Shawn Whatley, Author at shawn whatley md

Doctors’ Nightmares & CPSO Reviews (Not a COVID Post)

Nightmares come in themes.

Feeling chased and chased-by-an-animal remain popular with most dreamers.

My demented dreams make me run away in slow motion.

Death, dying, and falling are common also.

Naked at a party, writing an exam for a course you did not take, and finding out that you are still one credit short for graduation haunt students. Your diploma is a fraud!

Doctors’ Nightmares

Doctors add medical variations to the themes.

I often show up for an emergency shift and cannot find the charts. The electronic tracking board is out of focus and in Arabic. The overhead page mumbles my name.

I am surrounded by nurses whose names I cannot remember; wandering in corridors that lead outside or into boardrooms; and seeing patients who frown and vomit.

Wait a second. Was I asleep?

In real life, doctors fear Continue reading “Doctors’ Nightmares & CPSO Reviews (Not a COVID Post)”

Time to End the COVID Shutdown

The COVID shutdown was never meant to save lives directly. It was meant to save the medical system, and hopefully, save lives in the process.

Many people sounded the alarm on COVID in January and February. I raised concerns on Feb 2nd and received virtual pats on my head and supercilious smiles.

The Canadian government took the calm and rational approach. That is, do almost nothing.

Planeloads of passengers continued to pour in from countries at the epicentre of the pandemic. We pointed at America, stuck out our tongues, and made funny faces at the orange man, when he banned foreign travel.

COVID Shutdown

When we finally decided to do something, we closed down the whole country. Families now get fined for rollerblading in empty parking lots.

We had asked government to do what it cannot: save us all.

Hospitals and medical clinics have had time to develop new treatment paths, screening clinics, and to ramp up virtual medicine. We are now ready for nuclear fallout, the zombie apocalypse, and World War Z, let alone a major respiratory outbreak.

Treatment Worse Than Disease?

Our too late, and possibly too aggressive, response is now causing harm. Our system could barely cope with the long waits for care, before the shut down. Patients were already dying waiting for care (see here also). Continue reading “Time to End the COVID Shutdown”

COVID, Quarantine, and an Interview About Medicare

Calling out from quarantine. If Newton could accomplish his best work in his 20s during the Black Death, then I have no excuse to not finish my book. Neither do you.

But I am no Newton.

What we lack in talent, we make up with effort.

So, I have been in front of a screen by 0715 each day for the last month. Bum gets sore by supper and forces me to walk around a bit. An evening shift of editing and reading other people’s stuff inspires me to do better the next day.

I look forward to sunrise with coffee and keyboard. So much for sabbatical. Or is it a real one after all?

Here’s an article I wrote for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute: How We Got in a COVID-19 Fix and How to Start to Get Out.

Actually, with is more accurate. I wrote it with them. They are brilliant. It made the cover feature for March, Inside Policy.

And here is an interview I did in the olden days pre-COVID, a few weeks ago. Second Street is a good organization. They focus on people first to influence policy.

Please forgive my Bob and Doug McKenzie pose for the opening shot. It took years to perfect.

Continue reading “COVID, Quarantine, and an Interview About Medicare”