Amy Burke (she/her)

Industrial Engineer, Nurse Practitioner, mother, traveler. 🌈🇨🇦🇦🇷What we do is more important than what we say or what we say we believe. -bell hooks

[F. Perry Wilson, MD MSCE @fperrywilson]

Data keeps emerging that suggests GLP-1RAs like #Ozempic curb all sorts of appetites... not just appetite for food. Brief thread on some new findings...

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Thread of must-see photos from the past 🧵

1. Boy receives new shoes during WWII

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

6 luxuries in life:

[Amy Burke (she/her) @AmyBurke_EngRN]

@BravoDavenport Thank you for your strong stance on this. I am very concerned about this motion. Please let us constituents know if we can take any actions to help oppose this.

[Ryan Hamilton @TheRyanHamilton]

My heart is broken💔: As friends & family know, my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child, & about to begin her 2nd trimester. A few days ago she had severe pains, & bleeding, and had to go to the emergency room. There, it was discovered that our baby no longer had a heartbeat. Devastated doesn't come close to what that feels like.
Unfortunately for people like us, because of the current laws in the state of Texas, that was only the beginning of this nightmare. Jess (my wife) had an "incomplete miscarriage", and what needed to happen, what was best for HER, and her health, was to terminate the pregnancy, and get the baby out.
The doctor gave her a medication that would move this process along, and sent her home. Where, apparently we would be handling it ourselves. We were told it might take a couple of attempts before it worked.
I'll let you decide how you feel about that.
After a long, painful night of the equivalent of early labor, the baby was still with her. So, we went back to the Emergency Center to get the 2nd dose. A new doctor was on call. He was an older man. You could hear him in the hallway as he said, "I'm not giving her a pill so she can go home and have an ab*rtion!". Being well aware that our baby no longer had a heartbeat. Then, he came into the room to say, and I quote: "Considering the current stance. I'm not going to prescribe you this pill". Then, just sent us on our way.
The "CURRENT STANCE"?! Did he really just say that?!
No one should ever have to hear their wife say: "Get this dead baby out of me!".
Can you even imagine how that must feel?
The pain, and the bleeding continued. So, we decided to go to another hospital, about an hour away. There was a female doctor on call there, and we thought we might have better luck.
I should probably mention, the procedure to get the baby out is called a D & C. It's scary, & traumatizing, but sometimes necessary in situations like ours. Especially in emergency circumstances.
So we get to the next hospital. They take Jess in, ask her a bunch of questions, do a new scan... confirm that the baby is still there, with no heartbeat, and then disappear... for hours. Only to come back in and keep asking the same questions over and over. It's becoming clear that they're primary concern is NOT my wife's health. Instead, they seem to be worried about the legalities involved.
So, they decide it is not "enough of an emergency" to perform the D & C.
They do, however, prescribe another, stronger, final dose of the medication for us to try again... at home.
So, we go home to try again. Another long day/night of early labor pains. Only to discover my wife UNCONSCIOUS in the bathroom. Having to pick my wife's cold, limp body off of that bathroom floor, not sure if I was about to lose her, is something I will NEVER forget.
She had to be rushed to the hospital.
By this point she had lost so much blood, and bodily fluid, her body gave out.
They were able to stabilize her, give her the fluids she needed, and we came back home yesterday afternoon. We were also able to confirm that our baby was no longer with her.
Now, not only do we have to live with the loss of our baby... we have to live with the nightmare of what we just experienced because of political and religious beliefs. MY WIFE'S HEALTH SHOULD HAVE COME FIRST. PERIOD!
God knows what mental and emotional damage this has done.
If you consider yourself a staunch "pro-lifer" ... 1) You've never been through what we just went through, and 2) You should take a long, hard look in the mirror and reevaluate your reasons for supporting such a cold, barbaric, ignorant point of view.
It's not that black & white, and it's never going to be.
If you think your "Pray To End Ab*rtion" sign in your yard is "Christian", I suggest you revisit the teachings of Jesus and try again. If you support these laws that make ab*rtion illegal, and result in people being put through what we just were, you should be ashamed of yourself. I've never been so angry, or heartbroken... and the devastation I'm feeling must pale in comparison to what my poor wife is feeling.

