jjablkowski's blog

Evidenced-based medicine was formally defined in 1966 by Dr David Sackett, a professor of epidemiology at McMaster University, as “the conscientious and judicious use of current best evidence from clinical care research in the management of individual patients.” The basic idea has ancient roots. Anecdotal clinical recommendations had been passed on for centuries; then, from the mid-1600s, physicians’ personal journals then textbooks became sources for sharing knowledge. Peer-reviewed journals were the next messengers of clinical information.

I am a hugger, so the physical distancing rules that have been in place during the past months put a cramp on my usual interpersonal behavior. The phenomenon of physically staying away from one’s friends and loved ones—a smile hidden under a mask, no handshakes, and certainly no hugs—has bothered me in various ways and, I am sure, many people have been similarly affected. Do I stand my ground or step back a few feet when my best friend approaches me without a mask on his face? My best friend! What is wrong with him! He might be giving me his bugs! 

North America is in the midst of an overdose emergency that is having devastating effects, including among youth under 30 years of age.

A hospital, a school, a community centre, a park, a museum, a research institution, or any other public facility in BC that bears the name of a physician reveals the impact that doctors have in our society well beyond the day-to-day practise of medicine. This struck me when I was reading the review of Geoff Mynett’s Service on the Skeena: Horace Wrinch, Frontier Physician in the May 2020 issue of the BCMJ.

Dr Hilary Robertson (ME|FM Society of BC) and Dr Luis Nacul (BC Women’s Hospital Complex Chronic Diseases Program) invite physicians to complete a short 5-minute survey as part of a community engagement project about patient and clinical stakeholder experiences with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME; also called chronic fatigue syndrome) in BC.