With the country’s health care system in crisis, the ramifications of the pandemic continue to drastically affect the emotional and physical well-being of physicians, medical learners and other health care workers across Canada. You’re likely working longer hours and juggling heavier workloads, all while many of you have had to also deal with harassment.
While system-level change to address these challenges must happen, there are steps you can take to improve your mental health. We’re here to help you manage your wellness with proven services and resources in our Pandemic Wellness Toolkit.
ACCESS SUPPORT SERVICES AND RESOURCES
Support for physicians experiencing harassment
The Threats and harassment page offers resources and services to support physicians and medical learners experiencing threats and harassment in person and online.
Wellness Support
List of national crisis support lines and provincial health programs for physicians
Wellness Connection
The Wellness Connection offers free, virtual peer support sessions led by trained facilitators to physicians and medical learners.
Physician Wellness Hub
The Physician Wellness Hub provides reliable wellness tools and resources to empower physicians, medical learners, leaders and educators to create change in the culture of medicine.
Connect with peers
You’re not alone. Connect with other physicians to share your experiences and coping strategies.
Check your vitals
Being stressed or overwhelmed can make it hard to recognize when we need support. Use this mental health continuum model for physicians to check in with yourself.
HEALTHY
How you're feeling
- Normal mood fluctuations
- Calm, takes things in stride
- Sense of humour
- Good concentration, performing well
- Normal sleep patterns
- Normal eating patterns, stable weight
- Physically well, active
- Socially active
- No or limited alcohol consumption/substance use/addictive behaviours
Recommended actions
- Focus on the task at hand
- Break problems into manageable tasks
- Be mindful of how you are feeling; take controlled, deep breaths
- Nurture your support system; recognize the signs of distress in your colleagues and offer support where possible
- Understand that is it okay to ask for support
- Access physician wellness resources to learn more about peer support, organizational wellness, leadership and much more
REACTING
How you're feeling
- Nervousness, irritability
- Sadness, overwhelmed
- Displaced sarcasm
- Distracted, loss of focus, intrusive thoughts
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Changes in eating patterns, some weight gain or loss
- Low energy, procrastination
- Decreased social activity
- Some to regular alcohol consumption/substance use/addictive behaviours (controlled)
Recommended actions
- Recognize limits, take breaks
- Take care of the basics: get enough rest, water, food, exercise
- Seek out peer support - check out the Wellness Connection which offers free virtual sessions for physicians and medical learners
- Identify and resolve problems early - if problems persist, contact the Wellness Support Line and/or your provincial physician health program for support
- Access physician wellness resources to learn more about self-compassion, resilience, civility and much more
INJURED
How you're feeling
- Anxiety, anger, sadness, hopelessness
- Negative attitude
- Recurrent intrusive thoughts/images/nightmares
- Difficulty concentrating, decreased performance
- Restless, disturbed sleep, increased fatigue
- Fluctuations in weight
- Increased aches and pain
- Avoidance, tardiness
- Frequent alcohol consumption/substance use/addictive behaviours (hard to control)
Recommended actions
- Recognize your own signs of distress and make self-care a priority
- Maintain social contact, don’t withdraw – try using the buddy system to stay connected
- Contact the Wellness Support Line and/or your provincial physician health program for crisis support and everyday wellness issues
- Access physician wellness resources to learn more about grief, trauma, stress and much more
ILL
How you're feeling
- Excessive anxiety, panic attacks, angry outbursts, aggression
- Depressed mood and/or suicidal thoughts
- Noncompliant
- Cannot concentrate or perform duties
- Cannot fall asleep/stay asleep, constant fatigue
- Extreme weight fluctuations
- Physical illnesses
- Withdrawal, absenteeism
- Significant trouble/impact due to alcohol consumption/substance use/addiction
Recommended actions
- For immediate assistance call 911 or visit the nearest hospital
- Contact the Wellness Support Line and/or your provincial physician health program for crisis support and everyday wellness issues
- Visit your primary care physician and follow recommendations
- Access physician wellness resources to learn more about burnout, depression, anxiety, stress and much more.
This model has been adapted from a model created by the Canadian Armed Forces.
Credit Eligibility
Completing activities and accessing resources in this toolkit can count towards continuing professional development credits.
When reporting this activity for CPD credits, please describe it as "CMA Pandemic Wellness Toolkit".