November 11: An Evening with Dr. Meb Rashid

Death. Destruction. Disease. Disability. Displacement.

As we reflect on the aforementioned consequences of war this Remembrance Day, you are invited to join us in The Doctors’ Lounge to reflect on the ongoing worldwide plight of refugees, through the lens of caring for them in our practices in Toronto.

Our guide for the evening will be Dr. Meb Rashid, Medical Director of the Crossroads Clinic at Women’s College Hospital.

Dr. Rashid is a recent recipient of the OMA Presidential Award which is given annually to a member of the OMA in recognition of their exceptional and long-lasting humanitarian service to the greater community, within Ontario or elsewhere.

Please join us for an examination of a tragic aspect of our chaotic world that has been displaced by other news of the day, and give yourself the opportunity to gather clinical pearls on managing this vulnerable population.

October 14: An Evening with Dr. Patricia Lakin-Thomas

November’s darkness looms, and with it, an annual ritual: the changing of the clock.

Some rituals die a natural death.

Others need the assistance of the enlightened.

The position of the Canadian Society for Chronobiology is that, based on current knowledge of chronobiology, permanent Standard Time is a wiser and healthier choice than our present situation.

This position was also recently endorsed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Should the OMA support this position?

You are cordially invited to consider that question

Presenting the arguments in favour of this premise on behalf of the CSC will be Dr. Patricia Lakin- Thomas , Principal Investigator at York University’s Clocklab .

The rhythms of  life demand respect, especially in the COVID-19 era.

The cost of disregarding basic biology can be measured in our health.

Please join us for a lively discussion.

September 16: An Evening With Nikola Danaylov

 The future.

Two words with new meaning since COVID-19 overturned  our world.

What is the future, but a story we tell ourselves?

How do we as physicians tell patients that story, after they tell us theirs?

What have we learned from physicians telling stories for thousands of years, stories that today seem preposterous? What stories were we telling ourselves and our patients only six months ago that today seem ridiculous?

The present is just the future’s past, and we are living it daily.

The present is a gift, one that we can share with each other.

You and a guest are invited to share the gifts of our distinguished guest as we explore the future with futurist Nikola Danaylov, bestselling author of Conversations with the Future .

Please join us as we take the Doctors’ Lounge into the future, virtually, plunging into the unknown with expert guidance.

Wednesday February 26: An Evening with Dr. Sonu Gaind

Thank you to Dr. K. Sonu Gaind for guiding us through an enlightening discussion on the dark topic of MAID for mental health patients. See: https://www.eagmaid.org/
Further reading at:

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/k-sonu-gaind-theres-a-price-to-pay-for-providing-maid-to-those-with-mental-illness

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/02/24/assisted-suicide-we-are-poised-to-soon-be-ending-lives-of-nondying-people.html

Recent article of interest: https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-assisted-dying-maid-legislation-medical-providers-1.5459942

A musical interlude: https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201900489

Tuesday January 21: An Evening with Drs. Johane Allard & Susy Hota

Thank you to Drs Johane Allard  and Susy Hota of the University of Toronto Microbiota Therapeutics Outcomes Program (MTOP) for kicking off our 16th year in the Doctors' Lounge with an elucidating overview of local Fecal Microbial Transplant (FMT) research.

FMT research can only move forward with the volunteer work of donors and subjects. Please consider recruiting your patients for either cause.

A sampling of further reading to reflect on “you” your microbiome :

We know where babies come from, but where does their microbiome come from?

What is the feces for FMTs made of?

A word on probiotics , some industry sponsored evidence- based recommendations

A provocative article on how modern morbidity may be microbiome based and transmissible

Some Canadian content on cancer & the microbiome and some concerns about FMT

An example of interconnection: the gut & CKD

Auto-brewery syndrome: rare but interesting

Why can you buy bacteria at the health food store, but you can’t buy worms? Some interesting Canadian involvement in a theory that has led to an underground movement

Canadian insights on antibiotics and the brain.
A buzzword for the future: psychobiotics !

FMT for mood: preliminary evidence and a good review

BIG (brain/immmune/gut) ideas : mood and brain health

The microbiome & the immune system: the role of antibiotics

An interestin perspective on an ounce of prevention: https://isappscience.org/a-miracle-treatment-or-not/

December 9: An Evening with Drs. Emma Hapke & Paul Uy

Thank you to Drs. Hapke and Uy for giving us a hopeful glimpse into the therapeutic future.
See: https://maps.org/

November 11: Annual Remembrance Day Program

Thank you to all who braved a prematurely snowy Remembrance Day to explore the proposal by Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, that  suggested that Holocaust education become a requirement for medical students.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

A RECENT ARTICLE OF RELEVANCE (use Google translate): When Medicine Serves Evil

GOLD FOUNDATION: ON TEACHING MEDICAL STUDENTS

A RECENT CANADIAN SURVEY ON HOLOCAUST AWARENESS

MEDICINE & THE HOLOCAUST  WEBSITES:

MIMEH (Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and  the Holocaust)

CMATH ( Center for Medicine After The Holocaust)

USEFUL VIDEOS:

Dr. Sheena Eagan

Dr. Michael Grodin

DR. CAPLAN

SECOND INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS WORKSHOP ON MEDICINE IN THE HOLOCAUST AND BEYOND

Modern Physicians Deal With The Horrors of Their Legacy:

The Nuremberg 2012 Declaration (Apology by the German Medical Association)

A Commentary in the Lancet

Japanese physicians struggle with their legacy (Unit 731)

N=1 The story of Dr. Brandt