“people who succeed tend to find one goal in the distant future and then chase it through thick and thin. People who flit from one interest to another are much, much less likely to excel at any of them. School asks students to be good at a range of subjects, but life asks people to find one passion that they will follow forever.”

― David Brooks, The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources Of Love, Character, And Achievement

“What separates ambition that elevates from ambition that corrupts, and how do you know which one is driving you? In the second installment of Yale Conversations, Presidential Senior Fellow David Brooks delivered a wide-ranging talk at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs on the nature of ambition, desire, and what he calls “the gleam”: the fervent, luminous drive he has observed in everyone from Boys and Girls Club finalists to Tina Turner to Paul Cézanne. Drawing on philosophy, memoir, and decades of observation, Brooks traced the forces that crush passion — overintellectualization, the spirit of calculation, technological sloth, and loss of faith — and laid out the internal wrestling matches that determine whether ambition lifts us toward our better selves or pulls us toward resentment, ego, and hollow striving. A Q&A with students and faculty followed. Yale Conversations is a public forum presented by Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs in collaboration with the Office of the President.” Recorded March 31, 2026.

Figure 2: Cumulative incidence function curve for adverse outcomes within 30 days after hospital discharge, stratified by sedative prescription filled within 7 days after hospital discharge. Gray test: p < 0.001 for each outcome. Note that the scales of the y-axes differ. Note: CI = confidence interval, ED = emergency department.

The Medication That Follows You Home

Hospital discharge can feel like a finish line. The acute crisis has passed, the papers are signed, and the patient is finally going home.

But what follows them home matters.

A large Ontario cohort study of more than 1.8 million older adults found that 13.2% filled a sedative prescription within seven days of hospital discharge. Among those patients, nearly one-third had not been using sedatives before admission. For sedative-naive older adults, a new sedative prescription after discharge was associated with increased risk of falls, emergency department visits, hospital readmission, and death within 30 days. The strongest and most consistent signal was seen with benzodiazepines.

Many sedatives are started in hospital for understandable reasons: sleep disruption, anxiety, agitation, delirium, distress, procedures, or the general chaos of being acutely unwell. The problem is not always the medication itself. The problem is when a short-term hospital solution quietly becomes a post-discharge risk.

For older adults, discharge is already a vulnerable transition. They may be weaker, more confused, less mobile, and managing new instructions, new appointments, and new medications. Adding a sedative, especially for someone who was not previously taking one, may increase risk at exactly the wrong moment.

The bigger lesson is about transitions of care. Medication reconciliation should not simply confirm what is on the list. It should ask whether each medication still makes sense for the patient who is leaving hospital, not just the patient who was admitted.

Sometimes safer care begins with one small question:

Does this medication need to follow the patient home?

Read more on Association between sedative prescriptions after hospital discharge and falls and other adverse events in older adults: a population-based cohort study via CMAJ.

Quick Reflection Quiz

An older adult was not taking sedatives before admission but is discharged with a new benzodiazepine. What should this trigger?

A. Routine discharge with no further action
B. A structured medication review and fall-risk reassessment
C. Automatic long-term continuation
D. Reassurance that short-term use is always safe

Which group appeared to have the highest concern in this study?

A. Older adults newly started on sedatives after discharge
B. Younger adults discharged from hospital
C. Patients continuing all pre-existing medications
D. Patients discharged without medication changes

What is the key discharge-planning question raised by this study?

A. Can we prescribe something to help sleep?
B. Can the patient afford the medication?
C. Does this medication still need to follow the patient home?
D. Did the patient receive printed instructions?

What might be a practical safety step?

A. Add sedatives to all discharge bundles
B. Avoid discussing fall risk unless the patient has fallen before
C. Arrange early follow-up to reassess need, side effects, and mobility risk
D. Assume medication reconciliation is enough

Answers: 1. B, 2. A, 3. C, 4. C

Hero Alert 📣 : Sailors ⛵ Brian Angus & Dorothy Stauffer

First, I want to say this clearly: please wear a life-jacket when you head out on the water. Whether you are on a stand-up paddleboard or a boat, you need to be prepared for the unexpected.

