CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Anesthetists are at special risk for becoming addicted to some of the drugs they work with. The problem was highlighted by the recent death of a physician in Comox, BC, and a doctor's brush with death at a hospital near Ottawa. The University of Ottawa has responded with a program, the professional Assistance Program for the Impaired or Disabled Physician, that is in the final stages of approval. Although it will be aimed initially at anesthetists and anesthesia residents in the university's teaching hospitals, there are hopes the program will spread eventually to other medical departments.
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To determine the vaccination rate among infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and factors affecting that rate. ⋯ The vaccination rate of infants discharged from the NICU is not optimal. Urban native children appears to be at risk of not being vaccinated. Non-native infants are five times more likely than native infants to have completed all of their scheduled vaccinations. Methods to improve the rate of completed vaccinations, especially for native children, must be sought and tested.
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Biography Historical Article
Dr. Balfour Mount and the cruel irony of our care for the dying.
Dr. Balfour Mount of Montreal thinks that the health care system, because of its fixation on disease processes, may have forgotten that it also has a mandate to alleviate suffering. "We need to recapture that vision," says Mount, who describes palliative medicine as a "rich combination" of clinical pharmacology, rehabilitation medicine and internal medicine. Mount says there is a cruel irony in our care of the dying. "Although these are the sickest people in our health care system, when medical technology doesn't know what to do, the quality and quantity of care falls away. How can we justify that?"
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Biography Historical Article
Nova Scotia health minister issues plea for more MD participation in politics.
Dr. Ronald Stewart admits that there are negative aspects to becoming a politician, but when he addressed a recent national meeting of Canada's emergency physicians he pleaded for more physician involvement in the political process. Stewart, an emergency physician who serves as Nova Scotia's health minister, thinks work as a politician can be both frustrating and fulfilling.
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Biography Historical Article
Sports medicine and coaching inseparable interests for Vancouver physician.
Dr. Doug Clement of Vancouver has devoted his career to sports medicine and the development of athletes. The former Olympic athlete keeps busy as codirector of the Sports Medicine Clinic and professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, and as coach and mentor to several world-class runners.