Are you down with S-T-I?

Well, another interesting day. First off, kudos to Karen for finding the site ;-) Secondly, I spent the day at the teen sexual health clinic, and what an enlightening experience. The amount of knowledge and comfort around our bodies and our sexual health there is unbelievable, and makes me realize that I'm stuck in the past when it comes to current trends.

More importantly though, I've learned more about the emotional impact of STI's and the depression/shame/anger/frustration that surrounds them. The importance of being non-judgemental, of giving the info out in acceptable doses, and the need for follow-up counselling or referral to an excellent service such as this. Currently working on a project for my Family Medicine block, because I think it's important to not just treat the disease, but all the issues that surround it.

Finally, to add a link, I just googled "Herpes", and lo and behold, here's the number one site. Enjoy!

www.herpes.com

Cheerio,

Nicholas

Family Medicine Forum

After a fabulous time at the Family Medicine Forum 2004 in Toronto, Ontario, there were a few very useful websites:

www.rxfiles.ca for objective comparisons for optimal drug therapy

www.healthknowledgecentral.org for all the best resources for busy clinicians in one place - lots of great one pagers - all the info you need!

www.healthontario.com a consumer focused website with lots of good health info for both patients and med students who want the facts but not all the bloody details

www.effectivepractice.org a site developed to address the gap between best evidence and current primary care practice.

Enjoy!

Nicholas

Phase 3 of Medical School

Quick update: Phase 3 of medical school involves unleashing hordes of medical students on unsuspecting patients, people who have no idea that when they say it's their first time getting this test done, it's also our first time doing the test. That it's not them shaking from the epinephrine, it's us shaking from having to give the epinephrine. That when we say "oops" and laugh nervously, we're not trying to make small talk, but rather distract ourselves from an untimely urinary output. And in doing all this, our regular 40 hour week, plus call, plus emerg shifts, plus readings, meetings, rounds, and generally doing extra scut work, we are well compensated for our 12,000+ tuition with a real salary, a working man/woman's salary, a salary that has stood the test of time, not to be bothered with silly ideations like inflation, or adjusted cost of living, or human dignity. That's right, 47 cents an hour baby!! (note: salary payable only for the first 40 hours worked per week. Any hours worked above the aforementioned number is considered grounds for mental insanity and therefor cannot be compensated for under the charter of it sucks to be you)

Newa, life in the fast lane of Med 3 is fabulous. Just finished psych, where I promptly went crazy, and am now on the island doing family medicine, which is pulling me in more directions than a schizophrenic person who's hearing voices and has delusions of grandeur. Hope all your lives are just as sunshiny, and that the last sounds before the anaesthetic kicks in for your surgery are not my voice, and the word "oops..."


Beauty is simply Reality seen with the eyes of love. — Evelyn Underhill