I’m an anesthesiologist who did a Masters in interprofessional education and team dynamics

Here’s why bad takes like this from surgeons are not only disrespectful but also potentially

HARMFUL

1/

https://twitter.com/DrAlonAltman/status/1552650744150507520

The surgical procedure may be short&sweet but the patient may be

very sick
have multiple co-morbidities
be anxious
have previous trauma

or

have a number of other reasons that require

a careful,gentle,quiet anesthetic

This takes planning, time, & an abundance of skill

2/

Questioning of womens’ expertise doesn’t always come via men

I had to be “appropriately confident” (to quote the brill @DrJenGunter) recently when my professional expertise was questioned

A female colleague asked for a male colleague to get involved in something which was

1/ A) clearly within my domain of expertise
B) I had been working on w another woman of colour expert
C) I had been working on for some time as it was complex

During the meeting I clearly outlined mine and my colleagues expertise and our ability to appropriately advise&manage

2/

How we implemented specific & tangible #PhysicianWellness recommendations into our national #anesthesia guidelines @CASupdate

🧵of highlights

link.springer.com/article/10.100…

At the end of 2019 the @CASUpdate wellness committee was formed. I had two broad goals for my term as Chair

1/ supported by an amazing committee (I didn’t know a 🌎 pandemic ws coming!)

1.Train anesthesiologists 2provide quality evidence based #PeerSupport 2one another,esp after critical events&encourage creation of institutional peer support programs

👀 4more on this another day

2/

On vacation but still 🤔 about equity,justice,oppression

🤔about how BIPOC folks speak of

disappointment
frustration
fatigue

when #EDI initiatives that aim to disrupt are overturned @CMA_Docs

while others use the words

surprise
shock
“at least it’s a start”

1/ The stark contrast in words is because

those who live this

for whom lack of #EDI is deeply personal, lived&often traumatic

are exhausted

but we are most definitely

NOT

surprised

because

we know

that those who hold power do not wish to rebalance/redistribute

2/

When I think about colleagues who’ve influenced me,rarely is it their academic work/publications I think of
Rather it’s their ➡️humility
➡️ability to hold space
➡️compassion
➡️advocacy
➡️integrity

So,the past few weeks when greeted w “Oh I’m so glad it’s you!” by a colleague 1/ who is a patient, or by a colleague with whom I’m working with that day on a complex case; or a patient in clinic asking “could YOU look after me in the OR?”; or a colleague who calls me cos’ their child is havin a *really* hard time as woman of colour in medicine; or a friend 2/

What I’ve learnt about advocacy work from my running app...
“It’s not about speed, it’s about endurance,”she reminds me as I find myself flagging half way through the run.A little voice in my ear,the steady&reliable lady on my app,reminding me,“One foot in front of the other”

1/ I keep going. This non-runner, trying time remember how far I’ve come from week 1 till now.

I think about how much work there is still left to do with regard to anti-oppression, anti-racism, the intersectionality of race and gender, and my head begins to swim.

2/

So grateful that @javeedsukhera accepted my invitation to speak on #bias #implicitbias #oppression to @MacAnesthesia

Live tweeting some pearls!

Stigma has a negative impact on clinical outcomes Shame is not an effective pedagogic strategy in calling out stigma. Shaming and calling out may actually make problem worse

Education may be helpful but it also isn’t enough alone

I’ve been tagged in a lot of “pledge” tweets regarding antiracism. I haven’t responded to any of them. Here’s why. 🧵

I don’t really understand what you mean by “pledge”. What is it you’re “pledging” to do? More importantly, what have you actually *done*?

I’m not black 1/ But I have thought a lot about racism, particularly in the context of the oppressive structures of medicine and medical culture. I’ve written about it, spoken about it and suggested concrete ways we can move forward:

blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/03/05…

But I repeat, I’m not black 2/

Thread: As Chair of the very newly formed @CASUpdate #PhysicianWellness committee (we have not even had our first meeting yet), I've been thinking &talking alot about the physical & psychological wellbeing of my colleagues amidst #covid19. I applaud leaders like @amit_pawa for 1/

https://twitter.com/amit_pawa/status/1238797619297689600

the reminder that it is indeed "OK to *not* be OK". We are facing many unknowns in a rapidly changing situation. We are at the frontline of acute care, charged with performing high-risk procedures in potentially time-pressured and resource contrained systems. The balance 2/

Yesterday I visited the cafe where my brother works. His work is a big deal. Because he has an #IntellectualDisability #DevelopmentalDisability and #InclusiveEmployment is ridiculously hard to find. We talk a lot on #MedTwitter about being #Inclusive. 1/ I am part of those conversations. They usually centre around #GenderEquity, sometimes #Antiracism, occasionally #LGBTQ+ rights, and once in a while #Disability - but under that term I almost never hear about #DevelopmentalDisability, or more importantly, how we - physicians 2/

THREAD
1/A little over a decade ago, as a junior resident and novice researcher I wanted to explore why non-anesthesia physicians (and other healthcare professionals) did not appear to fully understand the work of the anesthesiologist.Wanna know what I thought I’d do? Wait for it

https://twitter.com/joonghee_emdoc/status/1144606368705536000

2/ I was going to design an “educational intervention” to “help others” understand what anesthesiologists do so that we could “work together more effectively”.Hmmm...luckily for me the person I went to speak to as my potential supervisor at the @theWilsonCentre gently pointed me