Speculum

Have you ever had a loved one that was suicidal? Did you know what to do in that situation? Due to the stigma that still surrounds mental health, it is often very difficult to talk about mental health issues with others. In this episode of "Speculum," Abby Arnold, a former crisis line worker gives health care professionals and the general population alike advice on how to talk down a person in crisis. Abby also walks us through what may happen if you choose to call a crisis line, what it's like to be a crisis line worker, and the self-care that is necessary to to continue that kind of work.

"Helping Out People Exploited," better known as HOPE Outreach in the Okanagan, is an organization dedicated to providing services to the homeless and/or sexually exploited women in downtown Kelowna. In this episode of Speculum, we hear from Chase Crisfield, a volunteer with HOPE Outreach, about what HOPE does and how the health care community and general population can help support our local homeless population. Tune in to hear about safe injection services in Kelowna, what happens when HOPE volunteers go on their nightly walks downtown, information about the benefit and use of naloxone kits, and how you can contribute to providing hope to these exploited people. Resources at my website.

Developed in the fall of 2015, Trans Care BC exists to provide information about gender-affirming care to health care providers and stakeholders in the transgender community alike. They work tirelessly to create trans support networks throughout the province, educate health care providers on primary care for trans people, link trans individuals and their friends and family to resources and information, and more. Their ultimate goal is to make gender affirming care accessible for people of all genders in British Columbia. What are they doing to meet this goal? How can health care providers learn and practice optimal gender-affirming care? For the answers to these questions, tune in to this episode of "Speculum" where I talk to the lovely Gwen Haworth, Education Project Manager at Trans Care BC.

In the newest episode of "Speculum," I speak with Teri Plante, a Health Outreach Nurse with Interior Health who has special interests in HIV screening and education. We discuss her role as a Health Outreach nurse, providing education and harm reduction while being mindful to a patient's social determinants of health. For all the budding health care professionals like myself (or the seasoned ones that could use an update), Teri also gives pointers on how to have effective discussions about sexual health with patients of any age group.

For more information on the Health Outreach Team at Interior Health, please visit www.interiorhealth.ca/YourCare/HIVHealthOutreach.

According to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), as of 2017, there were 4,597 female physicians compared to 3,010 male physicians under 35 years of age in Canada. This is compared to 2,581 female physicians and 10,301 physicians above the age of 65 in Canada in 2017. Could it be that medicine is a more socially acceptable career for women today than it was 50 years ago? If so, does that mean that there is less sexism rooted within society today that previously discouraged women from becoming doctors? Perhaps not.

In the pilot episode of the "Speculum" podcast, I discuss sexism within the medical community with three of my female colleagues. Within this episode we cover situations in which we have experienced sexism during or related to our medical training, including before medical school, within the classroom setting, and out-and-about in the medical community (ie. In hospitals, general practitioner's offices, etc.)

Perhaps sexism is not dead in the world of medicine. What do you think we can do about that?

Disclaimer: There are moments in this podcast where the participants fall into cis-normative language.  This was purely by accident and there was no intention to exclude or offend people that do not identify as cisgender. Apologies in advance.

Welcome to the "Speculum" Series