Was there an aspect of the residency program that was unexpected and required adaptation on your part?​

• Difficult to answer this question because I did my internship in France in Paris. The format is very different

• Not really, residence as expected.

• Not that I remember.

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Do you follow the recommendations you give to your patients? 

• Yes

What is your favorite alcoholic drink?​

• It depends on the times. Right now I would say Gin and tonic

• Champagne when I'm not on duty (Jacques Selosse cuvée reserve or Bollinger old French vines, my favorites but very rare...)!

• Wine but little

What do you think is the most difficult medical practice? 

• Orthopedics and intensive care for working hours and irregular schedules, medical specialties such as onco or others that require chronic disease monitoring  

In your opinion, what is the easiest medical practice? 

• Nuclear medicine, dermato, ophthalmology  

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Would you be friends with your colleagues if you had met them outside of work? 

• Many yes, some no

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What do you think is the most important factor for a successful residency in your specialty? 

• Hard work starting from an already talented person

What do you think is the most important factor for a successful career in your specialty?

• Versatility, be ready to accept a heavy workload, but know how to keep balance  

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What personality traits are typical of your profession?​

• Gastroenterologists are often bon vivants

• The reflection we get (especially from the pharmaceutical representatives we work with regularly) is that gastroenterologists are quite funny and laid-back people in general, less serious than some other specialties (without being less professional). Gastroenterologists are people with whom we can discuss a wide variety of life topics! It must surely reflect our ability to listen and manage all the different realities and problems that our patients have to entrust to us every day!!! Gastro affects many aspects and intimate subjects of the lives of people who consult! 

• We like more than the average to make coprological jokes

What specialty would you never do? Why? 

• Nephrology. too intellectual

• Gynecology. not my thing

• Rheumatology. Reason: too much chronic pain and not enough action.

During your medical studies, what did you do on a Friday evening? 

• I was going out with friends

• Anything but studying! Meetings with friends, vino, seeing my family after doing a bit of sport!

• girl supper

What % of your practice (and that of your colleagues) represents the "hands on" parts and what % is more clinically focused (the relationship with patients)? 

• Endoscopy 70%, clinical 30%

• 50%/50%. This is the reason why I chose this specialty, a lot of techniques and challenges (endoscopies, ascites punctures, management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, techniques in acute and stable situations, etc...) and at the same time clinical reflections and differential diagnoses. There are many very complex symptoms to investigate in gastroenterology, so it's varied for everyone!

• Do not know too!

• 30% hand-on

How many hours of work per week on average for the average doctor? 

• 45 hours

• 50 hours

• Very variable depending on the task of the week. 40-50h depending on the task and more if the guard is busy. You have to be honest, you have to be ready to invest in this career because the demand is high both in outpatient clinics and on call duty in the emergency department. But, the weeks of outpatient clinic allow us to catch up on a lot of paperwork and sometimes to finish our days earlier.

• 45-50 hours minimum

• 50-55 hours

• 50 hours

If you had to specialize in something else, what would it be and why? 

• Neurology, a great diagnostic challenge, not limited by the technical platform

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What do you dislike most about your practice? 

• In general, everything that is administrative

• The contact with people and the impact (positive most of the time I hope) that we can have on them by listening to them attentively. Many physicians these days go through the files quickly and don't really dwell on wanting to hear the real goal of the individual who consults. Sometimes the reason for the consultation and the patient's concerns are not the ones he will tell us first. It is important to simply ask the question and ask them for a straight answer. The answer will be right if you show genuine openness to your patient. Less time is wasted breaking deadlocks!

• Insurance papers and RAMQ paperwork

• Patients' passive-aggressive personalities.

• Manage the misery and the lack of social support that many people in our society have, these patients end up on our floor and the work of the social workers is not fast enough (waiting for relocation, physio request on hold during long holidays, etc. which prolongs care). I love taking care of vulnerable clienteles (consumption, immigrants, etc.) but the patients hospitalized upstairs whose active care has ended and who are waiting for their relocation to our beds is an irritant.

What stresses you the most in your practice? 

• All that is administrative

• Don't miss anything important to a patient.

• Reading an abdominal CT scan myself since the radiologist's report is not yet dictated, and making a mistake in my reading.

• Manage a large volume of outpatients without having access to technical platforms as much as you would like, prioritize them, be sure not to miss a result, do not forget to prescribe a follow-up, etc.

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What is the best advice you have received?

• Guess I didn't get enough  

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What is the most common criticism you receive?

• I don't receive any  

How would your colleagues describe you? 

• Competent, smiling and helpful

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Does your specialty take jokes well at work? 

• Yes and I try to do it every day

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Do students/residents sometimes make you feel overwhelmed? 

• No, but they push me to surpass myself

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What are the difficulties, the least pleasant aspects that you encounter in your specialty? 

• Having to share our endoscopic platform with surgeons

• Management of patient personalities. Passive-aggressive personalities are the most difficult to mobilize in their management of gastroenterological symptoms in my opinion. In gastronomy, there is a good old saying that says "the neux pushes the old!" ". Well in gastro, what you put in your digestive tract, will very much dictate the symptoms you are going to have! But people are not always ready to accept this!

What car do you drive? 

• Land Rover LR4

• GLE 550 Mercedes 

• A Subaru Impreza. I like small cars better

If your specialty had to have a romantic relationship with another which one would it choose? 

• Psychiatry (the brain gut axis)

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How do you plan your vacation? 

• last minute

• Always well in advance and with lots of family projects! In our work, the secret is balance! To give good advice as a professional, we need to recharge our batteries regularly. You have to work hard when it's time to work hard and let go of the tie when it's time to let go of the tie! So in general, I manage to leave home, otherwise I see too much work waiting for me! You have to have fun in life, otherwise, what's the point.... My family is what is most precious to me, it's my foundation. I always organize myself to have fun little projects with the children because they are spontaneous, funny and detached! It's perfect for resting the mind! 

• Kayaking and on the North Shore