MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Colleagues:
T
David Rouselle,
College President
I think we can all be
more sensitive to
each other’s burdens
and reach out and
offer support
he College exists to pro-
mote patient safety and
the undeniable fact is,
the safety of patients is
at risk when the physicians treating
them are suffering burnout.
At our most recent Council meet-
ing, we invited Dr. Joy Albuquerque,
medical director of the OMA’s Phy-
sician Health Program, to talk to us
about how her program ensures that
physicians get the care they need
when they feel overwhelmed by the
challenges presented to them.
She explained that physicians –
especially younger physicians – ap-
pear to be experiencing stress, and
burnout in unprecedented num-
bers. Residents, she said, were the
fastest growing group of doctors to
pick up the phone and ask for help
from the PHP.
Dr. Albuquerque put forward a
number of theories for the increase
in the number of calls to the PHP:
advances in technology have seen
the practise of medicine become
much more complex; the push for
transparency has led to a blurring
of the line between a physician’s
professional and personal life; and
significantly, younger doctors have
become more comfortable reaching
out for help.
As I stated in my previous letter,
the issue of physician burnout is a
matter that we take very seriously.
The College has a long history of
partnering with the staff at PHP to
ensure that physicians at risk get the
help they need. While the OMA and
the College have different missions,
we both share the goal of having a
system full of healthy doctors, which
by extension, will lead to improved
care and safer patients.
Usually the workplace is the last
place where distress and impair-
ment shows, so I would ask my
colleagues to take very seriously even
minor, persistent changes in a peer’s
behavior. The key to recognition of
a problem, said Dr. Albuquerque, is
knowing the performance baseline
from which a person normally func-
tions. Physicians should ask after
their colleague’s well-being if they
seem to be performing below their
usual standard.
The practice of medicine can
be difficult. But I think we can all
be more sensitive to each other’s
burdens and reach out and offer
support whenever we feel something
may be amiss. And if you, yourself,
feel disengaged and overwhelmed, I
urge you to ask for help. It is closer
at hand than you may think.
ISSUE 4, 2017 DIALOGUE
5