. They listened."

Patient Perspectives: Telling our stories is critical to improving care

As a physician, nothing will tell you more than simply asking someone how their illness impacts their lives and listening closely to their answers.

When patients ask about psychedelics

Over the past decade, scientific interest in psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA has risen, along with recreational use. This has put physicians in a difficult place – one our medical training has not prepared us for.

The Non-Suturable Wounds

A poem inspired by University of Toronto medical student Ye-Jean Park's clerkship rotation.

Training more doctors is a start. Let’s make sure our health system is ready for them

If we want to build a resilient, equitable health-care system, we need to reimagine how we recruit, train and retain the next generation of doctors.

Why it’s important Canada accredits its own medical schools

The accreditation of Canada's medical schools only became separate fully from the U.S. in July 2025.

Doing right by the law, and doing right by our patients: The ‘means available to relieve suffering’ safeguards in MAiD

Canadians deserve access to robust and timely responses to their MAiD inquiries. Most important among these are conversations and supports intended to relieve suffering, that may ease or address the person’s desire to die.

‘Good hands for a woman’: Study exposes gender bias in surgery 

Deeply ingrained gender biases within surgery are discouraging women from entering the field, according to findings in a new McGill University study. 

Dancing with uncertainty: Finding my rhythm in the chaos of the OR

As a medical learner, uncertainty is everywhere—especially in anesthesia. But I hope to find calm within the unknown.

Reassessing CBT as the ‘gold standard’ of mental health treatment

With mental health diagnoses on the rise, changes in treatment may be imminent with more emphasis placed on the importance of a pluralistic, rather than one-size-fits-all, approach to care – questioning CBT’s status as the “gold standard.”

Immersive Virtual Reality is a valuable addition to medical training with the right planning

IVR, a type of simulation that uses virtual spaces and characters rather than physical and human resources, could be the future of medical training.

It’s not just the measles . . .

Many have forgotten how serious infections from Measules, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella can be because we have not seen them for many years. I am reminded every day by my mumps-induced deafness.

No reinforcements

Practising family medicine in a rural community is dire these days. It’s precarious for patients and stressful for physicians and there’s no one coming to save us.

Report highlights systemic discrimination against International Medical Graduates in Canada

Canada’s current system for integrating IMGs is inefficient, inequitable and contributes to the physician shortage. By acknowledging these barriers and implementing targeted reforms, Canada can build a fairer, more effective health-care workforce.

‘The first time students see a patient of colour should not be in hospital’: The need for diverse patient actors

Advocate groups say increasing patient actor diversity is crucial to prepare Ontario’s future doctors to care for the province’s increasingly diverse patient population.

The importance of health-system navigators

Patients need to know where to turn to for help - and the province must support family doctors and patients in accessing system navigators.

Health misinformation is rampant and deepens inequities for marginalized communities

Health misinformation is more than a communication challenge; it’s a driver of inequity. By addressing these disparities head-on, we can ensure that no one is left behind in our health system.

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.

How The Grinch stole family medicine: A tale of Ontario’s health crisis

Like a green, scheming miser, the Grinch of health care – festooned in a slew of government mismanagement and shortsighted policies – descended upon family medicine, stealing its spirit one policy at a time.

The future of prescriptions: Pharmacogenomic testing on the verge of revolutionizing health care

With the growing trend of using genomic information to personalize care, is there a type of testing that can tell us whether medications we have been prescribed are actually working?