If you are planning to charter a boat in British Columbia and are unfamiliar with our waters, I can tell you from personal experience that conditions at sea can change quickly. A calm day can become dangerous within an hour, and what feels routine can suddenly become life-threatening.

Our waters are also extremely cold. If you end up in the water, hypothermia can become a real risk. A life-jacket is essential, but it will not keep you warm. If you plan to swim or be in the water for any extended period of time, a wetsuit or dry suit is not optional. It is safety equipment.

Second, I want to send a huge thank you to Royal Van sailors Brian Angus and Dorothy Stauffer, who were first on the scene after a charter boat sank off the B.C. coast.

Because of their extensive emergency training, sailing experience, and quick action, three people were saved. As they described in their interview, they responded as emergency responders would: dividing the urgent tasks, staying focused, and working together as a team.

They also shared carrying the emotional weight of that moment, knowing they had lost sight of two people and had to make the heartbreaking decision to keep moving forward. I hope that, as time passes, the heaviness of making that call begins to lift.

If you live near the sea, I highly recommend learning to sail. Sailing is a wonderful skill, and in moments of crisis, that knowledge and confidence on the water can become vital in helping others get home safely.

I also recommend watching Brian and Dorothy’s interview with Global News, as they share several important lessons drawn from their insights and experience: https://globalnews.ca/video/11943890/saving-3-people-whose-boat-sank-off-the-b-c-coast

I strongly encourage everyone who spends time on or near the water to take a course in first aid and CPR.

And wear the life-jacket.
Every time.

#WaterSafety #BritishColumbia #EverydayHeroes #LifeJackets #Community #SafetyFirst

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of watching some wonderful student presentations on the topic of public health communication from our Primary Compassionate Care Initiative, PCC-KWASU cohort. I was so impressed by their presentations and the ideas shared.

A few pearls that I gathered:

Communication is a form of medicine. When done effectively, it has the power to change behaviour and potentially save lives. When done poorly, or with the intention to harm, it can create additional stress, confusion, anxiety, mistrust, and anger.

During an outbreak, communicating early, consistently, and with empathy helps build public trust.

The difference between misinformation and disinformation matters. Disinformation is strategically used to exploit people, while misinformation may be shared without intent to harm.

Public health messaging should also recognize that people can be educated and uninformed, or informed and uneducated. This distinction matters when we think about trust, access, and how messages are received.

Oh! And I learned a new word! Infodemic. An infodemic is an overabundance of accurate and inaccurate information that spreads rapidly during a crisis or disease outbreak.

Congratulations to the presenting groups:

Group 1, Foundations & Audience Analysis: Abdulfatai Abdulsalam, Fadheelah Oluwabukola Bello, Simbiat Abdulrazaq, Halimatu Sadiya Ademuyiwa, and Hibatullah Tiamiyu.

Group 2, Message Design & Interpersonal Communication: Opeyemi Sabiu, Faidat Opemiposi Salman, Olamilekan Babatunde, and Hassan Abdulkareem.

Group 4, Risk Communication & Crisis Planning: Hikmat Ogunlana, Maryam Odeyemi, Aishat Hadi, and Elijah Matthew.

Group 5, Misinformation & Digital Media: Abdulroheem Olatundun, Regina Jimoh, Oluwabukola Alegbe, and Oreoluwa Fatolu.

A huge well done to all of you.

Postcards to Humanity: My Ph.D. Life

This week I attended Green Templeton College, University of Oxford student presentations and one of them posted a cartoon illustrating how her Ph.D. process felt. It resonated with me as I’m sure many others in the room.

Her description also inspired me to depict my own Ph.D. experience and the challenges I encountered. It reminded me of the Banksy incident, where he intended to present and revise his own work in real time, and even for him, it didn’t go quite as anticipated.

During the Ph.D. process, you often begin with something meaningful to you. It may be somewhat fragmented or ambitious, but it’s something you’ve worked hard to shape in the form of a question, a problem, or an opportunity. Then it enters the world of feedback, scrutiny, agendas, edits, restructuring, and more edits. At times, it can feel as though the original work is being taken apart piece by piece, as if Picasso has gotten his hands on it, and through a multitude of different and opposing lenses your work evolves into something that’s more reflective of a community as opposed to an individual.

