Gender pay gaps continue to exist in a multitude of professions, and medicine is not immune, as highlighted by a recent CMAJ article by Drs Cohen and Kiran.[1] As a female physician and a new mother, I am particularly interested and intrigued in this topic. How can I explain to women who enter medicine in the future that they may be paid less despite doing the same work as men, solely because of their gender?

28 February 2021

As the world moves toward mass vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in 2021, many unanswered questions remain. Will vaccine administration be mandatory? Will proof of vaccination be required to attend gatherings such as sporting or entertainment events? Will the unvaccinated be allowed to travel? Will life insurance be more costly if an individual refuses the COVID-19 vaccine? And so many more.

As we rush enthusiastically into the new age of virtual medicine, I am wondering what we are losing. I hear stories of patients receiving a telephoned prescription for penicillin, for a sore throat, unseen and unswabbed. Or for something that “sounds like” bronchitis. Another patient with right upper quadrant discomfort was treated with liver function tests and an ultrasound, but no examination. A tender breast lump? How about mammography plus or minus ultrasound?

I read the BCMD2B article, “Using the beneficence model as an ethical approach to surgical decision making: A case report,” in the December issue of the BCMJ [2020:62;380-383,385]. Very timely and useful indeed, but I would like to point out that the dictum “first, do no harm,” belongs to Hippocrates, not to Aristotle, as stated in the article.
—Miguel Lipka, MD, CCFP(EM)