Death and seniors' health dominate CMA annual meeting.

New CMA president tackles demographic issues.

With the early call for a federal election, new CMA President Dr. Cindy Forbes hit the road running — at a pace that threatens to continue all year. Not that it will faze Forbes. As a runner and competitive paddler, the 56-year-old family physician from Waverley, Nova Scotia, knows about endurance. And she also knows medical politics after 30 years in the fray, beginning in medical school. Firs...

CMA President response: physician-assisted death.

Although Downar and colleagues present a very detailed examination of many of the issues involved in our growing national examination of how Canadians expect to manage their care at the end-oflife, the authors unfortunately get the cart well before the horse by focusing solely on physician-assisted death. Addressing the dire need for improved access to palliative care services, for which the la...

Canada needs seniors' health care strategy: CMA report card.

Mobility and Cognition in Seniors. Report from the 2008 Institute of Aging (CIHR) Mobility and Cognition Workshop

BACKGROUND The annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology was held on October 24 and 25, 2008 in London, Ontario. Prior to the annual meeting, mobility and cognition experts met on October 23, 2008 to engage in a pre-conference workshop. METHODS Discussions during the workshop addressed novel areas of research and knowledge and research gaps pertaining to the interac...

Conscience should guide doctors at end of life.

All doctors have the right to follow their conscience when deciding whether to assist dying patients physically or to provide them with the means to end their lives — within the bounds of legislation, delegates to the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA’s) annual meeting have voted. As Canada considers changing its laws concerning assisted death, Canada’s doctors considered their stance on the ...