In a press conference on Sept. 14, Hashana Perera, director of Student Health Services, took the floor to present updates on the office’s strategy for addressing the emerging threat of fentanyl in Montreal. The deadly synthetic opioid is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and has been found[Read More…]
Tag: health
Bad Blood: Changing the conversation around menstruation
“You'd think all women do is clean and bleed,” was the line that resonated with me as I read Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller Gone Girl. Despite the fact that the shedding of the uterine lining is a natural, normal, and healthy process that half of the world’s population experiences, menstruation is[Read More…]
Quebec pharmacists should not act as gate-keepers for emergency contraception
The condom broke, you skipped a pill, or your memories are foggy from the night before. Accidents happen: Thankfully, emergency contraceptive pills are available. Since 2005, pharmacies have provided levonorgestrel pills (Plan B) without a prescription in Canada. In 11 provinces and territories, you can now find Plan B beside[Read More…]
McGill must improve the medical notes system
At 8:30 on weekday mornings, coughs and sniffles fill the McGill Health Services clinic. Sick students, looking miserable to their core, sit and wait—some for strep tests, others for a prescription. Many, however, have braved the negative temperature and icy sidewalks to wait for nothing but a medical note to[Read More…]
Student of the Week: Claire Motyer
“I’ve been playing violin since I was four, so I’ve always defined myself as a musician,” Claire Motyer, U3 Music, said. Motyer spent her whole life immersed in musical performance, until she injured herself in her first semester at McGill University from over-rehearsing. “I was […] practicing four hours a day[Read More…]
The future of birth control must include all genders
The results of a trial for male birth control, published in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, have sparked outrage and frustration. After 20 of 320 men dropped out of the study due to adverse side effects, the trials were discontinued. Altogether, the men participating in the trial reported 1,491[Read More…]
Streamlining of McGill Counselling and Mental Health Services leaves gaps in medical notes procedures
As part of the integration of McGill Mental Health and Counselling Services (MHCMS), medical notes are no longer available for students who use drop-in appointments unless their case falls under the criteria for the newly designated “Safety Appointment.” Although the change prioritizes support for students who urgently need it in order[Read More…]
Anatomy and Cell Biology launches Mental Health Support Program
On Nov. 18, the McGill Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology launched the Mental Health Support Program. The department-based project offers students a chance to meet with individuals who were selected to be supporters. These volunteers include graduate and undergraduate students, administrative personnel, and professors trained by McGill Counselling and[Read More…]
Marijuana legalization poses significant risks for youth
One of Justin Trudeau’s flashiest policies has been his promise to legalize marijuana. Taking advantage of 4/20 this past April, his government announced that it will be instated in the spring of 2017—only one year later. We’re halfway through that time, and his policy remains vague and shallow. Trudeau is[Read More…]
Quebec promises to abolish health care accessory fees by early 2017
On Sept. 14, Quebec Minister of Health Dr. Gaetan Barrette announced that as of January 2017, Quebec doctors will no longer be allowed to charge accessory fees—additional fees on services already provided by the Quebec health insurance. Accessory fees have generally been charged for services such as eye drops, injections,[Read More…]