As a follow up to June’s blog regarding mandatory vaccinations, the question arises whether a healthcare worker should be required to declare their vaccination status to their employers or to their patients. Currently, vaccination disclosure is generally not required, primarily due to privacy rights. However, it certainly does pose many ethical concerns, and one that […]
Can Employers Mandate the Covid Vaccine? In a Canadian Medical Association Journal article published this year (link to full document below), the topic of mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers was examined. In many US states, employers have initiated policy that requires their employees to be immunized against the Covid virus, with the penalty of suspension […]
The requirement for trained healthcare professionals increases as the pandemic continues to cause overcapacity in hospitals, and as a result, the Ministry of Health is proposing new legislation to support patient care. The “Advancing Oversight and Planning in Ontario’s Health System Act, 2021 will include many initiatives, including increased funding for community care, increased scope […]
Spring is upon us and with it comes a season of new growth and beginnings. Within the next few months, Respiratory Therapy in Ontario is set to grow with the graduation and registration of approximately 100 student RT’s. It is an extremely exciting time for these graduates, who have studied in unprecedented times. While they […]
With healthcare workers now becoming vaccinated against Covid-19, we see many of these memorable moments posted on social media, through “vaccine selfies”. Pictures of band aids, masked smiles and vaccination records reflect celebration and relief, after the culmination of an incredibly long and difficult year. If you post on public platforms, it is important to […]
Although the longest year of our lives, it was only over a mere 14 months ago that scientists discovered the world was facing an unknown enemy in the new strain of the coronavirus, Covid-19. Healthcare workers faced unsurmountable workload, acuity, and death rates unmatched by any other illness we have ever seen. In this darkness, […]
Mental health is now more important than ever, and it is vital that we reflect on our own emotional well-being, and that of our colleagues, friends, and families. This pandemic has created conditions that only a year ago, would have been thought to be unimaginable. Healthcare workers have faced unsurmountable stress, acuity, and workload, and […]
Throughout this pandemic, we have heard from all different healthcare sectors about how ready, willing and able RTs are to step up and do what needs to be done. Student RTs worked as aides while their educational programs were shut down in the spring and summer. Long-standing RTs came out of a well-deserved retirement to […]
“Why did you sign up for this?” is probably a question that others asked of you during the early, frightening days of the pandemic. It might even have been a question you asked of yourself. But then you undoubtedly shook any uncertainty off, wrapped your stethoscope around your neck, and headed off to see the […]
We are once again finding ourselves in the midst of a dual epidemic – one created by a Novel Coronavirus and the other generated by increasingly common panic. I am always amazed that despite the availability of considerable credible evidence that people still would rather believe their next-door neighbor’s cousin’s ex-wife (who just happens to […]