Yes, research is about producing knowledge and attempting to answer the unanswered. However, it’s also about developing resilience, humility, patience, and the ability to stay connected to the purpose of the work and the objective at hand, even when the process feels uncomfortable and, at times, absolutely miserable. That is precisely when the debts and doubts creep in. But I will never forget the advice I received from my mentor when I was in the thick of it: Jacqueline, a good thesis is a done thesis!

So, for anyone in the middle of revisions, a dissertation, a thesis, a manuscript, or any project that is being closely reviewed: keep going.

Push through. Stay with it. Protect the heart of the work.
And to Banksy, the balloon is still there :).

#PostcardsToHumanity #PhDLife #AcademicWriting #Research #RevisionProcess #DoctoralJourney #HigherEducation

O my Luve is like a red, red rose

   That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve is like the melody

   That’s sweetly played in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

   So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

   Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

   And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;

I will love thee still, my dear,

   While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

   And fare thee weel awhile!

And I will come again, my luve,

   Though it were ten thousand mile.

~ Robert Burns

The University of Oxford recently posted on Oxford Vaccine Group‘s Charlie Firth’s piece on Ebola outbreaks and “why trust, community engagement and public health measures remain critical alongside vaccination.”

On that note, a few weeks ago, in one of our recent Primary Compassionate Care educational sessions, I challenged our mentees to rethink how a public health campaign could be repackaged to help stop the spread of Ebola.

They reflected on key messaging, community needs, and public understanding, then transformed their ideas into powerful graphics and posters.

What emerged so clearly were themes of cooperation, fear and stigma, education, leadership, engagement, prevention, shared responsibility, practical support, misinformation, and more importantly how to respond with compassion and empathy.

As one of our cohort members, Regina, explained, “This shifts the focus from controlling people through fear to protecting lives through understanding and dignity.”

Their work reminded me that effective public health communication is about building trust, being creative, and responding with humanity.

I’m really proud of what our Primary Compassionate Care mentees produced.

The painting above represents Pachelbel’s Canon in D as structure.

The gold arches along the bottom represent the repeating basso continuo, the steady ground bass that cycles throughout the piece.

The horizontal gold line acts like the musical timeline, while the vertical gold lines show how the upper voices rise from and connect back to that foundation.

The light glow on the left suggests the opening of the canon: simple, spacious, and luminous. As the painting moves right into deeper blues, it reflects the way the music builds through layering, repetition, and harmonic richness.

The blue textured field represents the overlapping violin lines, felt through depth and movement rather than literal notes.

In short: it shows Canon in D as a luminous blue architecture of repetition, order, and emotional build, with the bass as the foundation and the upper voices rising above it.

Created by AI.

You know when you read an article and the content just sticks with you? This article by Martin, Nasmith, Takahashi, and Harvey, Exploring the Experience of Residents During the First Six Months of Family Medicine Residency Training, has stayed with me because it captures something deeply recognizable about the transition into residency that I have observed.

Becoming a family physician is not simply about knowing more medicine. It is about learning to carry responsibility differently: responsibility for clinical decisions, patient relationships, time, uncertainty, follow-up, and the everyday realities of practice.

The paper breaks this transition down beautifully across three areas: knowledge, practice management, and relationships. That framework resonated with me again today after speaking with a family physician preceptor who described the importance of helping residents understand that they are no longer students. They are emerging professionals, learning to be reliable, accountable, and responsible within real clinical environments.

What I appreciate most about this work is that it normalizes the anxiety of early residency while also showing how residents grow through continuity of care, feedback, role modelling, and repeated practice. The first six months are not only about building competence. They are about identity formation: learning, slowly and meaningfully, what it feels like to become someone’s doctor.

Read more on Martin D, Nasmith L, Takahashi S, Harvey B. Exploring the experience of residents during the first six months of family medicine residency training. Canadian Medical Education Journal. 2017;8(1):22-36.