It’s officially fall. 🍂 It’s almost September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, an opportunity to learn about injustices faced by Indigenous peoples in the present and the past.

For us here at Postcall, autumn is a time for reflection, change, and renewal. 🍃

Now it’s that time of the week again… Time for Postcall’s headlines.

• What patients might say this week 🙊 

  ^{Pig hearts in humans? We say, ham it up!}

• Pap Smears Get a Glow Up 🌟

  ^{New-old cervical cancer screening recommendations.}

• Quick bites 🍉

  ^{Hope flatlining doesn’t trend after this.}

• Med School Brings All the FM Docs to the Yard 🩺

  ^{New med program at SFU with a much-needed mandate.}

• Play: Postcall’s first-ever med-themed crossword puzzle! ⛳️

  ^{It’s kind of hard.}

• 🐶 Postcall Picks

  ^{What we’re eating, buying, and watching.}

• 💼 Job opportunities

  ^{Tips on new opportunities if you’re looking for a change (or your first gig)}

Driving these numbers: Investors are worried, given the prospect of another interest rate hike, and a possible US government shutdown starting Sept. 30.

What patients might say this week 🙊 

1. “Should I double up on my Covid & Flu shots?”

 Health experts say it’s safe to get the updated Covid and flu vaccines at the same time. The vaccine roll-out continues to be projected for mid-October. Note: RSV vaccines were also recently approved for certain patient populations.

2. “They’re transplanting pig hearts into humans…again?”

For the second time, surgeons have transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a man with heart failure. The first case occurred in 2022, but unfortunately the patient passed away two months post-op. This time around, the pig heart was tested and screened for additional bovine viruses.

3. “Is there a new blockbuster drug for breast cancer?”

AstraZeneca’s making headlines again for something other than Covid (too soon?). The TROPION-Breast01 trial showed that the antibody drug conjugate, datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), had greater progression free survival compared to the investigator’s choice chemotherapy regimen in patients with inoperable or metastatic hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer.

Pap Smears Get a Glow Up 🌟

Pap smears to be phased out for cervical cancer screening in favour of self-swab HPV tests to improve accessibility, per new CMAJ recommendations.

What happened: Since 2013, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has recommended not routinely screening sexually active people younger than 25. However, not every province has implemented these recommendations nearly a decade later. Current guidelines say Pap smears should be q3y for those 25-69.

Why it’s important: Like many healthcare issues exacerbated by Covid, Pap smears fell by the wayside during the pandemic — on average, the number of cervical cancer screening tests fell by 63.8% per month in Ontario alone. Certain groups — in particular, Black individuals with a cervix, members of the 2SLGTBQIA+ community, and those with a history of trauma — were disproportionately affected.

There’s one thing the Barbie movie got wrong… many women simply aren’t able to see their Gyne.

Now, imagine if getting a Pap smear was as easy as getting a Covid test. A self-swab has been rolled out in many provinces across Canada, including Quebec, New Brunswick, and PEI. The screening is recommended for q5y for those aged 25–65 and is just as accurate as the Pap in a gyne office.

To save ya the trouble, we’ve summarized some of the strongest CMAJ recommendations below:

1. Colorectal cancer: screening outreach efforts beginning at age 45–74 for those experiencing disadvantages*

2. Cervical cancer: HPV self-testing should be made available for those experiencing disadvantages*

3. Lung cancer: screening outreach efforts with low-dose CT beginning at age 50–80 for those with a 20 pack-year smoking history who are experiencing disadvantages*

4. Heart health: prioritized cardiovascular risk assessment for adults aged 40–75 years experiencing disadvantages*

*People experiencing disadvantages include people with a low income, Indigenous people, racialized people, people who identify as 2SLGBTQI+, and people with functional limitations, as well as specific groups mentioned in each recommendation.

Postcall’s take: It’s about time that the cervical cancer screening program got a glow up — if only we could get every province on board (and following the same guidelines).

Read more at Doctors Say

🍔 Quick Bites

1: 👋 Anthony Rota resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons over his recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during World War II. The incident occurred during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to Parliament when Rota recognized the man as a Ukrainian war veteran, leading to a standing ovation.

