Category: Canada

I wanted to be a rural doctor in Canada. But our medical education system works against it

The Ottawa Citizen

Emma Cronk

Dear Perth residents, I am sorry.

My name is Emma Cronk, and I was raised on my parents’ 2,000-acre ranch in Parham, Ont., north of Kingston. I am currently a family medicine resident physician in Atlanta, Georgia at Emory University.

I tried for two application cycles for medical school in Canada, and applied broadly: from Ontario medical schools, to the east coast at Memorial University, to the west coast at University of British Columbia. After two years of rejection letters, I decided to apply internationally at Ross University School of Medicine in the Caribbean. I had come to realize that a lot of Canadian students were following this same path. . . [Full text]

‘Reluctant to prescribe’: Local clinic says women wait weeks to access abortion pill

The executive director of the SHORE Centres says many family doctors are still not prescribing the pill

CBC News

Paula Duhatschek

A local sexual health resource centre says it’s experiencing so much demand for the abortion pill, Mifegymiso, that patients often must wait two to three weeks to get it. 

Mifegymiso is the brand name for the combination of two pills that is used to terminate pregnancies—but only up to nine weeks along. . .[Full text]

Alberta medical regulator wants College of Family Physicians of Canada to help improve abortion pill access

The Globe and Mail

Carly Weeks

Alberta’s medical regulator is calling on the college representing Canada’s family doctors to help it boost prescribing rates of the abortion pill, saying the current poor access in the province is putting patients at risk . . .

. . . A Globe and Mail investigation on Saturday revealed that the majority of abortion-pill prescriptions across Canada are being written at abortion clinics, which are primarily located in large urban centres. . .[Full text]

App that connects users with abortion providers launches across Canada

Choice Connect app was first released locally and in southwestern Ontario in 2017

CBC News

A smartphone app that matches people with their nearest abortion provider launches across Canada on Wednesday.

The web-based app was developed by Waterloo region’s Shore Centre, a sexual health resource centre. 

Choice Connect was developed with the help of Kitchener’s Zeitspace and was first launched in southwestern Ontario in 2017. . . [Full text]

Conscience fight moves to the political arena

The Catholic Register

Michael Swan

Having lost twice in court, the battle for conscience rights for health care workers in Ontario is now a political battle.

“We feel we really need legislation,” said Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada executive director Deacon Larry Worthen. “It’s basically for us a call to action.”

The latest setback came May 15 when the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling upheld a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) requirement that doctors in the province must give referral for medical services such as assisted dying and abortion that conflict with their moral or religious beliefs. . . [Full text]