Listen to White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio One Vancouver 690 in Vancouver, BC, Canada

WCBA Dec 5, 2009 - Corridors of Medicine

Sat, Dec 5 Listen

In October the Quebec College of Physicians opined that euthanasia should be considered to be an appropriate option for end-of-life care in situations where death is both inevitable and imminent. It's a first for a Canadian medical college, and it's ignited debate in the corridors of medicine about euthanasia. This week, Dr. Brian Goldman talks to both sides. And then we venture into another kind of corridor: a Montreal ER where they've turned the hallways into defacto wards.

November 28, 2009 WCBA - Telling Tales

Sat, Nov 28 Listen

Neurologist Oliver Sacks started it all with his breakthrough book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. What followed is a parade of tv shows and books by doctors telling stories about their patients and how they cared for them. It's part education, part entertainment, part voyeurism. And it skirts - and often crosses - the line of one of medicine's prime directives: patient confidentiality. This week on White Coat, Black Art - to tell or not to tell....stories about your patients?

November 21, 2009 WCBA - The Unmentionables

Sat, Nov 21 Listen

We all get embarrassed by something, sometime. But when it involves your health, can you drum up the courage to confess it to your doctor? This week on White Coat, Black Art: the shameful or embarrassing conditions that stop you from getting help. Anti-depressants? Sexual health? Or what's up with your colon... we're taking a look.

November 14, 2009 WCBA - Moral Distress

Sat, Nov 14 Listen

Most of us can say there's at least one task at work we find distasteful or uncomfortable. But what if every day you faced the possibility of moral distress on the job? That's when you believe you know what's the ethical thing to do....but for one reason or another, can't make it happen. It's the reality for health care workers. And a shock for young nurses when they first come into the system.

November 7, 2009 WCBA - Reinventing Family Medicine

Sat, Nov 7 Listen

It's not hard to find something to complain about in our health care system. Many people have no family doctor, for instance. And those who do often have trouble getting in to see them when they need to. A problem made worse by the panic over swine flu. This week on White Coat, Black Art, we look at some innovative steps taken by GP's to give quicker, and better, care. Nurses in family practice? Max loading? Group visitations, anyone?

October 31, 2009 WCBA - Military Medicine

Sat, Oct 31 Listen

This week on White Coat, Black Art.....host Brian Goldman talks to those work on the REAL front lines of medicine, in Afghanistan, where he explores how the Hippocratic Oath sometimes clashes with the rules of engagement. And he finds out what doctors and nurses here at home can learn from medicine practiced under fire.

October 24, 2009 WCBA Violence & Paramedics

Sat, Oct 24 Listen

They come at a moment's notice to help when you're scared and in pain. Paramedics - they're modern knights in shining armour, right? Surprisingly not everyone seems to think that. Or at least they don't alway act that way. This week on White Coat, Black Art, host Brian Goldman walks a mile in the shoes of a couple of paramedics in Toronto. And some of what he saw was not pretty.

October 17, 2009 WCBA - Good Samaritans

Sat, Oct 17 Listen

We've all heard the call go out — is there a doctor in the house? And we take for granted that if there is one, he or she will spring into action. Because taking that Hippocratic Oath is like putting on the white coat and never being able to take it off. But is that fair? And what if the doctor doesn't really have the skills to deal with the problem...should they get involved anyhow?

WCBA Oct 10, 2009 (Mental Health)

Sat, Oct 10 Listen

This week, Dr. Brian Goldman takes a look at the medical system from a slightly different perspective...that of someone struggling with a mental illness. He finds that there's a definite 'restrain first, ask questions later" attitude out there. Some of it is grounded in stereotypes and ignorance. And some of it is based on bad experiences with people acting out in the throes of mental illness.

WCBA Oct 3, 2009 (Orphan Patients & DIY)

Sat, Oct 3 Listen

This week on White Coat, Black Art....a solution for Canada's perennial problem of orphan patients....the people who can't find a family doctor. There are about 4 million of them across the country. The Ontario government is opening up about 25 nurse-practioner run clinics, and that's got some GP's riled up. Plus, tales from the Do It Yourself world of surgery.

WCBA Sep 29, 2009 (Fat Doctors)

Sat, Sep 26 Listen

It's taboo these days to discriminate based on the colour of someone's skin, or where they're from; whether they're a man or a woman, and whether they love men or women. But there's some people we still make fun of with impunity. Fat people. And the insensitivity doesn't stop at the hospital door. This week, how the health system treats obesity. From the surgeons who operate, to the doctors who are fat themselves. That's on WCBA.

WCBA Sep 19, 2009 (Swinefeld)

Sat, Sep 19 Listen

We've heard a LOT about the global pandemic of swine flu in recent months. Experts are predicting a deadly second wave of the illness this fall. Accordingly, Canadian health officials are scrambling to put plans in place to handle the expected health crisis. It's costing us millions and millions of dollars. But not everyone believes it's necessary. This week, we ask the question: could this be a pandemic about nothing?

