She looked relatively healthy. Middle-aged, calm, composed. She had tried everything—until she hadn’t. That’s how she found herself on the OR schedule for a hysterectomy. Years of irregular, heavy bleeding had led her here. She didn’t…
Category: Conditions
A doctor’s emotional struggle with a young leukemia patient
I am currently working as a senior registrar in the oncology unit of a trust hospital. We admit both oncology and hematology patients in the same ward, meaning we care for patients with solid tumors as well as those with blood cancers. Our hospital has…
DSM-5 doesn’t name it, but moral distress is everywhere in medicine
The mental health crisis clinicians face but won’t talk about this May Ask anyone about health care reform, and you’ll likely get passionate responses. Single-payer versus market-driven. Universal coverage versus cost-containment. Clinician…
Clinicians must be scrupulously honest in and out of work
An excerpt from From Error to Ethics: Five Essential Lessons from Teaching Clinicians in Trouble. Clinicians must be scrupulously honest in and out of work About 70 percent of the clinicians who attended the course had been accused of dishonest conduct…
The stigma surrounding diabetes harms those living with the condition. It’s time to finally stamp it out.
Canadians have rallied together like never before to support each other and stand up for Canada in the face of U.S. tariffs and annexation threats. People living with diabetes need that same spirit of solidarity around them to defeat a persistent stigm…
Clinical research is evolving. Patient involvement is no longer optional.
In January 2025, the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) formally adopted the updated E6(R3) Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines. Annex 1 and the revised 12 principles are already in effect. Annex 2 arrives in July. This is not just regul…
How smartphones are stealing your focus—and what you can do about it
Over the past two months, I embarked on a mission to complete two reading tasks: A journey in service, the autobiography of Nigeria’s former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, followed by Dream count, the latest work by the world-renow…
Why ADHD isn’t just a childhood disorder and what that means for adults
Current studies identify the negative impacts of failing to diagnose and treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which contributes to well-described impairment, morbidity, and mortality. Timely diagnosis, acceptance, and treatment do, in…
Fat guy in a little coat: Preventing childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is not just about kids outgrowing their clothes faster than their parents can buy them— it’s a growing public health crisis. If we don’t step in now, the next generation might need bigger coats and even bigger health care …
Gen Z is already transforming mental health care—are we listening?
In a clinic in India, I once watched a young mother wait for hours to be seen, clutching her child and a paper folder filled with years of handwritten notes. There was no digital health record, no streamlined triage system—just patience, resilience, an…
