Recently, my classmate Eric Busto coordinated a talk on providing safe care to patients with Autism. There were tons of great tips provided. With Eric’s help, I reached out to an expert in autism care for more information. Stephanie Jull is the Director of Programming at the Canucks Autism Network (CAN), has a PhD in Special Education and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.  At CAN, Stephanie oversees program development, program partnerships, and training initiatives to build capacity.

Eric Busto is a candidate for Class of 2019, has been a long time volunteer at CAN and was instrumental in formulating the interview questions, conducting the background research and writing the summary below.

I like to refer to Matthew McAdam as the "most zen person" in our class. It is hard to even imagine him upset. One day during lunch, he told me about his training as meditation instructor and about his current project bringing meditation to health care providers.

I reached out hoping to learn more about meditation, mindfulness and what role it could play in medicine.

As a refugee from war-torn El Salvador, the recent developments in the United States have struck a deep, personal nerve for me. The other day, just before the start of lecture, our classmates were talking about current events. During this conversation, we wondered when should we speak out as physicians and when we should hold our personal views back.

To answer these questions I turned to a physician that has shared and defended his views publicly: a belief in a publicly funded healthcare system, in diversity in leadership positions, in equality and inclusivity in medicine and in increased support for rural medicine. Dr Alan Ruddiman is a family physician, who was trained in South Africa (during a time of heavy political upheaval), has worked as a rural doctor in the Okanagan Valley, has served as a board member for Doctors of BC and is the current president of Doctors of BC.

The “DUDES Club” started in August 2010 when 70 men in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver attended a community forum asking for more services specifically for men. DUDES is an acronym that stands for Downtown Urban knights Defending Equality and Solidarity. It was a name created by the members that attend.

Dr Paul Gross is a family physician, founding member of DUDES club and the current health director for the program. The podcast captures their story.

The PHQ-9 (a questionnaire that screens for depression) looks for symptoms other than just mood. It asks about appetite, sleep, weight changes and other symptoms. During a lecture on depression and the PHQ-9, a friend turned to me and jokingly said "weight changes, changes in sleep, changes in mood, changes in appetite: med school has given us all depression!"

Sadly, his statement has more truth I had originally appreciated. To learn more about mental health throughout our training, I turned to Kelly Zerr and Jordan Yeo. Both are candidates for the class of 2019 and members of MIND team (Mental Illness Network for Destigmatization).

*WARNING: This episode contains talk of depression and suicide.

It is rare to have a conversation that completely changes your opinion about an issue. Maybe Dr Perry is just that convincing. In this talk, Dr Perry and I chat about the role the pharmaceutical industry plays in our education and I learn to have a more critical view of industry sponsored educational events. Dr Perry is a graduate from McGill University Medical School, is a trained internist and a clinical pharmacologist.  Some notable positions include Opposition Health Critic, Minister for Advanced Education, Training & Technology, MLA, Instructor and Therapeutics Initiative contributor.

Website link: http://ruleoutpodcast.com/ep-8-pharmaceutical-influence-do-you-really-need-a-free-sandwich/ 

Victoria Zhang (left) and Sarah Weicker (right) are two amazing classmates in my medical class, Class of 2019. Through research, advocacy and strategic planning, these two hard-workers were able to get a "gender dysphoria" lecture inserted permanently into our curriculum. They have eloquently pushed for more content and the faculty has listened: more changes are likely to come. This episode looks at how much time we spend on the subject, what is missing and what we can do to be better students.

Link: http://ruleoutpodcast.com/ep-5-lgbtq-topics-in-the-medical-curriculum/ 

Greg Lee Son (left) and Lawrence Jarike (right) are advisers at MD Financial. Greg is an Early Career Specialist and LJ is a Financial Consultant. They took some time to talk to me about student debt and the stress it causes. This episode looks at what is the average debt, how long does it take to pay back and tips to keep it as low as possible.

Link: http://ruleoutpodcast.com/ep-5-student-debt-what-every-med-student-should-know/ 

Matthew Ramsey is a father of two with 20 years of experience in media rooms across the province including producer at CBC and journalist at the Province. He is currently the Director of Strategic Communications at UBC. This is a title which includes strategic planning and media training for executives and professionals like doctors. This episode looks at what is fair game, what to avoid and how to create productive partnerships. 

Link: http://ruleoutpodcast.com/ep-4-what-future-doctors-should-know-before-working-with-the-media/ 

Bill Wong is currently an MD Candidate, Class of 2019 at UBC. Prior to medical school he finished three years of a BSc in Chemistry at UBC. He runs varsity track and field, jumping hurdles at impressive speeds.This podcast looks at how Bill manages to compete at an elite level while balancing studies.

Link: http://ruleoutpodcast.com/ep-3-staying-fit-while-in-medical-school-tips-from-a-varsity-athlete/