Dr. Kaylynn Purdy, MD, MS, FRCPC 🟠
@KP_MD2018
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@uCalgaryMed CCM Fellow | @UAlberta_DOM #Neurology | @StanfordHP MS’23| @theNOSM MD’18| #HealthPolicy #NeuroCrit #Dogs @KP_MD2018 @mstdn .ca
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On February 13, 2021 my big brother Blake, somebody I’ve looked up to for as long as my memory lasts, died at the age of 34 from schizophrenia, housing insecurity and substance use.
As a family we fought so hard for him, but medicine and health policy failed him.
1/5
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On an
@WestJet
flight.They call for “any medical professionals.” I hesitantly push the call light. Flight attendant comes over “we have a lady who is having a convulsion.”
Me: “Okay, I’m a neurologist.” I get up.
She comes back and says “it’s okay we have an actual doctor.” 1/3
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Hey
@WestJet
, just so you know women can be doctors. So can people with mobility aids. 3/3
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Me “uh, okay. I’m also actual doctor. Do you know what kind of doctor they are? Maybe ask if they would like help from a neurologist and ICU fellow?”
Flight attendant comes back: “They aren’t actually convulsing. They don’t want help.”
Me: “okay, that’s good…”2/3
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@CatherineEPDoc
@WestJet
Maybe. But I did say I’m a doctor and a neurologist initially. And then fellowed it up a second time adding a second type of doctor…so don’t think that’s fully the reason.
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Stayed late to finish up a consult, biking home I came across a person lying face down beside the bike path. Wasn’t rousable, but had a pulse and was breathing. I called EMS and gave them a dose of IM naloxone/Narcan that I carry in my bike bag. 1/3
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My soul is broken. 💔
Blake has always been my reason to try to build better health systems. So people won’t die waiting for access to desperately needed care/programs. So people in rural areas aren’t forced to go to cities for care.
I will forever fight for you Blake. 5/5
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Medicine is a highly ableist profession, one that provides little flexibility or tolerance if physicians or trainees have disabilities.
Here is a list things that residency programs can do to reduce ableism and allow residents with disabilities to thrive rather than just survive.
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Recently I had a patient who because of their neurological condition had reverted to speaking Cree rather than English. Prior to a translator arriving I was able to communicate with him Cree, a language that I have been working on since moving to Amiskwacîwâskahikan. 1/3
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30% of the acute strokes I saw in the last 24hrs were
#COVID19
positive. That’s 1 in 3 people with a stroke. It’s only going to get worse before it gets better. Brace yourselves
#Neurology
, the storm is coming.
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As
#cyclists
we can be the eyes, ears and a safety net for the most vulnerable in our communities. You don’t need to be a doctor or nurse or EMT to give Narcan and save a life. Every life is worth saving. Get a Narcan kit for your commute bag, it is life saving.
#harmreduction
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COVID19 isn’t the only thing impacting families. There is another silent epidemic because there is shame in mental illness in our society.
Blake’s life wasn’t shameful. He was funny, athletic, kind and generous. Schizophrenia consumed him for the last 4 years of his life.
4/5
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What working 24hrs without breaks as a resident doctor feels like:
1. Temperature dsyregulation
2. Nausea
3. Muscle cramps
4. Word finding difficulty
5. Loss of dexterity
6. Emotional Dysregulation
7. Extreme tiredness/ability to sleep in odd places and positions
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They woke up very confused, but I was able to convince them to wait for EMS. They are now safely en route to hospital. Narcan saves lives. Always carry a kit, especially if you commute by bike because we see people those driving in cars don’t. 2/3
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An example of how one-way masking does not work. I recently attended a medical conference, I was the ONLY person in the room who wore a mask (N95 and KN95). Today, two days after the conference, I awoke with symptoms and have tested positive for
#COVID19
for the first time.
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He will be come another statistic in the BC overdose epidemic, a number.
But he isn’t a number, he is my brother. He was loved by our parents, our brother, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
His smile was infectious, one glance at him and he had you smiling right back. 2/5
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The police never called us. We found out he died from staff at his hostel after they called our mother to come collect his few possessions.
Perhaps the police thought he didn’t have family or people who loved him. They were wrong.
His life had meaning. He was cherished.
3/5
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Spending today’s
#NationalPhysicianDay
wearing scrubs that match my crutches. Because doctors can have disabilities too.
