Conversations with Jillian

Join host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC as she speaks with P. Ronan O’Connell, MD, FRCSC (Hon) about the importance of mentorship for surgeons-in-training and early career physicians. They also touch on the experience of bearing witness to changes in medicine throughout his career, as well as insights about the future of medical practice for physicians and surgeons. Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for watching this video. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Professor O’Connell. 

Professor O’Connell is Emeritus Professor of Surgery at University College Dublin and former president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). In recent years, Prof. O’Connell led the creation of the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, making the College a degree-granting organization. He was instrumental in developing a strategy to reduce the incidence of obstetrical injury to the pelvic floor and is an expert in the surgical treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer – a technically challenging area of surgical oncology. In September 2023, Professor O’Connell became an Honorary Fellow in the Division of Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. 

Join host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC as she speaks with Jamiu Busari, MD, FRCSC (Hon) about his career path in medicine and his passion for the science of teaching in medical education. They also discuss Dr. Busari’s approach and work in the equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) space.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for watching this video. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Busari.

Dr. Jamiu Busari is a pediatrician and dean at Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba. He is widely recognized for unwavering leadership in health care and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). He is a founding investigator with the Equity in Health System (EqHS) Lab, a transdisciplinary team working to address racism, discrimination, and social injustice in the health system; and a founding member and director of the lab’s international series, Critical Dialogues for Action (CDFA), a monthly dialogue on EDI that focuses on identifying practical steps to bring about meaningful change. In September 2023, Dr. Busari became an Honorary Fellow in the Division of Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Join host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC as she speaks with Jan Christilaw, MD, FRCSC about an impactful experience in her formative years influenced her approach to medicine: “What we need in medicine is not brilliant people, it’s human people.”. Their conversation also touches on the importance of having interests outside of medicine to enable physicians to see themselves in the context of their whole lives and not solely through the lens of their practice. Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for watching this video. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Christilaw. 

Dr. Jan Christilaw is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist who practiced in White Rock-Surrey, British Columbia for over 20 years. She served as President of BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre from 2008 to 2017 and, as of 2017, was appointed to the Order of Canada for her work in obstetrics nationally and internationally. She is a Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and serves as the Director of Women’s Health with the Canadian Network for International Surgery, an organization that aims to improve health and safety through capacity building and skills training in low-income countries.  

Join host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC as she speaks with Garry Willard, MD, FRCPC about the extraordinary experience of practicing medicine in a war zone during the Vietnam War and how it forever shaped his world view and identity as a clinician. They also discuss Dr. Willard’s recollections as a battlefield surgeon and the similarities of the COVID pandemic on healthcare professions to battles of the past.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for watching this video. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Willard.

Trained as a general surgeon, Dr. Garry Willard also practiced vascular and trauma surgery during his career. He holds a Royal College Fellowship from Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the International College of Surgeons (FICS). Among other professional associations, he is a Life Member of the Ontario Medical Association and the New York Academy of Science. He was a Founding Member of the American Trauma Society.

Join host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC as she speaks with Cornelia (Nel) Wieman, MSc, MD, about the importance of changing the physician mindset to accept that when you are sick, you “can’t fix it yourself”, and you can seek help to begin the journey of healing. They also discussed the structural barriers facing physicians when reentering practice after treatment for their illness.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for watching this video. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Wieman.

 Dr. Nel Wieman is a Psychiatrist and the Acting Chief Medical Officer at First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), the first and only provincial First Nations health authority in Canada. The FNHA works with British Columbia First Nations, government partners and others to improve health outcomes for BC First Nations people.

Join host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC, as she speaks with two physicians about their shared journey of organ donation: one as a living donor and the other as the recipient. Listen to their story about when the healer became the patient and the deliberations of a colleague who decided to donate the life-saving organ.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for watching this video. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Faughnan and Dr. Stewart. 

Dr. Marie Faughnan is a Respirologist and Associate Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. 

Dr. Robert Stewart is a Urologist and a kidney transplant surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Faughnan and Dr. Stewart are Associate Professors at the University of Toronto.

Host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC and guest Mamta Gautam, MD, FRCPC reflect upon the insights shared by the four Fellows featured in the four-episode special series, Finding a way back to balance: Wisdom from physician artists. Together Jillian and Mamta explore common themes such as the challenges facing women in medicine, the contribution of the arts and humanities to patient care, as well as the importance of nurturing art for personal and professional wellbeing.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for listening to this podcast. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Gautam. 

Dr. Mamta Gautam is an internationally renowned psychiatrist, consultant, certified coach, author and speaker. A pioneer in physician health and well-being since 1990, she is known as the “The Doctor’s Doctor”. Dr. Gautam is President and CEO of PEAK MD, a company that focuses on enhancing Leadership Development and Leadership Resilience.

In the final episode of a special series entitled, Finding a way back to balance: Wisdom from physician artists, host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC speaks with two physicians about their artistic interests.

In the first interview, Dr. Lucie Filteau shares how her Lego building hobby transitioned from a creative way to connect with family into a mindful and restorative activity for her own well-being. 

In the second interview, Dr. Claude Mercier explains how his passion for jazz music and the tenor saxophone enable him to relieve the everyday pressures of medicine and safeguard his mental health.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for listening to this podcast. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Filteau and Dr. Mercier. 

Dr. Lucie Filteau is an anesthesiologist at The Ottawa Hospital and currently serves as the President of the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society. Dr. Claude Mercier is a pediatric neurosurgeon and Clinical Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Neurosciences at the Université de Montréal.

In the second episode of a special series entitled, Finding a way back to balance: Wisdom from physician artists, host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC speaks with Penelope Rampersad, MD, FRCPC, about her lifelong pursuit of artistry through dance.

Together they explore the importance of nurturing interests outside of medicine and creating healthy boundaries to be able to pursue them. The discussion also touches on inclusivity: challenges within medical systems and actions to create fair environments. Lastly, they talk about the experiences of burnout and its impact on physicians, patients and institutions.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for listening to this podcast. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Dr. Rampersad.

Dr. Rampersad is a critical care cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. A student of dance since childhood, she later trained with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York and contemplated a career as a professional dancer while concurrently attending medical school.

In the first episode of a special series entitled, Finding a way back to balance: Wisdom from physician artists, host Jillian Horton, MD, FRCPC speaks with Anne Hennessy, MD, FRCPC, about her passion for painting.

Together they discuss the importance of self-care and (re)discovery of one’s human side through play that physicians can often set aside. They also explore being mindful to create space for a pursuit that brings joy so that in times of struggle or great difficulty, physicians can find their way “back to balance.”

Dr. Hennessy is a community-based psychiatrist and consultant to Psychogeriatric Outreach at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre in Ottawa. She is a clinical lecturer with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and teaches mindfulness-based coping to caregivers who have partners with dementia.

Royal College members: you can earn 0.5 MOC Section 2 credits for listening to this podcast. Look forward to more credits as you apply reflections to the issues brought forward by Anne.