July

The Federation of Medical Women of Canada, a national medical organization committed to the development of women physicians and to the well-being of all women, will hold their annual meeting in Vancouver this year, from 16 to 18 September. 

The meeting, themed “Trailblazers: Catch­ing Our Dreams,” will offer attendees a unique opportunity to be inspired by outstanding medical women, hear about new advances in women’s health care, and connect with colleagues and students.

• “Dr Bugis, there are no inpatient or overnight beds. We can do the day-care hernia case while we sort it out. Just in case, which one of your patients has to be done and which ones can be cancelled?”

• “Dr Bugis, we probably will be a little late starting today. Dr Neverstarts­ontime is putting in a central line, an epidural, an arterial line, and doing a nerve block on your first patient. I hope we get all your cases in.”

After an extensive period of study, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has developed and launch­ed a totally redesigned Main­tenance of Certification (MOC) program along with a revised MAINPORT web application.

This streamlined, more flexible MOC program will provide more choic­es of learning activities, allow more control in planning professional development, and provide greater in­centives to participate in self-learning and assessment activities. 

Yogi Berra said it best: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” 

In the realm of physician workforce planning, the proof of his statement lies in the cycles of shortages and surpluses of physicians in British Columbia over the years. No one seems able to get the right number, and perhaps—absent a crystal ball—no one ever will. It may be that the challenge of forecasting physician supply—an endeavor that requires consideration of multiple and difficult-to-measure variables—just does not lend itself to easy prediction.

A Cochrane Systematic Review of randomized controlled clinical trials found that taking selenium produces no protective effect against non-melanoma skin cancer or prostate cancer. In addition, there is some indication that taking selenium over a long period of time could have toxic effects.