[Dr. Michael Verbora @mverbora]

Subsidizing healthcare.

The real crisis in family medicine is that family doctors are subsidizing a broken and failing system.

80% of the interactions patients have with healthcare are at private physician funded clinics.

At $37 a visit (Ontario) we have to:

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Thread on the beauty of wildlife 🧵

1. When it’s cold enough to see the melody

[Alejandra Bravo @BravoDavenport]

Minutes ago, the provincial government announced that Metrolinx will not be proceeding with their proposed changes to UP Express service—this is a win for our community. Thanks to all who spoke up.

https://t.co/1yf3gWclNi

[TTCriders @ttcriders]

Save UP Express Service to Underserved Neighbourhoods - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/VegYYSY5Gl via @CdnChange

[Alejandra Bravo @BravoDavenport]

1 of 4 airport workers in Toronto relies on public transit to get to work.

After UPX fare increases for airport workers earlier this year, this change to the UPX schedule for airport workers in #DavenportTO will make it even harder to get to work. https://t.co/svCJecrChA

[Amy Burke (she/her) @AmyBurke_EngRN]

@BravoDavenport Thank you and please keep pushing to reverse this awful change. Our family uses the Bloor UP station to get to the airport regularly for work and travel. Toronto neighbourhoods where people actually live need more transit connections not less!

[Amy Burke (she/her) @AmyBurke_EngRN]

Problems in Primary Care:

A) 2.3 million Ontarians have no PCP
B) Family physicians’ compensation model and team structures (or lack thereof) are inadequate
C) NPs are a huge untapped resource restricted by current funding models

We can and should fix both B and C to solve A!

[Amy Burke (she/her) @AmyBurke_EngRN]

Ontario weighing nurse practitioner funding options amid extra billing concerns | https://t.co/506i2lmWRN

After much commentary that has not always been as factual and respectful as it could, it sounds like we are moving in a more constructive direction👍 https://t.co/NDxq7G3sWg

[Brent Beshore @BrentBeshore]

For those who are 55+, if you could go back and re-live your 30s/40s again -- young kids, demanding career, stretched thin -- how would you change how you spent your time and attention, and why?

[Kevin Dahlstrom @Camp4]

I’m only 53 but 3 things come to mind:

1) “It never gets easier, you only go faster”—Things never slow down, they only change so don’t wait for “someday” to build a great, sustainable life. This is one thing my wife & I got right.

2) It’s critical to maintain what I call “The 3 Lives”: Your life as an individual, your life as a couple, and your life as a family. Too many people sacrifice one or more after having kids and it’s a recipe for trouble. Boundaries are everything!

3) Take occasional extended breaks / sabbaticals—This is one of my few regrets and it’s a huge flaw in America’s workaholic culture. There’s never a good time to do it—you have to make it happen.

[Jennifer Hartwell, MD FACS @traumamom4]

We are trying to be more sensitive and inclusive in our clinical documentation.
Instead of saying...use instead...

Patient refused...patient declined the intervention
Alcohol abuse...alcohol use disorder
No show...did not attend follow-up appointment

What would you add?

[Amy Burke (she/her) @AmyBurke_EngRN]

@AlykhanAbdulla Thanks for this post that is truly centering meeting patient needs in primary care; acknowledging the value of inter-professional teams, and that investment is required. I think this is a message that all professionals involved in delivering primary care can get behind.

[Christopher Webb @cwebbonline]

This is powerful. This is courage. This is heartbreaking.

Democratic senator @EvaBurchAZ announced on a floor speech that she needs an abortion. She shared her story and gave remarks about how cruel Arizona’s laws are to women.

CNN aired a short clip last night, but it’s important for folks to hear all of her remarks. Please take the time & consider sharing.

[Amy Burke (she/her) @AmyBurke_EngRN]

@Sonjalovesbikes This is a super interesting question!

[Kevin @CPR_Medico]

@raghu_venugopal @NickelBelt @JoelHardenONDP @ShamjiAdil @MaritStiles @OntarioHealthC Doc get 2-3x wage for working nights. Nurses a couple of bucks, an hour, Fix this, pay nurses, provide benefits for PT, parking, meals etc, and nursing agencies, will no longer be profitable. A ban is not the answer.