About five years ago Dr. Tyler Smith and his family started to make a concerted effort to include more plant-based protein in their diets. It was a matter of the stars aligning. Dr. Smith has familial hypercholesterolemia anemia. He takes medicine for this inherited condition and attends the Healthy Heart Cardiac Prevention Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital. It was there that a dietician reviewed his eating habits. “She flagged that … Read More
Recruiting underway for next VCH Physician Leadership Mentorship Program
Over nine months in 2023/24, eight pairs of VCH physicians met as part of the VCH Physician Leadership Mentorship Program that is supported by the Facility Engagement Initiative. The program, which aims to assist aspiring or new/emerging physician leaders from equity-deserving groups, received great reviews from both mentees and mentors and is now recruiting for its next cohort. Interested physicians can learn more and apply here. Mentors for this cohort … Read More
Profiling our task groups and committees: Clinical Systems Transformation
Our CST Task Group has been active since 2019; it was formed to ensure the physician voice was heard in the development of CST Cerner. Its members now work to ensure the successful sustainment of CST at VGH and UBC Hospital and to support the upcoming rollout of CST at GF Strong. The group has been chaired by Dr. Raheem Kherani for several years; other VPSA members who sit on … Read More
The benefits of a plant-based diet: A general internist adds his voice
“It doesn’t have to be all or nothing—that’s what I tell family or friends who are curious about plant-based diets,” said Dr. Harpinder Nagi, who has been following a vegan diet for the past seven or more years. “I was an omnivore for many years as well as a vegetarian. But I educated myself about the environmental impacts of mass agriculture and animal welfare and knew I had to change.” … Read More
Wellness survey responses now being analyzed
A huge thank you to the over 1,000 physicians who took part in our recent VCH-wide wellness survey; in an age of survey and email fatigue, this was a tremendous accomplishment. The results are now being compiled and we look forward to sharing the results with you as soon as they are available, likely in the fall. Vancouver Acute and Vancouver Community physicians accounted for over 600 of the responses. … Read More