Just Medicine

We are back with another episode! I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Elise Jackson, who recently completed her Addictions Medicine Fellowship following an internal medicine residency at UBC. We speak about the protocols surrounding substance use while in hospital, as well as how the importance of hospitalization as a touchpoint for future care coordination. We also delve into the personal difficulties physicians and other HCP can face while caring for populations with complex needs.

Welcome back to Just Medicine! In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Michael Etowa, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University and an associate scientist at the HIV Treatment Network in Ontario. Dr. Etowa's research on HIV vulnerability and resilience in the black community fueled a truly enriching discussion about the social determinants of health, health literacy, and community-based interventions for marginalized populations. Conversations such as this serve as a reminder of the importance of taking an active role in healthcare to serve those who are often underserved, overlooked, and ultimately more vulnerable to poorer outcomes.

We are back again with another episode! I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Victoria Weaver, one of the only dual infectious diseases and addictions medicine specialists in Canada. She shares her insights on the treatment of infectious diseases in patients with concurrent substance use. In particular, we discussed the challenges that arise in ID treatment, disease severity and continuity of care. Additionally, we delved into the ethical dilemmas that often arise in this line of work and the importance of multidisciplinary healthcare teams to this specific population.

Welcome back, everyone! This week's episode focuses on Refugee Health by highlighting a remarkable medical student-led initiative called the Refugee Health Initiative (RHI). I had the pleasure of speaking with Nikola Deretic, a third-year medical student at the University of British Columbia and the current co-president of the Refugee Health Initiative. Nikola delves into the RHI's work to engage and support refugee families in Greater Vancouver with the aid of medical students, language interpreters, and other community organizations. It was truly a meaningful conversation about advocacy and dismantling barriers in health care. To explore the details of the initiative and learn more about Refugee care in BC, check out these websites:https://globalhealth.med.ubc.ca/service/student-groups/refugee-health-initiati https://bcrefugeehub.ca/

We are back again with another episode! I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Mary Kestler, an infectious diseases specialist with particular expertise in HIV, TB, Global Health and Tropical Medicine. She shares her insights on HIV care in urban settings, amidst their unique challenges and opportunities. We also delve into the intersection of HIV care with substance use, gender, and sexual orientation, as well as the social stigmatization that can affect these marginalized groups.

We're back! This week's episode explores the unique mental health challenges faced by youth with chronic illnesses, focusing on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with expert Dr. Astrid Williams. Adolescence and young adulthood are already full of psychosocial and physical changes. Add to this a lifelong illness, and it can lead to feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Listen in on an important conversation on body image struggles, how to navigate a smooth transition from paediatric to adult healthcare, and healthy coping strategies that are youth-friendly. All resources discussed in the episode are linked below! 1. Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/mental-health?origin=navigation 2. Crohn's & Colitis Canada: https://crohnsandcolitis.ca 3. Crohn's & Colitis Canada Youth Wellness Series: https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/Support-for-You/Youth-Education-Series

We’re back again with another episode! This week, dive into the world of genetic testing and the genomic divide with expert guest speakers Dr. Wyeth Wasserman and Dr. Anna Lehman: Did you know that when it comes to genetic testing, you can’t simply use the same reference data for everybody? Different populations of people share different background variations in their genes, so we need good reference data from diverse populations in order for genetic testing to be applicable and useful for each individual. As you may have guessed, this has some pretty big implications for diagnosis and treatment when it comes to those who are poorly represented in large genetic databases.  Listen in on my conversation with not one, but TWO amazing guest speakers who are doing some pretty game-changing work on the Silent Genomes Project, which aims to reduce healthcare disparities and improve diagnostic success for children with genetic diseases from Indigenous populations. 

We are back with another episode! I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr Tribesty Nguyen who is a public health resident physician. He has many years of experience in social justice, health equity, health policy, and political advocacy, particularly with 2SLGBTQ+, refugee, and racialized communities. He is here with us to share about the nuances of providing care for GBTQ+ men and how to take a sexual history for this population. If you have any questions, want to suggest a topic for us to cover, or know of any experts in a particular field, please email us at justmedicinepod@gmail.com

We are back with another episode! I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr Alec Yu who is an internal medicine resident physician working at St Paul's Hospital in inner city downtown Vancouver. He shares us his insights working on the frontlines and resources we can directly connect our patients to. If you have any questions, want to suggest a topic for us to cover, or know of any experts in a particular field, please email us at justmedicinepod@gmail.com

We are back with another episode! I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr Fraser Black and Ashley Mollison who are experts on the complexities of delivering palliative care for a vulnerable population. In this episode, we also discuss what drew Dr Black and Ashley to this line of work and why it is so rewarding. For details on PORT, refer to: https://www.equityinpalliativecare.com/port For details on research about PORT as well as the ways in which approaches to palliative care are defined, understood, provided, received, and supported, refer to https://palliativeapproaches.uvic.ca If you have any questions, want to suggest a topic for us to cover, or know of any experts in a particular field, please email us at justmedicinepod@gmail.com