@DocsWith
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There are great, now online classes at
@EPLdotCA
to learn Cree. If you are healthcare worker in Edmonton, take another step towards decolonizing healthcare to learn the traditional language of
#Treaty6
.
#decolonizemedicine
3/3
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Here is the deal. I got to spend the last year observing on the
@Albertadoctors
board, every meeting and every board phone call. The AMA is not lying. How many medical associations offer to reduce fees and their government still rejects it? Alberta’s, that’s who.
There are two claims in the AMA’s paid advertisement that need to be addressed.
First, the AMA claims they submitted three offers that would hold the budget to current levels. This is simply untrue. 1/7
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Alberta is a province that is stacked with experts in health policy, ready and willing to help with tangible solutions to help our health system crisis. And then the
@Alberta_UCP
completely ignores that and does things that are harmful instead of helpful. It is a crushing feeling
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Trying to study for
@Royal_College
exams, but the world is on fire. My family in Kelowna had to flee their homes. I don’t know where my patients in the NWT are. There is more to medicine than memorizing facts like advocacy, but we don’t test that.
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I can order a $3000 test just because I don’t want to miss something. But I can’t order a $100 hotel room. It’s -30C, a person in
#yeg
probably froze to death last night due to not having enough shelter space. This “system” is broken. 1/2
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We are taught in school that French is the second language we should all know. English and French are colonial languages of turtle Island. Imagine living somewhere and not making any effort to learn the language of its original peoples? That is Canada. 2/3
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I’m excited to share that I am taking a short break from
@UofA_Neurology
and heading to
@Stanford
in the fall to pursue a Masters in Health Policy
@StanfordHP
. I promised my brother Blake I would make his world better, and this is part of making that promise a reality.
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Oh H**ls no. Please
#Alberta
, as one of your resident doctors, please don’t vote for this guy if you like safe patient care...or enjoy the immense quality of healthcare Alberta is privileged to have.
#kenneycuts
#ableg
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Resident doctors in Alberta are actually the second lowest paid in the entire country. I’m not complaining. Just correcting a fact
@jkenney
that you do NOT pay all healthcare workers more generously than other provinces.
We are spending more tax dollars on health care than ever in our history.
But we can't continue to run $10 billion, $20 billion deficits every year because that will trap us in a sea of debt. We need to operate a bit more efficiently.
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When handing over the ICU at 7am:
Co-Resident: So it’s all COVID? Where are all the non-COVID patients? Where is the sepsis? The severe EtOH withdrawal? The acute surgical abdomens?
Me: I don’t know, but I’m worried.
Please come to the hospital if you are sick. Don’t wait.
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@kindermeg
No, it can’t. It just won’t do anything to help them. I didn’t know for sure, but the EMS dispatcher and I agreed that I should give it as I had it on hand. EMS can help you decide to use it or not too, you aren’t alone.
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Just wondering
@Alberta_UCP
how you plan to employ residents? We work in Acute Care, Primary Care, Addictions and Mental Health and Continuing Care, sometimes all in the same week. We deliver a large bulk of healthcare in Alberta & are your future. Currently we are AHS employees.
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Another great resource that I like to use is the Maskwacis Cree app to keep practicing when I have a spare moment. I am by no means fluent, I’m still on the basics but as long as I reside on
#Treaty6
Territory I will keep learning.
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This was the most difficult thing I have ever written.
“…when you meet somebody living on the streets, remember my brother.”
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Today marks exactly 1 month since I found out my brother died from an overdose. Some days are easier than others, today was a hard day.
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I’m a bit behind in the announcement, but I am very excited to have matched to my first choice critical care medicine fellowship at
@UCalgaryMed
. Thanks to my many mentors who believed in me even when I didn’t.
#NeuroCrit
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At the age of 28 I had to write an obituary for the brother who changed my diapers, taught me how to play basketball, tie my shoes, box, and even to rap. Life won't be the same without him. May his final sleep bring him the peace he so desperately sought.
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But, resident labour is cheap. Our acute care health system can’t run without us because it’s been designed to be dependent on resident labour and extreme working hours.
Physician health shouldn’t be seen as expendable. We aren’t expendable.
#End24hrCall
#residency
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Thread:
Today I picked up my new Naloxone/Narcan kit from a near by
@ShopprsDrugMart
to replace the one from my bike pannier I used last week. Let’s walk through what’s in a Naloxone Kit (this is the muscular injection version).
