Inside "The Green Room"

| 31 March 2022

The war in Ukraine has now been raging for over a month, with massive displacements of civilians and substantial conflict and bombardment of cities and towns. Across Canada and here locally, medical organizations ranging from large national coalitions like the Canadian Medical Forum (which includes our own national college) to our local hospital medical advisory committees and SEAMO have come forward to call for an end to the war.

This conflict has seen so many violations of international law, and now emerging concerns about war crimes; deliberate targeting of civilians; potential use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons; and the risks related to damage to civilian nuclear infrastructure.

Locally, Kingston Health Sciences Centre is working on options for supporting the medical community in Ukraine with supplies, and Queen’s is exploring options to support displaced students. This month’s DFM Monitor highlights the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s recent release of a “best advice guide” on care for veterans, which was produced with significant input from Dr. Brent Wolfrom, our postgraduate education program director. I was further reminded of the importance of our role in training the next generation of physicians to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces in this CAF video produced for International Women’s Day highlighting our own KTI resident Dr. Tatyana Danylyshyn’s journey from the time she entered the CAF as a young infantry recruit to now being a medical officer. I’m glad we can be an important part of this journey for her.

Queen’s and the Department of Family Medicine also have a long history of involvement with global health, including in areas where conflict is a reality that impacts health. Dr. Eva Purkey (with Dr. Colleen Davison, Associate Dean, Equity and Social Accountability, Queen’s Health Sciences) presented recently on their experiences working in Eastern Burma, and as an advisory council member for the International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation, I have been hearing about their engagement in supporting rehabilitation in many regions of the world where disability is often the outcome of widespread conflict. At a recent leadership meeting, I was also reminded of the major role our department played in rebuilding the health-care system in Bosnia after the war there.

I would ask you all to consider this question: When the fighting stops, how will we be able to help?

Dr. Michael Green

Department Head Blog

Publish Date

Thu, 03/31/2022 - 12:40