Presenter: Dr. Alym Abdulla

Topic: Iron Deficiency in Pregnancy: Challenging our Current Paradigm

Bio: Dr. Alym Abdulla obtained his undergraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC. After working as a community pharmacist for 3 years he went to back to school and He completed his medical degree at UBC in 2015.  He completed his core internal medicine residency training and Hematology fellowship at UBC. He is a Clinical Instructor in the UBC Division of Hematology and the Site Director for Year 2 Clinical Skills for the UBC VFMP program. He is currently working as a hematologist at Royal Columbian Hospital. His clinical interests include iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy, venous thromboembolism and myeloid disorders.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Explain the pathophysiology, etiology and diagnosis of iron deficiency in pregnancy
2. Understand the impact of iron deficiency in pregnancy
3. Understand the management options for iron deficiency in pregnancy and the postpartum period
4. Identify the pitfalls and potential ways we can improve our current paradigm of managing iron deficiency in pregnancy

Presenter: Dr. Shaohua Lu

Topic: Insomnia: An Update on the Use of Dual Orexin Antagonist In the Medical Surgical Setting

Bio: Dr. Lu is an addiction and forensic psychiatrist with over 25 years of clinical experience with a focus on addiction, PTSD and complex psychiatric conditions. He completed his addiction psychiatric fellowship at Harvard University.  He had served on the Health Canada Expert Task Force on Substance Use. Dr. Lu is a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia.  He has helped to develop various psychiatry educational and clinical programs with Vancouver Coastal Health and UBC. He had served on provincial, national, and international medical organizations.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Familiarize with the orexin mechanism in sleep
2. Current data on DORA on sleep
3. A review of the clinical experience of DORA in the medical surgical setting

Presenter: Dr. Michael Butchart

Topic: Radiology Fireside Chat

Bio: Rank-and-file Radiologist in the FHA since 2002, serving at RMH since 2007. Chief Radiologist RMH 2010-2012 and 2021-2024. Publications: an acknowledgment in an obscure journal some time around 2000.

Presenter: Dr. Zameer Hirji

Topic: The Role of Interventional Radiology in the Management of Venous Thrombosis

Bio: Dr. Zameer Hirji is an Interventional Radiologist at Royal Columbian Hospital in British Columbia, Canada. After his Radiology Residency at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, he went on to complete a Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa. Although he provides the full range of vascular, body and stroke intervention, he has a special interest in venous disease. Dr. Hirji works closely with local and regional specialists to help diagnose and treat conditions such as PE, acute deep venous thrombosis, upper arm DVT, and deep venous reconstruction. He enjoys sharing his experience with other centers that are still new to PE thrombectomy taking an active role in new program development and education. He is currently working with a multidisciplinary team to develop a DVT treatment pathway to ensure patients are triaged and treated appropriately. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Medical Expert: Evaluate the pathophysiology and risk stratification of acute DVT and PE to guide evidence-based management decisions.
2. Medical Expert: Identify appropriate candidates for endovascular therapies (e.g., catheter-directed thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy) in acute iliofemoral DVT and selected PE.
3. Scholar: Interpret key clinical trial data and contemporary guideline recommendations, including the 2023 position statement from the Society of Interventional Radiology, and apply findings to clinical practice.
4. Collaborator: Integrate Interventional Radiology consultation within multidisciplinary care pathways, including hospital-based PE response models.
5. Health Advocate / Leader: Recognize opportunities to reduce long-term morbidity (e.g., post-thrombotic syndrome and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension) through timely referral and system-level coordination.

Presenter: Dr. Erin Budd

Topic: Distilling the Facts: Reviewing Management of Alcohol Use Disorder

Bio: Erin Budd is a family physician who completed an Enhanced Skills Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at UBC. She currently serves as the medical lead for a virtual addictions clinic and practices across multiple settings, including Fraser Health Medical Detox and the Surrey Rapid Access to Addiction Care (RAAC) clinic. In addition, she works in a long-term opioid agonist therapy (OAT) practice and has experience providing primary care in a priority populations clinic.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Be able to differentiate between low risk and high risk alcohol use vs  alcohol use disorder.
2. Have an improved ability to identify patients at low vs high risk of complicated alcohol withdrawal.
3. Understand indications and how to prescribe relapse prevention medications.

Presenter: Dr. Laura kelly & Dr. Dan Moller

Topic: A Unique Endocrinology Case: Multiple Fractures and Severe Hypertension in a Young Man

Bio: Coming soon…

Learning Objectives:

1. Coming soon…