Physician Health Resources
The following resources provide personal and workplace health information addressing a variety of subjects applicable and relevant to all stages of your career.
- Articles and tools addressing a range of physician health-related topics
- Relevant external websites and organizations
Physician wellness news and events
Honouring and Healing our Burden of Grief and Loss
May 25, 2022
A 90-minute session looking at grief and loss (the relevance, obstacles, sources and consequences) with discussion and guidance through one way to reduce suffering and enhance well-being. This session will be led by Dr. Ieleen Taylor, MD CCFM.
Hope and Healing after Trauma - Reflections for Physicians by General Roméo Dallaire
June 7, 2022
Please note that the session will not be recorded. Alberta’s physicians at every career stage are suffering with occupational stress injury that has physical, ethical and moral dimensions, in an environment of extenuating and difficult circumstances. This live virtual 90-minute keynote session with General Roméo Dallaire will offer physicians in any career stage, hope, connection, and inspiration for healing.
The wounded healer
March 21, 2022
Dr. Ghazala Radwi's father died in the fall of 2021, following 20 weeks in ICU (not COVID related). "I have few words that can describe the magnitude of my grief through the many weeks of seeing my father suffer with numerous nosocomial complications as we navigated a health care system that had been stretched beyond its limits, weighed down by compassion fatigue."
PFSP Perspectives: The trouble with death - a poem
March 21, 2022
A poem by Dr. Jim Malmberg, a retired psychiatrist: The trouble with death is the mystery; The trouble with death is love’s letting go; Photographs and history; All that’s left; and that’s all we know...
Virtual Resident Wellness Conference 2021
November 4, 2021
On November 4, 2021, In collaboration with the University of Alberta’s Office of Advocacy and Wellbeing and Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta, the AMA's Physician and Family Support Program held the Resident Wellness Conference (RWC) 2021. View the schedule for RWC 2021's morning and afternoon sessions as well as descriptions of each offering.
Moral Dilemmas: Reflecting on Physicians' Experiences and Approaches
July 2, 2021
June 23, 2021 webinar: Physicians may experience moral distress as a consequence of moral dilemmas commonly faced in health care, and more so during the pandemic. This session provides an opportunity to consider the moral dilemmas faced by physicians, discuss the construct of moral distress with a panel of experts and learn approaches for dealing with moral dilemmas and their consequences at the organizational and personal level.
Articles and tools
Click the links to jump to your desired section.
2SLGBTQ+
- Alberta Health Services
Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Gender Expression (SOGIE) Safer Places Toolkit - Canadian Mental Health Association
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Queer Identified People and Mental Health
Addiction
- Am I alcohol dependant? Try this self-assessment tool.
- Hail Physician: Dare to Care, Part I
Dr. Dianne Maier - What is substance use disorder (SUD) and how can the AMA's PFSP help Alberta physicians? Watch the video.
- Webinar recording (member login required)
A Physician's Story of Addiction, Depression, Hope and Recovery with Dr. Adam Hill
Adverse Events, Complaints and Medical-Legal Litigation
- CanMEDS Session Department of Surgery, "And Then Everything Changed: When Adverse Events Happen at the Onset of Practice"
- Dealing with Adverse Events, Complaints, and Medical Legal Litigation
PFSP info-sheet - The impact of an adverse event in early practice
PFSP Perspectives: November-December 2020 Alberta Doctors’ Digest - Transcend adversity
Dr. Nancy Love
Burnout
- Sound Mind podcast: Battling physician burnout
In the March 16 episode of the Canadian Medical Association's podcast Sound Mind, Dr. Caroline Gérin-Lajoie talks to Dr. Jillian Horton about her book, 'We Are All Perfectly Fine,' a chronicle of how medical culture has harmed physicians, and her own personal journey to overcome burnout. - Am I at risk for burnout? Try the BMA Doctors for Doctors Burnout Questionnaire.
- Mini Z burnout survey: Find out how your workplace stress levels measure up against others in your field
American Medical Association - One in four Canadian physicians report burnout: New CMA survey provides key indicators on physician health
- Physician Wellness: Preventing Resident and Fellow Burnout
American Medical Association - Preventing Physician Burnout
American Medical Association - ProQOL
The ProQOL is the most commonly used measure of the negative and positive effects of helping others who experience suffering and trauma. The ProQOL has sub-scales for compassion satisfaction, burnout and compassion fatigue. - Rates of burnout, depression reported by doctors, residents concerning: report
Sheryl Ubelacker | The Canadian Press - Self-compassion quiz by Kristin Neff, Ph.D
26 Likert scale questions that measure your self-compassion.
Moral Dilemmas
- COVID Trauma Response Working Group Rapid Guidance
Moral Injury in Health Care Workers Associated with COVID-19 - Managing Mental Health Challenges Faced by Health Care Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic
Neil Greenberg and colleagues set out measures that healthcare managers need to put in place to protect the mental health of healthcare staff having to make morally challenging decisions.
