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Biomedical subjects

R Cairney

Publications and source records attributed to R Cairney.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Pioneering Alberta cardiac surgeons walked into uncharted territory 40 years ago.

When Dr. John Callaghan performed Canada's first successful open-heart surgery in Edmonton in 1956, the operation took 10 hours and the heart-lung pump he used looked like it had come from the shelves at Canadian Tire. Today the operation takes a couple of hours and the heart-lung pumps used cost $150,000. This article discusses Calaghan's pioneering work, which was recently honoured by University Hospital in Edmonton.

Alberta↗
PubMed1996

"Democracy was never intended for degenerates": Alberta's flirtation with eugenics comes back to haunt it.

An Alberta woman recently won a lawsuit against the government of Alberta for wrongful sterilization that took place when she was a 14-year-old ward at the Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives. It was the first time the province has been held accountable for actions taken under the Sexual Sterilization Act, a 1927 law that promoted the theory of eugenics and led to the sterilization of more than 2800 people. It has since been repealed. A physician who served on the province's Eugenics Board said the decisions were based on the best scientific advice and medical techniques available at the time. Today, she added, eugenics is being practised in a different way through prenatal diagnosis and therapeutic abortion.

Alberta↗
PubMed1996

Politician, MDs offer educators opinions on managing unprecedented health care change.

Three leaders in Canada's health care debate recently told medical educators that the Canada Health Act needs to be revamped, but each had different views about how the change should be managed. Different perspectives were provided by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, National Forum on Health member Dr. Tom Noseworthy and CMA President-Elect Judith Kazimirski.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1996

Plans to run private facility in public hospital draw some strong opposition in Alberta.

Proposals to create private wings catering mainly to American patients at some public hospitals in Alberta have attracted strong opposition. Physicians at the Leduc General Hospital near Edmonton voted unanimously against a proposal to create a private wing at their hospital. Proponents say such moves would simply provide additional funding for Canada's cash-strapped health care system.

Alberta↗
PubMed1996

Global spread of TB worrying trend for Canadian physicians.

Canada has one of the world's lowest rates of tuberculosis infection, but that doesn't mean the disease poses no threat here. TB represents a growing problem in prisons and among Canadians of native and Asian descent. Patients with active TB can be misdiagnosed because few physicians ever see the disease and because the bacillus can infect organs other than the lungs. Frequent screening of at-risk populations and a rigorous course of antibiotics for those who are infected are recommended.

Canada↗
PubMed1995

Health care reform comes to Alberta: "we're making this up as we go along".

Alberta left physicians out in the cold when Premier Ralph Klein's government began to slash the province's health care budget. Frustrated and angered at being excluded from the restructuring of the province's health care system, physicians rallied in protest, and now have some input into the new regional health authorities, at least in Edmonton and Calgary. Still, some physicians who feel the restructuring is an uncontrolled social experiment have opted to leave for positions in the US.

Alberta↗