September

BCMA president 2010–2011

For more than 30 years, Dr Ian Gillespie has practised general adult psychiatry with an interest in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), physician health, and medical-fitness-to-drive issues. He graduated from UBC medical school in 1971 and began 3 years of psychiatric residency in Vancouver before moving to Minnesota, where he completed his residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He returned to his hometown of Victoria, where he has been in practice ever since.

It is often problematic when pa­tients request a particular medication, particularly when the clinician has reservations about the request. Examples in everyday practice include requests for sleeping pills and analgesics, or antibiotics for nonbacterial illness. 

However, for most of us, few requests generate more apprehension than a request for so-called medical marijuana. Despite this, BC still has the highest per capita use of medical marijuana in Canada.

I’m not a fan of cancer (or the Canucks either if I think about it). However, both of these have a way of affecting my life. The Canucks I can’t do anything about (can anyone?) but I chose the Ride to Conquer Cancer as my fundraiser this year. This is a 2-day supported 250 km bicycle ride from Vancouver to Seattle.

Vascular disease remains the number one cause of mortality in North America, but often its victims are older and have lived a life of inactivity, overeating, and smoking. 

The common fallacy that “everything is available on the Internet” is actually true for 80 current medical textbooks available in electronic format through the library page of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC web site. 

The College Library has licensed e-books with two different providers, NetLibrary and Stat!Ref, and all members can access these books in full text, remotely from any computer. 

Background
While we have recently documented the relatively good health and personal health practices of Canadian physicians collectively, no one has considered data on the physical and mental health or personal health practices of physicians in BC. 

Such an investigation is worthwhile because physicians’ personal health habits strongly and consistently affect patients’ health habits.[1]