Physicians for Physicians (P4P)
Physicians Caring for Physicians
- AMA President on physician mental health and PFSP: Watch video
- The magic white coat: How doctors deal with their own illnesses
Dr. Terrie Brandon - Physician health issue
Vital Signs, March 2017
Physicians in the Workplace
- Understanding and processing our grief when a colleague dies
Dr. Jane Loehr (Calgary Family Physician, PFSP Assessment Physician) and Fleur Yumol (MSc., MSW, RSW, Unify Consulting Managing Director) - June 16, 2020 Webinar:
Physician Wellness: Feeling Distress, Understanding Loss and Finding Meaning - Relationships: What Works for Physicians?
Dr. Monica Hill - Fifteen Years into My Brilliant, but Unbalanced Career — Now what?
Dr. Vincent Hanlon - Keeping the igloo warm
Dr. Marc Cheriwchan
Relationships with Patients
- Living better through empathy
Dr. Jared Bly
Resident Wellness Conference
- View RWC 2021's program as well as station Information and coach bios
- Resources from the Resident Wellness Conference 2019 sessions, including station references, materials, and links to additional tools
Stress and Fatigue Management
- Managing Compassion Fatigue is an Organizational Responsibility
Dr. Sharron L. Spicer, Vital Signs, April 2018
Suicide Prevention
- When a colleague dies: growing through tragedy
Presentation by Dr. Michael F. Myers - Health care Professional Burnout, Depression and Suicide Prevention
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - A Physician Public Health Imperative: Respond to Physician Mental Illness and Suicide
PFSP Perspectives, Alberta Doctors' Digest, January-February 2008 - Dr. Dianne Maier - Preventing Physician Distress and Suicide: Recognize and respond to physician distress and suicidal behavior
American Medical Association - The Complexity of Physician Suicide
The BMJ, September 10, 2018 - Dr. Michael Myers - Out of the shadows: Shining light on physician suicide
PFSP Perspectives, Alberta Doctors' Digest. September-October 2016 - Dr. Sara Taylor
Physician wellness websites and organizations
Canadian Association for Physicians with Disabilities
- Social networking and support for Canadian physicians with disabilities
Canadian Medical Association Physician Health and Wellness
- View the CMA’s Statement on Physician Health and Wellness, its physician health policy, key issues in physician health and wellness and more.
- CMA Physician Wellness Hub
Original CMA content and curated information from other trusted sources for physicians, residents and medical students seeking guidance and wellness self-help. Also included is material for those leading wellness initiatives in institutions or medical departments.
- CMA Physician Wellness Hub
Canadian Medical Protective Association
- Connecting Canadian member physicians with risk-management training, legal defense and liability protection.
MD Financial Management
- A financial services firm dedicated exclusively to the financial well-being of Canada’s physicians and their families.
Provincial Physician Health Programs
- View what all Canadian provinces and territories medical associations offer their physician members.
Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta
- Resident Physician Wellness Month: Resident physician-related events and initiatives celebrated annually in May.
Resident Doctors of Canada
- Resources for Residents, including intimidation and harassment prevention, Crisis resources and debriefing after negative outcomes.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Well Doc Alberta
- A physician wellness initiative led by Dr. Jane Lemaire that offers training modules to address issues such as nutrition, coping strategies, bio-feedback for stress and resilience. WellDoc Alberta recently released seven Bulletins, five podcasts and three webinars to help physicians cope with the pandemic. All are available on its helpful resources page:
Bulletins
- Nourishing Our Bodies During the Pandemic
- Civility and Respect: How We Can Be at Our Best During the Pandemic and Beyond
- Sleep Strategies: Helping Physicians Through COVID-19
- Grieving the Loss of Normalcy During the Pandemic
- Mindfulness for Physicians During the COVID-19
- Helping Each Other Through the Pandemic: Providing Informal Physician-to-Physician Peer Support
- Physician Wellness During COVID-19: The Basics
Podcasts
- Sleep
- Wellness on the Front Lines of a Pandemic
- Staying Connected: Emotional Connection Amidst Physical Distancing
- Empathy & Compassion: Offering What We Can During COVID-19
- Self-Awareness: More Important Than Ever
Webinars
- The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Test of System-Level Physician Wellness
- Physician Wellness: Feeling Distress, Understanding Loss, and Finding Meaning
- Parenting as a Physician during COVID-19: Unique Challenges and Strategies
