@nilikm
#Canadian | Family doctor | mother | medical #anthropology | #McGill | #UCL | #Yale | writer | #feminism | RxAdvocacy | Fulbright Scholar | Commonwealth Scholar | Jabapalooza | #WomenInMedicine | #Ottawa | #MedSky | personal account (she/her) 🇨🇦
I've heard that less than 5% of Ontario doctors voted in the first week of the @ontariosdoctors.bsky.social elections.
You've got a few more days to vote (until March 10).
Please participate in this process so that whomever you choose has a proper mandate from colleagues.
Have a peaceful weekend
Hamantaschen
On the holiday of Purim, it is customary to bring friends gift baskets of sweets and hamantaschen (delivering mishloach manot). A patient brought me a basket today. Very thoughtful. We baked last night and will hopefully share with our friends, unless our children ate them all…
Hamantashen are shaped like Haman’s three-sided hat. Ours are filled with cherry and chocolate. They can be prune, poppyseed, whatever.
Someone commented they’ve never heard of Purim. A story of the ancient Persian empire, 4th century BCE. A virulent Jew hater, Haman, advises the king to have all Jews killed. The king is married to a woman, Esther, who reveals her Judaism and thwarts Haman. We tell the story and eat hamantashen…
Photo circa 2006, middle child often in costume
Chag sameach.
Happy Purim, friends!
(Photo circa 2006, middle child often in costume. Possibly to go to a Purim spiel, but just as likely nothing to do with the holiday.)
Sharing a health care moment that warmed my heart this week:
Call with an RN, after patient was admitted to hospital.
Me: Thanks for reaching to to primary care, and thank you for taking such good care of my patient in hospital.
RN: Thanks for the care that the patient received in the community.
Sadly, yes.
In preparation for tonight’s state of the union address for our American neighbours, here’s my best Canadian advice: POTUS banks his presidency on a population that is susceptible to his indifference to truth, morality, ethics, decency. The rest of us can Immunize ourselves against indifference. 🇨🇦
OBSP clinic
Mammogram done! As a family doctor, I encourage every woman 40 and over to get routine breast cancer screening. Early detection saves lives. If you don’t have a family doctor, you can now self-refer to the Ontario Breast Screening Program.
Dearest MD colleagues in Ontario, OMA voting opens today, Monday Feb 23 (until March 10). Please participate in the @ontariosdoctors.bsky.social elections. If you haven’t already done so, you can read the President-Elect and Board of Director candidate statements here: www.oma.org/about-the-om...
Nevertheless, proud of Team Canada, from coast to coast to coast. 🇨🇦
Hockey on our lake
Across the country, we are awake and ready to cheer on Team Canada. 🇨🇦
Sauna buried in snow
Meanwhile in Canada, for those of us who (dare I say it??) don’t watch hockey (but of course wish Team Canada well)…
Have a peaceful, healthy weekend.
Shabbat shalom 🇨🇦
In last night’s @ontariosdoctors.bsky.social town hall, the question of the gender pay gap was raised (you’ll be able to watch the recording next week).
As a candidate for OMA President, I can tell you that we have decades of research (see below). We need more action.
www.cmaj.ca/content/196/...
Thanks!
Looking forward to tonight’s @ontariosdoctors.bsky.social town hall. It is an honour to join fellow candidates for OMA President as we introduce ourselves and respond to questions from our medical colleagues across Ontario.
Smiling into a wintry sun
Happy Valentine’s Day
With love from Canada❤️🇨🇦
As a candidate for OMA President in the 2026 @ontariosdoctors.bsky.social elections, I am delighted to share my official statement:
vimeo.com/1164716475/5...
Voting for Ontario physicians runs from Feb 23-March 10.
Heated vest
Love is my husband giving me a heated vest to wear in clinic on extremely cold days. For osteoarthritic hands, the heated pockets are divine.
I am excited to announce that I am a candidate for President of the @ontariosdoctors.bsky.social
My statement is here: linkedin.com/in/nilikm
OMA voting opens Feb 23, 2026. If you are a physician in Ontario, I would appeciate your support. More information to follow.
Table set for Shabbat
I set the table early this morning in preparation for the end of a busy day. Husband will have our dinner ready including fresh GF challah. Simple, grounding routines when the world is unpredictable, times are difficult.
Wishing others a calm, healthy weekend. Shabbat shalom.
At a fabulous women’s health conference today in Ottawa with keynote speaker @drjengunter.bsky.social — she’s awesome, pushing back against all the misinformation on perimenopause and menopause. Women being marketed so much garbage about our health isn’t new, but social media sure makes it worse.
If the groundhog is buried under snow and cannot emerg to see his shadow, does that mean spring is six weeks away?
I got you to understand. 🇨🇦❄️
Blanket crocheted by a friend, sitting by the wood burning stove while son plays guitar
Exhausted. All we are up to doing right now.
Wishing everyone a peaceful, healthy weekend. Shabbat shalom.
Star of David necklace
Last night friends said that they rarely feel safe enough to wear anything that gives away their Jewish identity, in public or at work. In 2026, Holocaust Remembrance Day—a mere 81 years since Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated—we assert, “Never Again,” but we are less and less safe as Jews worldwide.
Partying like she’s 17
Cannot believe our daughter is 17 today. She’s the most wonderful, smart, kind, strong woman.
I was honoured to join B’nai Brith this morning for a press conference on Parliament Hill. The focus was on the rise of hate crimes targeting Jews, B’nai Brith calling for a Royal Comission into antisemitism in Canada and calling for the appointment of a new Special Envoy combatting antisemitism.
Shadows while walking the dog
We are Canadian. 🇨🇦 (-40 Celsius)
Our pup looking out the window, next to our Canadian flag
As the sun rises, we look out our windows exhausted by another week, but ever thankful that we elected Mark Carney to navigate global political chaos.
"Canada thrives because we are Canadian." Yes, indeed. 🇨🇦
“The middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” — standing ovation for Prime Minister Mark Carney 🇨🇦
Greenland’s safety, Canada’s safety, global safety hang in the balance.