November is a BIG month for the Calendar of health promotion in Canada and we want to let you know all about it, and give you some ideas on ways to participate! 

One of the most well-known movements during November is Movember! 

When you think of movember you think ‘a lot of men growing some crazy beards for a good cause!’ But what is this cause? Movember is about Men’s health, including things like prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. ‘Movember’ is a Canadian registered charity with a goal to bring awareness to premature death in men.  But Movember isn’t just about growing a beard for a cause, there are plenty of other ways to participate in Movember month if you don’t have a beard to grow! The Movember movement talks about four ways to “do your part” and this includes, ‘Grow a stache’, which is all about growing a beard to raise awareness and raising funds to support the charity. ‘Move for Movember’, explains the 60km walk to raise awareness for the 60 men lost to suicide each hour, globally, and raising funds in the process. ‘Host a mo-ment’ and ‘Mo your own way’ encourages you to get creative and raise awareness for Movember month your own way! 

Head over to their website for more information on what this charity is all about and how you can help out! https://ca.movember.com/ 

Another big one for the month of November is Crohn’s and Colitis awareness! What is crohn’s and colitis? Crohn’s and Colitis Canada explains these diseases like this “Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) describes a group of conditions, the two main forms of which are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD also includes indeterminate colitis. 

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are diseases that inflame the lining of the GI (gastrointestinal) tract and disrupt your body’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrition, and eliminate waste in a healthy manner. These are lifelong diseases and people can experience acute periods of active symptoms (active disease or flare), and other times when their symptoms are absent (remission).” 

There are a few ways to get involved in Crohn’s and Colitis awareness this month, including a “Gutsy Walk” organized by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada where you can raise money and awareness to support the cause. Their website explains the cause and ways to get involved in much more detail, clink on the link to go see! https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/About-Crohn-s-Colitis 

The month of November has so many more health promotion days that are all listed under the Calendar of health promotion on the Government of Canada website. Be sure to check it out and find out ways you can participate and help out around your community! https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/calendar-health-promotion-days.html#m11 

As always, call us to book your annual prostate exam or your annual check up! You can reach us at (250) 782 1103 or you can send us a message on Facebook. Our website also has an email button if that works best for you! We look forward to seeing your smile in our office!

 “What is a Nurse Practitioner?”

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses who have additional education and nursing experience, which enables them to:

• Autonomously diagnose and treat illnesses
• Order and interpret tests
• Prescribe medications
• Perform medical procedures

NPs are health-care professionals who treat the whole person, an approach that includes:

• Addressing needs relating to a person’s physical and mental health
• Gathering medical history
• Focusing on how an illness affects a person’s life and family
• Offering ways for a person to lead a healthy life
• Teaching persons how to manage chronic illness

Where do nurse practitioners work?
NPs work in a variety of health-care settings, such as:

• Community care (community clinics, health-care centres, physicians’ offices and patients’ homes)
• Long-term care (nursing homes)
• Hospitals (outpatient clinics, emergency rooms and other patient areas)
• NP-led clinics

What kind of health-care services does a nurse practitioner provide?
NPs provide a wide range of direct care services to people at every stage of life. In addition to treating illnesses, they teach individuals and their families about healthy living, preventing disease and managing illness. NPs bring together medical knowledge with the values and skills of nursing. NPs are also leaders, consultants and researchers who incorporate new knowledge into their practice.

Do nurse practitioners replace other health-care professionals? Will I still be able to see my doctor?
NPs work with, rather than replace, other health-care providers. They are part of a collaborative team that includes registered nurses, doctors, social workers and others. While seeing an NP, you can still see your family doctor or any other health-care provider.

– See more at: https://cna-aiic.ca/en/nursing-practice/the-practice-of-nursing/advanced-nursing-practice/nurse-practitioners#sthash.EiDDqN8J.dpuf

The standard family doctor’s visit for BC (and most of the developed world) is 10 minutes long. That may not seem like much time for medical care, but if used wisely a lot can be accomplished. The reason I am often not on time for your appointment is usually because I have gone overtime on the visits with the patients ahead of you. If there are more than 1 or 2 problems to deal with, it is humanly impossible for me to deal with them adequately in one sitting of any length, let alone ten minutes. Please start with your most important question and if time allows we can discuss further problems. Thank you for understanding.

“All I need is a prescription refill, Doc…”
For prescriptions for long term medication for conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, our usual practice is to give enough refills to last until the time that your condition is due to be reassessed by us. These types of conditions need periodic evaluation (often including lab work, etc) to ensure that the condition is properly controlled and that there are no complications. The seemingly simple task of writing a prescription refill is only a small part of what we need to do to determine whether your condition is being well-controlled, what tests may be due, and whether a change of treatment is needed This always takes up a whole visit, and cannot be done at the tail end of a visit that you have booked for other reasons. Also, this obviously cannot be done over the phone, which is the reason why our clinic does not do phone refills. Thank you for understanding.

The BC Health Guidelines for Vit D:  
The BC population is at risk of low vitamin D levels from autumn to spring. However routine serum vitamin D testing or screening for vitamin D is not recommended.
Because vitamin D supplementation in the general adult population is safe, it is reasonable to advise supplementation without testing. Vit D is cost-effective and available in all pharmacies.

Just click the “Book Now” on our Facebook page and follow the instructions. There are some appointments that you will still need to call the office to schedule. The online service is only for registered patients of this clinic. You will need your health care number to book.