#Nalxone
#HarmReduction
1/7
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The thing is
@janephilpott
, you are still a role model because “...even in defeat integrity wins every time.”
I hope we all remember that Dr. Philpott never backed down to a bully, and sacrificed herself for what is right. History shall remember.
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Medicine is ableist. But we don’t have to be. We can do better. Difference is a strength, not a weakness.
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What good is my 9 years of medical training, learning to diagnose and treat complex diseases if I can’t treat something as simple as not freezing to death? The answer for houselessness is housing. 2/2
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Something to remember this election: the most conservative provinces have had the worst COVID-19 numbers. The math doesn’t lie. Don’t make all of Canada into one giant Alberta. See us as warning ⚠️.
#elexn44
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There is something extra special about this
@CMAJ
article being published in print in the 2022 February edition, marking the 1 year anniversary of Blake’s death. The world overlooked him in life, yet he shall forever be remembered for his light.
#OpioidCrisis
#Schizophrenia
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I’m having trouble even contemplating that Alberta is in a situation where we have had to ask American hospitals for help and to accept ICU transfers.
@jkenney
you have broken our province, our health system and now potentially soon people’s ability to get healthcare in 🇨🇦.
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2. Allow exceptions. Blanket statements that residents with “medical accommodations” are not permitted to do certain things is neither fair nor equitable. Not all accommodations are the same.
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A psychiatrist once told me, “If you put the healthiest, most resilient person in an unhealthy environment, they will become sick.”
This is what happens in medicine, it’s not about an individual’s characteristics, it’s about their environment.
#MentalHealthForDocs
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1. Provide lead time when policy changes are introduced, such as lengthening weekend call or duty hour requirements. This allows residents to get additions accommodations in place if needed.
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I biked home from clinic early today because of the
#wildcatstrikes
. On my way home, I thought about what I should tweet, then realized I’m scared to tweet. I have successfully been intimidated by
@AHS_media
and I’m not even on strike.
#abhealth
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3. Ensure you have diverse perspectives when making policy changes, including residents with disabilities, residents with families, different gender identities and ethnic diversity.
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@nurse_nomad
Please thank her for us. For a time, that coffee shop was our only link to Blake. He received kindness there that he didn’t get anywhere else, he was treated as a person. This mattered to him and to us. Thank you.
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I ordered a serum encephalitis panel for a patient and Dynalife sent an neuromyelitis optica panel. These are not even close to the same things. Privatizing our labs in Alberta has helped us how?
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Thinking of Alberta reducing restrictions on Monday makes me want to cry. We can’t handle a third wave. It will break every healthcare worker. Please
@jkenney
, just listen to science for once.
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4. Active offer: ask learners at the beginning of the rotation if they need accommodations for anything. Asking gives people a safe space to articulate what they need and normalizes that physicians can have disabilities.
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@carbino567
Narcan/Naloxone is drug that can very quickly reverse the effects of opiates. So in somebody who may have overdosed, it can wake them up and prevent them from having their heart stop or brain damage. Free from pharmacies, can be in injection or intranasal form.
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A
#WeTheNorth
Thread:
The
#WeTheNorth
victory is bitter sweet for me.
Growing up my oldest brother loved basketball, and his room was plastered with raptors posters. When I was 4 he taught my how to tie my first pair of “mini air” basketball shoes. 1/6
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5. If you are a program director, lead resident, department head etc and you know their are learners with disabilities or medical accommodations, check on them. Don’t let people struggle by themselves.
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Interestingly...doctors were also working all night. Like we do every single night. It’s not an ordeal, it’s our job to care for patients. It’s your job to uphold democracy and care about how your decisions effect every person in this province.
#ABdocs4patients
It’s a beautiful summer night, calm & warm. While most of Albertans enjoy a goodnight sleep, we are fighting hard for taxpayers w/ an overnight ordeal to pass Bill 30, 32 & 33 (Health,Labour&Investment).
#AbLeg
#economy
#ReturnABAdvantages
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You know when
@AirCanada
says when you land to remain seated if you need assistance and that they would be happy to help? Well, despite having a wheelchair booked with my flight due to a recent major surgery, I discovered yesterday they are indeed not happy to help. 1/4
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I know last night’s game would have been something he had been dreaming about nearly his whole life. I wish he was well enough to see
#RaptorsIn6ix
.
