As a psychiatrist, I have seen an explosion of gender-dysphoric youth and young adults in recent years. These vulnerable groups deserve compassionate, evidence-based care. I am concerned that the recent BCMJ content on gender dysphoria presents gender-affirming care as evidence-based[1] and as the only appropriate model of care. This premise forms the basis for the three articles that follow on the medicalized treatment of gender dysphoria.
Try to find a family doctor in BC and you will be sadly disappointed. Patients are now asking any specialist they see to help them with general medical issues, but specialists have neither the time nor the training to help. Nurse practitioners have a completely different skill set; they are not equipped to take over the role of a family physician. Where are the family doctors we were promised in the “A GP for Me” initiative? It hasn’t happened.
The following are but a few examples of the problem.
Dr Barrie Humphrey was best known locally as a stalwart of the Gabriola Historical and Museum Society (board member 1994–2004 and a frequent contributor to the Shale).
