White Coat, Black Art

You wouldn’t expect to find an overdose response and prevention team at a library. But Edmonton’s flagship library is going next level to take care of some of its most vulnerable citizens. They also have a team of social workers and other programs because their community needs are growing.

Dr. Maureen Mayhew didn't always want to practice medicine in Afghanistan. When Doctors Without Borders offered her a nine-month contract to work there in 2000, Mayhew initially turned it down, only accepting after careful consideration. That began an almost decade-long connection with the country, which Mayhew captures in her book, Hand on My Heart: A Canadian Doctor's Awakening in Afghanistan. Though her work there was challenging, it changed both her outlook on medicine and her relationship with herself.

30-year-old Aisha Uduman was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and told her life expectancy was less than a year. But she and her family wanted more than the treatment plan her doctors could provide, so they sought out promising alternative treatments.

To some, Ozempic and drugs like it are a weight loss silver bullet. But to others, they’re hyped medications with severe side effects. Dr. Daniel Drucker is a Canadian physician-scientist whose research helped pave the way for Ozempic. He wants more research, especially as ever more effective weight loss drugs are developed. But with the potential to also reduce major cardiovascular events, he’s hopeful we’re in a new era of medical therapy to treat obesity.

In this bonus podcast interview, Trent McCleary gives his perspective on the night when he came perilously close to dying on the ice. It may have been his most dramatic encounter with longtime Montreal Canadiens physician David Mulder, but it’s not the only one.

As the Canadiens' physician since before the days of helmets and face guards, esteemed trauma surgeon Dr. David Mulder has not only witnessed hockey history unfold – he’s been part of it. And after a remarkable 60-year career, he’s retiring. Dr. Brian Goldman sits down with Dr. Mulder to hear about some of his greatest plays – from saving Trent McCleary’s life to discovering Saku Koivu’s cancer.

Wait times for dermatology appointments have patients lining up before dawn at a unique rapid-access clinic. Their conditions range from severe rashes to hair loss to potentially cancerous moles. Dermatologists say they’re taking on more referrals, many are nearing retirement, and there aren’t enough new graduates.

For Jacob Trossman’s whole life, his mother Marcy White has had to fight for his medical care. Jacob has an ultra-rare degenerative disorder called PMD, and at 12 years old, he became a patient in the Complex Care Program at SickKids in Toronto. But now, at 21, Jacob has aged out. SickKids says their services can be adequately replaced by specialists in the adult care system. But Marcy White is fighting harder than ever to keep Jacob with his pediatric team.

Hamilton’s hospitals are trying out a novel solution to deal with its overcrowded hospitals: they’ve turned a former hotel into a “satellite health facility” for patients who no longer need acute care, but are too unwell to go home (like those waiting for home support or long-term care). Dr. Brian Goldman heads to the former Hamilton Crowne Plaza to “check out” its new life as an overflow hospital.

A safe consumption site in Saskatoon is making a huge difference in the lives of people hard hit by substance use. Saskatchewan has had more than 1,200 overdose deaths since 2020. It also has the highest rate of HIV in Canada. Nonetheless, Prairie Harm Reduction has been operating the safe consumption site for three years, without provincial funding.

Nova Scotia is pursuing a radical solution to help with the primary care crisis: Virtual Care Nova Scotia. The province was the first in Canada to offer free virtual doctor visits to every resident without a family doctor. Dr. Brian Goldman visits the picturesque community of Martins Brook to meet some of the patients, nurses and doctors leading the charge for virtual care. Though it’s not a cure-all, they say it’s helping fill the gap in primary care.

Pediatrician and vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez warns the anti-vaccine movement has morphed into a dangerous anti-science force. In The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist's Warning, Hotez says failing to act now will threaten governments’ ability to fight serious infectious diseases.

Provinces are Increasingly turning to the Philippines to recruit nurses as fast as they can to help with a critical shortage of front-line nurses in Canada. But it’s a short-term fix with serious implications for both Canada and the Philippines.

Canada’s nursing shortage is so dire that provinces are stepping up efforts to recruit nurses from the Philippines. And that recruitment process is a well-oiled machine. From the Philippines government, to recruiters, to nursing schools, the message to nurses is clear: better opportunities only exist abroad.

A ride-along with TAIBU, a mobile crisis response team in Scarborough, Ontario that provides a non-police response to urgent mental health crises in the community.

After hearing from dozens of women about their experience with IUD pain, we find out how some gynecologists like Dr. Fiona Mattatall are making the experience of getting an IUD more comfortable, though there’s no standardized pain control method proven to work for everyone.

Shauna Pinkerton is waging a one-person campaign to save lives by passing out fentanyl testing strips, naloxone kits and safe drug paraphernalia. The people she is trying to save aren’t her clients. They’re her friends and sometimes her family.

30-year-old Aisha Uduman was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and told her life expectancy was less than a year. But she and her family wanted more than the treatment plan her doctors provided, so they headed to Germany to try promising alternative treatments.

Women who have had troubling health experiences say perimenopause and menopause should be recognized and treated faster because it would reduce needless suffering. Four women share their stories and offer ideas about what should change in the health-care system to improve the experience for others.

On his 45th wedding anniversary, Ramesh Karnick was at home with his wife when he appeared to lose consciousness. He was in a coma for five weeks before he passed away. His daughter, Sonali has spent years trying to answer the question: how did her father die?