I miss you big brother, I hope we get to see a championship game together one day.
#WeTheNorth
❤️ LilKayKay
6/6
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My 102 year old Grandmother has seen and lived through a lot. After 102 years, she reached a new milestone, being a
@Stanford
Grandma!
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While we all seem to be blaming the fact that Alberta has 42 empty family med seats entirely on the political environment, nobody seems to care or have noticed that residents in Alberta are the second lowest paid in all of Canada after Quebec, who also had many empty seats.
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This Alberta, read this. Our cases are still increasing, our curve is still curving, but our hospitals are more ready. We are re-opening because we have room for you in our ICU's, not because your risk of contracting COVID-19 has suddenly decreased.
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I feel I must comment on the article by Dr. Thomas Ungar about "Woke" psychiatrists. My brother's psychiatrist was "woke." A thread about
#SDoH
, psychiatry, and my brother. 1/7
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This the hardest earned piece of paper I have ever gotten.
Perhaps it isn't talked about enough but the anxiety and stress around preparing for and taking
@Royal_College
examinations is intense. It's like nothing I have ever experienced before. 1/4
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I’m going to bed early to prepare to work in the hospital for 24hrs tomorrow. I’m walking into 🔥 because of how people chose to vote, because people voted for the health big corporations over the health of their family.
Stay home. Call your MLA. Help us. Help your family. 2/2
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My daily post-hospital shower has become like a ritual where when I step in I’m a doctor and when I step out I’m just a person. All the
#COVID19
worries are washed away, and I can just be present at home. Ready to do it all again the next day.
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Thank you so much to all who shared this! My bike has actually been recovered. The seat is missing and my fenders are missing, but it appears to be mostly intact. I have to also especially thank the
@edmontonpolice
who found it. You people redeem all evil of bike thief’s.
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Today would have been my brother’s 35th Birthday. Yesterday I took him skiing with me and left a bit of his ashes on his favourite (and my favourite) run. I hope the Boom powder is endless where you are.❤️
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My 103 year old grandmother fell and was delirious over the weekend. She was brought to Rocky View Hospital in Calgary. She spent 1.5 days in the ED before getting a bed on the floor. It’s heartbreaking to know she was suffering and not being able to do anything.
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When I chose where I wanted to go for residency,
@albertaNDP
were in power.
Because the
@Alberta_UCP
are now in power,
#COVID19
is ragingly out of control. People voted for this. They voted for suffering and death. 1/2
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👏🏻 👏🏻 Another woman in medicine at the top!👏🏻👏🏻
5/18 Deans of Medicine in Canada are now women. When one woman rises, we all rise.
I am thrilled to announce that I have accepted the position of the founding Dean at the brand-new Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU -
@TorontoMet
) School of Medicine!
Official announcement here:
#TMUSoM
#MedEd
#MedSchoolOfTheFuture
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I literally worry every single day that my visible minority brother, who is homeless and has schizophrenia, is going to be killed by the police. I hope the
#BlackLivesMatter
movement changes things, I hope it makes the streets safer for people like my brother. Please.
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Today the city of Edmonton put 300 houseless people who were sheltered at the Edmonton Convention Centre on to the streets during our worst wave of
#COVID19AB
to date, throwing away belongings people couldn’t carry. 1/3
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Making the great department and school change this week. Heading into my first day of CCM fellowship at
@UCalgaryMed
on Monday.
@CritCareSociety
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2020 was bad but today I just found out my 2 yr old golden retriever has hip dysplasia. I know she is just a dog, but I love this thing and it makes me sad to think she will likely need bilateral hip replacements one day. I don’t want her to be in pain 😢. 2021 is “ruff” so far.
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Today is a day to remember every Medical Student that never got to become an MD, every Resident that died before their first day as an attending, and every Physician who felt they had no other option.
#YouMatter
#PhyscianSuicide
Take time to reflect on your wellness today. Reach out if you need support. YOU MATTER.
@CFMSFEMC
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To every resident who was about take
@Royal_College
exams this year. I’m sorry for your exhaustion from studying, for all the things in your life you have missed or delayed to prepare for this massive exam. We see you, we feel for you and your juniors are sorry this has happened.
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These factors can't be addressed by psychiatrists and outreach teams alone. It is a societal problem, a political problem, an urban and rural problem. It's a problem we all have a responsibility to solve. We all need to get "woke" like our psychiatrists have done. For Blake. 7/7
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To add to some confusion…this result is clearly positive. But my PCR test from this morning is Negative…🤷♀️. False positive Rapid or false negative PCR?
