Physician Changemakers

Back in 2004 when Dr. Jane Lemaire became vice-chair of physician wellness in the University of Calgary’s department of medicine, the issue was in its infancy. “In terms of being able to find a resource (on physician wellness), there was almost nothing."

In his third year of medical school, while on a clinical rotation at Sunnybrook Hospital, Ben Fung lost a patient. It wasn’t the first time. He had other patients die suddenly, or from trauma. But for Fung, this was more personal.

"My initial response was 'Me? Why me? Who would vote for me?'" Dr. Gigi Osler admits she experienced a case of imposter syndrome when one of her colleagues at a 2016 medical conference suggested she run for president-elect of the CMA.

It’s a question Dr. Nav Persaud has asked himself too often. “Why did I spend all those years training to become a doctor if at the end of it, when I give someone a diagnosis, they don’t fully benefit because they can’t afford the treatment?”

When Dr. Rupa Patel joined a practice in Kingston, Ontario, in 2010, she faced the biggest challenge of her career. Many of the patients who now came under her care — 30 to 40 people — were on high doses of opioids for chronic pain. 

Three years ago, Dr. Kimberly Wintemute took on a mission — to figure out which patients in her family health clinic were at risk of living in poverty. By knowing people’s economic circumstances, Dr. Wintemute believed, physicians could help reduce the impact that hardship has on their health.

“I don’t think MAiD should be something that we whisper about or something that we hide anymore. I think the more we speak about it and normalize it, the better.”

It’s a life-threatening reaction to anesthesia that causes a rapid heart rate, a dangerously high fever and severe muscle spasms. The condition is called malignant hyperthermia, and dantrolene is the only drug that can treat it. So when Alberta Health Services (AHS) issued a warning in May 2018 that dantrolene was on back order until late August 2018, the issue of drug shortages hit home for Dr. Douglas DuVal.