CMAJ Podcasts

Death by suicide during the perinatal period has been understudied in Canada. Little is known about the true extent of the problem or the steps that can be taken to prevent it. In this interview, Dr. Sophie Grigoriadis explains the results of research on the characteristics and patterns of perinatal suicide. Dr. Grigoriadis and her co-authors published a study in CMAJ that examined maternal suicid...

In this interview, Dr. Olga Theou and Dr. Kenneth Rockwood discuss their research looking at the association between sedentary time and mortality across levels of frailty. Olga Theou is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University and geriatric medicine scientist for the Nova Scotia Health Authority. Dr. Kenneth Rockwood is a professor of geriatric medicine and neur...

Dr. Shannon Chun, 2017 graduate from Queen's University medical school, shares a memorable encounter with a patient that made him question who the expert really is. The story is true but some details have been changed to protect the identity of the family. His article, titled "The Expert", was published in the CMAJ. The story received an honourable mention for the 2016 Annual Underg...

Dr. Paul Atkison, pediatrician and transplant specialist at the London Health Sciences Centre Children's Hospital, shares why one particular patient remains close to his heart. The story is true. His article, titled "Lessons from a child", was published in the CMAJ. The story is read by Dr. Ken Flegel, senior editor for CMAJ.Full article: www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.161309--...

In this interview, Dr. Stephen Mawdsley takes a look back at the early 1950s when gamma globulin was being tested for the prevention of polio. He explains how successful publicity ultimately compromised the integrity of the clinical trial. Dr. Stephen Mawdsley is Wellcome Trust Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland and specializes in the history of American race, medicine,...

Ms. Donna Thomson, the parent of two adult children, one with severe disabilities, shares some of the insights she has gained after 28 years of caregiving and parenting. She reads her Humanities article, published in CMAJ, called "On becoming a full partner in care." The article is an abbreviated version of a lecture she presented at the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Development...

Dr. May ElSherif discusses the randomized control trial of a Canadian Ebola vaccine that was developed at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada. Dr. ElSherif is an international medical graduate specialized in medical microbiology and research associate at the Dalhousie University Canadian Center for Vaccinology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dr. ElSherif and her co-authors recently p...

Dr. Dominika Jegen, a rural and remote family doctor and assistant professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, offers a glimpse of life as a fly-in physician in the Northwest Territories. She tells us about her encounter with one memorable patient. The story is true. Her article, titled "A reflection on practising medicine 'up North', was published in the CMAJ.Full article...

Interview with Giulia Muraca, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health and a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar. Ms. Muraca published a research article in the CMAJ in which she and her co-authors looked at the rates of severe outcomes in mom and baby after use of forceps and/or vacuum at midpelvic station. They then compared these rates with cesarea...

Benjamin Hull Chin-Yee, a medical student at the University of Toronto, shares his feelings after finding a photograph of his great grand-mother and a copy of her case history. Mr. Chin-Yee authored an article published in the CMAJ called "Two documents." He reads it for listeners in this podcast. The story is true. Full article: www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.161287----------------...

In this interview, Dr. Sharra Vostral, associate professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, explains how toxic shock and tampons motivated women to speak out in the 1980s. She takes listeners through the fascinating history of tampons and laboratory testing. Full article: www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.161479To request a transcript of...

Listen to this audio reading of a CMAJ Humanities Encounters article titled Calling. It is written and read by Dr. Janice Mulder, Palliative Care Consultant and a retired physician who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the article, Dr. Mulder tells listeners about a particularly memorable encounter with a patient. The story is true. Full article: www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.161264-----------...

The new Canadian guideline presents evidence-based recommendations for prescribing of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain, including maximum dose recommendations, avoiding opioids in high risk populations, and guidance for tapering patients receiving high doses. Dr. Jason Busse, Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesia at McMaster University and researcher with the Michael G. DeGroote N...

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has reviewed the latest literature evidence and published a guideline in the CMAJ on screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in adults. Dr. Roland Grad, task force member, practicing family physician and associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, explains the task force’s recommendations on screening for HCV.Full article: ww...

Interview with Dr. Natasha Saunders, general paediatrician and associate scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children and health services researcher at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), in Toronto. In their research article, Dr. Saunders and her co-authors wanted to verify the immigrant paradox, which states that even though immigrants may be more socially disadvantaged, they t...

Barbara Sibbald, news and humanities editor for CMAJ, reads the Humanities Encounters article "Rendez-vous." The article is written by Diana Kim, a medical student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.In the article, Diana tells the story of her father’s death. She finds that a final goodbye takes years and several patients. The story won an honourable mention from the...

Interview with Dr. Jacob Udell, cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital, clinician-scientist at the Women’s College Research Institute and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Udell and his co-authors published a research study in CMAJ in which they investigated whether unsuccessful fertility therapy in wom...

Jay Rankin, news intern for CMAJ, reads the Humanities Encounters article "Time and space." The article is written by Michael Lang, doctoral student at the University of Calgary and consultant in engagement and patient experience with Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Alberta. In the article, Mr. Lang recounts the time he encouraged his friend Julie, a medical resident, to share her ex...

Interview with Dr. Andrea Boggild, clinical director in the Tropical Disease Unit at the Toronto General Hospital, and assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. In this podcast Dr. Boggild gives practical advice about preventing and diagnosing Zika virus in Canada. She also shares the findings of the research article she co-authored that analyzed data coming f...

Interview with Dr. Brett Thombs, professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University and senior investigator of the Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. He is also chair-elect of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and chair of the tobacco guideline working group. In their guideline published in the CMAJ, Dr. Thombs and the Task Force reviewed the evidence...

Interview with Dr. Steve Morgan, professor of health policy at the University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health and Dr. Nav Persaud, physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Morgan, Dr. Persaud and their co-authors published a research article in CMAJ in which...

How do lifestyle factors influence breast cancer prognosis? In a review article published in the CMAJ, Dr. Ellen Warner and Ms. Julia Hamer identify which lifestyle changes can be recommended to patients as an adjunct to standard breast cancer treatments, to reduce their risk of distant recurrence and death. Dr. Warner is a medical oncologist at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Scienc...

Jay Rankin, news intern for CMAJ, reads the Humanities Encounters article "TB or not TB". The article is written by Adam Komorowski, a second-year medical student at the University of Limerick in Ireland. In the article, Mr. Komorowski describes the time he tested positive for tuberculosis. The story is true. Full article: www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.160828-----------------------...

Interview with Dr. Nathalie Auger, principal scientist at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CHUM) and associate clinical professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal and with Dr. Brian Potter, clinical investigator and interventional cardiologist at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, and assistant clinical professor with the department...

Interview with Dr. Ian Kitai, tuberculosis specialist with the Hospital for Sick Children and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto School of Medicine. Dr. Kitai co-authored a review article on the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis in children. Tuberculosis is generally uncommon in children and adolescents in Canada, but among some populations we s...