About Dr. Blumer

I grew up in Montreal, Quebec where I did my undergaduate studies at Vanier College and McGill University then headed to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario for medical school, graduating in 1981. (Oh my, so very long ago.) I then did my internal medicine specialty training at at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. I've been in specialty practice in the Greater Toronto Area since 1985.

I am an elected member of the Clinical & Scientific Section executive of the Canadian Diabetes Association where I serve as the head of the Dissemination & Implementation Committee for the CDA 2008 Clinical Practice Guidelines. I am also a member of the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

I love writing "Dummies" books and my titles include Diabetes for Canadians for Dummies (now out in its second edition and soon available in a French version), Understanding Prescription Drugs for Canadians for Dummies (which I co-wrote with my wonderful wife of 25 years, Dr. Heather McDonald-Blumer), Celiac Disease for Dummies (co-written with Dr. Sheila Crowe) and, coming soon, Diabetes Cookbook for Candians for Dummies (co-written with Cynthia Payne RN CDE).

Years ago I wrote What Your Doctor Really Thinks which is a lighthearted look at doctor-patient relationships. (To my pleasant surprise (er, make that shock), it was seen by an Asian publisher at a book show in England and they then translated it into Chinese!)

I have the privilege of being affiliated with the Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre and of working closely with the wonderful diabetes educators at the Ajax-Pickering Health Centre, Northumberland Health Care Centre and Lakeridge Health Corporation.

Of all the lecturing I do, none surpasses the true pleasue of speaking at Dr. Steve Edelman's Taking Control of Your Diabetes (www.tcoyd.org) conferences. Dr. Edelman (bless him) feels as passionately as I do about the importance of empowering people with diabetes to - as his organization's title say - take control of your diabetes!