WCBA Sep 12, 2009 (Sleepy Residents)

Sat, Sep 12 Listen

A trainee doctor in Canada is expected to work 80, 90 -- sometimes even 100 hours a week -- week after week, year after year. And while they're doing that, they're taking care of you and your loved ones. In the US and European Union they've limited the hours residents can work, to help protect patients from serious medical errors. But not yet in Canada. In this week's edition of White Coat, Black Art, Dr. Brian Goldman talks to residents about their chronic overwork and sleep deprivation:

WCBA - 7 September 2009

Sun, Sep 6 Listen

Each year about 4000 Canadians take their own lives. For their families, suicide causes pain and turmoil. For those healthcare professionals who treat them, it leads to disturbing questions about why they didn’t see it coming. This week, we take a look at those who commit suicide from the point of view of those who care for them… and the survivors who care about them.

WCBA - 2 September 2009

Tue, Sep 1 Listen

Medicine has one of the highest rates of burnout. Experts say some 50% of medical professionals suffer from a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's not unexpected - the hours are long, the patients looking to you to solve their problems, and the stakes are very high if you can't. No medical professional wants to compromise patient care, but when they're burned out, it's pretty much inevitable. This week on White Coat, Black Art, burnout among your health professionals.

WCBA - 26 August 2009

Tue, Aug 25 Listen

Part two of our series on health care providers and patients who cross the line between the professional and the personal. What are the ethical rules of the road for doctors when it comes to financial and personal relationships with patients? Health professionals have codes of ethics. Should there be one for patients as well?

WCBA - 19 August 2009

Tue, Aug 18 Listen

Sometimes it's pretty straightforward: a nurse or doctor or physiotherapist should never get romantically involved with a patient. But what about dating a FORMER patient? Or accepting a gift for a job well done? Or hiring a patient to landscape the backyard? In reality, those seemingly black-and-white professional and ethical boundaries are often full of shades of grey....for both patients, and health care providers.

WCBA 12 August 2009

Tue, Aug 11 Listen

This week, Dr. Brian Goldman is digging up the dirt the on the dangers on Superbugs - inside our hospitals, and at least one surprising danger from without. An infection guru takes him to the scene of the grime...to show him where Superbugs lurk and how hospital staff are helping to make these invisible beasties right at home. And a lot of Canadian hospitals are re-cycling medical equiptment that was meant to be used only once. We talk to a doctor who says it's hazardous to our health.

WCBA - 5 August 2009

Tue, Aug 4 Listen

This week, a little medicine and a little understanding for men when it comes to their health. Dr. Brian Goldman talks to a family doctor about how she uses scare tactics to make even the toughest guys take their medicine. Don't like the thought of using fear as a stick? A leading specialist in men's health says why not try a carrot -- drugs like Viagra -- that give men a potent incentive to follow doctor's orders.

WCBA - July 29, 2009

Tue, Jul 28 Listen

Canada is in desperate need of more doctors, but spots in medical schools are tight. Only about one in ten applicants get in the door. The rest are left to pursue other careers or go to medical school in other countries. But when they want to come home to practice, they face the same hoops as foreign students when trying to get the rare residency spots. This week on White Coat, Black Art, Brian goes to Ireland to talk to two Canadian medical students who had to leave to get into...

WCBA - 22 July 2009

Tue, Jul 21 Listen

Would you see through a fib told by your doctor? Or vice versa? This week Dr. Brian Goldman talks to a family doc and a bioethicist about deception and medicine. And some patients confess to falsehoods they've told their doctor.

WCBA - 15 July 2009

Tue, Jul 14 Listen

Much of the time in medicine, patients take what they are offered. That's generally the way the system works. But what if you're not comfortable with your doctor....or you're not entirely convinced they know what they're talking about? Maybe it's time for a second opinion. This week, Dr. Brian Goldman, talks to a couple of ‘go-to’ surgeons about the art of the second opinion – and he even gets a few tips from the ‘guru’ of second opinions from the world of home renovation…'Mike' Holmes on...

WCBA - 8 July 2009

Tue, Jul 7 Listen

When you’re life is on the line which would you prefer: yesterday’s drug or something newer and snazzier? You’ll find out that what you get depends on where you live. This week Dr. Brian Goldman takes a look at some critical steps that take a new drug from the lab to the shelves of your local pharmacy.

WCBA - 1 July 2009

Tue, Jun 30 Listen

This week, Dr. Brian Goldman visits a hospital Delivery Room to find the answer to the question that vexes many pregnant women....... why most of their babies will be delivered by a total stranger instead of their own ob-gyn. And he finds out what lengths some Obstetricians will go to, to try to have their patients deliver while they're on duty.

White Coat, Black Art (Science-Technology)