2: After 8 pounds of Alaskan king crab and a $1,000 bill, a tourist in Singapore was so crabby she called the police on the restaurant. She claimed she thought the price was $20/dish and not $20/100 grams. It’s unclear if she was genuinely shell-shocked or being a tad shellfish 🦐.

3: 🇮🇳 All medical colleges in India now have World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Recognition Status — meaning graduates of Indian colleges can apply to do residency in foreign countries, including Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand. This is especially interesting considering the political tension happening between India and Canada ATM.

4: A new study documents cardiac arrest patients who could recall memories after flatlining, including lucid experiences of death. Before being revived by CPR, some patients also recalled vivid memories from their lives while seemingly unconscious. The largest study of its kind, this research could be a gateway into examining after-death experiences 👻.

5: ChatGPT is getting stronger 💪. OpenAI is introducing new features for ChatGPT, allowing users to interact with the AI bot through voice commands (i.e. basically directly competing with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant), image uploads, and synthetic voices.

Med School Brings All the FM Docs to the Yard 🩺

What happened: Simon Fraser University is opening a new medical school in 2026, which will include a dedicated family doctor training program. SFU (not to be confused with the acronym STFU) is modelling this FM program after Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program, the first of its kind, which launched last month. They’re also taking notes from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada’s first independent medical school with a social accountability mandate. Well, more than just notes — they also took their founding dean, Dr. Roger Strasser👨‍🎓.

SFU’s medical curriculum will:

1. Prep graduates to meet the prevention and primary care needs of diverse communities and populations

2. Educate physicians to work in team-based, patient-centred primary care settings with social accountability

3. Commit to reciprocal community partnerships

4. Embed and equalize Indigenous knowledge systems

Why it’s interesting: An estimated 6.5 million Canadians don’t have a regular family doctor. Those who do stress over losing their doctors to retirement and burnout. FM-focused programs could encourage more doctors to return to family medicine. In 2023, there were 100 residency spots for family medicine going unfilled, even after the second iteration of the R1 CaRMS match (up from fewer than 40 unfilled FM spots in 2019).

SFU will also focus on providing care for Indigenous communities, where systemic racism and lack of healthcare access are prevalent.

Yes, but… Critics point out that these first-gen docs won’t graduate till 2030. Also, the CFPC is looking at increasing FM residencies from 2 to 3 years, which could mean an even greater shortage of FM docs — although this change isn’t happening till 2027.

Bottom line: Strausser believes encouraging students to “see themselves as physicians working in their communities” is how to retain family doctors. In the decade since the first doctors graduated from NOSM, 77% remained in family medicine. As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best is today. 🌱 

🕹️ Game ⛳️

How fast can YOU complete Postcall’s first-ever crossword puzzle? 💨

If you forward this to friends, we’ll love you forever. Maybe forward your completion time, too. Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. 💅

Postcall Picks ✅ 

💳️ Buy: Indigo’s former CEO Heather Reisman is back in the top job. Is that the reason they’re offering 30% off on all clearance items? Either way, we’re ok with it.

👀 Watch: The real meaning of what they say:

🛫 Travel tip: Need a break after your exams or your CaRMS tour? Here’s the spreadsheet of all the direct flights from your city to somewhere warm this winter. 🌴

Job Opportunities 💼 

Role: Rheumatologist

• Location: Now Medical Clinic (Calgary Alberta)

• Compensation: 450,000 to $550,000

• Learn more

Role: Hematologist (2 Vacancies)

• Location(s): Hematology Clinic, and Allain Blair Cancer Centre (Regina, Saskatchewan)

• Compensation: $340,263 to $439,113 (plus benefits)

• Learn more

Role: Family Medicine Physician

• Location: Elmsdale Medical Centre (Elmsdale, NS)

• Compensation: $270,000 to $280,000

• Learn more

Role: Breast Surgical Oncologist, Division of General Surgery

• Location: Ottawa Hospital/University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON)

• Compensation: $250,000 to $400,000

• Learn more

Take your horse to the old town road 🐽 
The first 30 people to click this link get to share it with a friend for free. We’ll name our next pet Shiba after you in gratitude.