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1 year ago on this day, we learned that my brother Blake died from an overdose. Today is no longer Valentine’s Day, it’s been renamed
#BlakeDay
. Blake had this thing for always wearing a bandanna in the last 4 years of his life, as such, our family all wore one today too. 1/2
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My 3rd year of
#medschool
was horrible. Being 1000’s of kms away from my family when my brother became ill combined with bullying and harassment, made me have suicidal thoughts and I wanted to quit medicine entirely.
#BellLetsTaIk
1/4
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A donation page in his memory through the
@VGHFdn
has been setup at .
Donations will go to support the ACT Team that worked tirelessly to help Blake and continues to help people like him. Lets fund Mental Health properly.
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When you are so ready to rock that call shift tonight with
@CMOH_Alberta
by your side.
#bringit
#COVID19AB
Thanks
@madamepremier
for the shirt!
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Everyday the blows to Alberta doctors keep coming. It feels like it won’t stop.
As I’m becoming more senior in my residency, I am getting a lot more of “What are your future plans?” I don’t know what to say, but I’m actually afraid to stay in Alberta.
The government has filed its statement of defence in response to the Alberta Medical Association's claim that their failure to engage in arbitration constitutes a violation of freedom of association:
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Indigenous ceremony, customs and culture were illegal to practice in Canada until 1951, a mere 70 years ago. Tonight Amiskwaciwâskahikan / ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (
#YEG
) is glowing with a celebration of Indigenous peoples
@YegCanoeVolant
.
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Hey twitter. Meet my brother Blake. We hung out last week for the first time in nearly 3 years. Yesterday he also got his very own room and slept in his very own bed for the first time since Jan 2017. If you see him around Vancouver, be kind.
PS he watched the
#Raptors
game.
A
#WeTheNorth
Thread:
The
#WeTheNorth
victory is bitter sweet for me.
Growing up my oldest brother loved basketball, and his room was plastered with raptors posters. When I was 4 he taught my how to tie my first pair of “mini air” basketball shoes. 1/6
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Reflecting on my
#medschool
career I have:
1.Published 3 articles
2.Made friends at every Canadian medical school
3.Adovacted for better
#MedEd
for my peers
4.Added post-match MOTP spots
5.Fell in love
6.Joined th Army Reserves
7.Learned how to be a doctor
8.Became a leader
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Shout out to all the Resident Doctors who teach medical students, stand up for us, fuel us with food and coffee, lead by example, and help us to become better doctors. From all
#medstudents
, thank you!!
@ResidentDoctors
#ResidentAwarenessWeek
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If we wish to actually be the inclusive society that we tout we are, then we need to demand more. We need to actually create policy that is designed by and for disabled people, and hold organizations accountable to higher standards.
@AirPassRightsCA
4/4
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A thread about a bike.
Today I got a new road bike, and it’s been a while since I had a new stead.
Riding bikes used to be my literal life, I lived and breathed bikes. I woke up early on weekends in high school and through university just to be able to ride my bike longer. 1/7
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I’m looking forward to joining the
@AFMC_e
Board of Directors and working with the 17 Deans of Medicine to continue to improve medical education policy for the betterment of learners, patients and communities across Canada.
Pleased to introduce our new addition to the AFMC Board of Directors.
@KP_MD2018
!
Dr. Purdy is passionate about health equity/social accountability in medicine & possesses a wealth of knowledge in medical education policy. More info:
#MedEd
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If poverty and houseless are he root cause for a person’s illness, why do we as doctors discharge them from hospital without solving the actual cause for their illness?
Is that not only a failure of the “system” but also a failure as physicians?
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Day 2 home with cough and fever, awaiting my “within 3 days” phone call from public health as to whether or not I require testing. This is a long process for physicians and residents to wait to know when they can return to treating patients in a time of human resource needs.
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This mug explains how I feel about my icu shift last night. Also sadness.
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@grahamwalker
As a Canadian I don’t understand how it’s humanly possible to cost this much. Looking forwarding to learning about y’alls health system in a few months, but not sure I will ever understand this.
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@ghostcatbce
@kindermeg
Free from nearly every pharmacy in Canada. Just need to ask for a kit and ask them to teach you how to use it.
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