jjablkowski's blog

Dr Caitlin Dunne’s editorial in the May 2025 issue of the BCMJ about Dr Emily Stowe, the first woman in Canada to openly establish a medical practice, brought to mind Dr James Barry. Why think of Dr Barry, a British military surgeon from the 1830s who became the inspector general of military hospitals and also developed an excellent reputation as a surgeon—performing C-sections in 1826 in which both the mother and the child survived? Because after Dr Barry died it was discovered that the good doctor was a woman—Margaret Ann Bulkley, born in Cork, Ireland, in 1789.

If you’ve been a Doctors of BC member for a while, chances are the BCMJ has been quietly showing up in your mailbox for years—ten times annually, like clockwork. Some of you read it cover to cover. Others flip through it between patients or leave it on the lunchroom table where it might spark conversation. For many of us, it’s more than a journal—it’s a reflection of who we are as a profession, and where we’re going.

Patients in British Columbia are challenged by access to and availability of timely health care services, while community-based and hospital-based health care providers are experiencing burnout in independent practices. The current health care challenges require novel solutions regarding advocacy for physicians to foster resilience and deliver quality care for British Columbians.

I dedicate the following narrative medicine history to International Hearing Day on 3 March 2025.

When I wake up each morning, I have two surprises. First, that I am still alive in a reasonable shape at my age of over 95 years, and second, that I still have yearnings for an intimate and loving relationship at my age.