When physicians come together to support each other and share their experiences, they help create a psychologically safe work environment where they can provide the best possible patient care. This page provides guidance and tools for facilitating formal and informal physician peer support, whether in person or virtually.
Topics
Peer support Policies, standards and best practices Relationships
The medical practice environment can be high-pressured, stressful and complex.
Cultivating resilience can help you bounce back from stressful events and minimize the emotional and physical impacts of challenging workplace situations. According to the 2017 CMA National Physician Health Survey, 82% of physicians have high resilience.
Topics
Indicators such as patient volume, patient satisfaction and financial performance have long been used to assess the stability and viability of health care organizations.
However, an article published in JAMA Internal Medicine found overwhelming evidence that physician well-being is just as important as these more "traditional" factors.
Topics
Governance tools Burnout Leadership and professional development Training Change management Organizational wellness
Resilience 101: Staying resilient in medical training and practice settings
An overview of resilience skills and strategies to help physicians deal with their day-to-day challenges
Resilience is a critical skill you can learn to help you recover from and adjust to adverse events. By strengthening this skill over time, you can overcome both anticipated and unexpected difficulties — and in doing so, provide the best care for your patients.
Topics
Resilience Peer support Policies, standards and best practices Relationships
The silent stigma around suicide
It’s time to end the stigma, support physicians and work toward a healthier medical community
Even with growing awareness of the issue, physician suicide continues to affect the profession. Around 400 physicians die by suicide in the U.S. each year — but by addressing the risk factors and working to change medical culture, health care leaders, physicians and medical students can make a difference.
Topics
Reshaping our health care system to reduce physician burnout
Burnout is a significant problem in health care, threatening the well-being of physicians along with the quality of care they provide to their patients.
Topics
This document from the Mental Health Commission of Canada provides two sets of guidelines:
- Part 1: Guidelines for the practice of peer support—an overview of the elements of peer support as well as guiding values, practice principles, and skills and abilities required for formal or intentional peer support.
- Part 2: Guidelines for the training of peer support— outlining the skills and knowledge that should be included in programs to prepare someone to provide peer support.
Topics
This implementation handbook is a companion document to the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. It provides practical information to guide organizations in their implementation efforts, from where to start and how to move through the planning stages to full implementation. Together with the Standard, it helps organizations create psychologically healthy and safe workplace environments.
Topics
Physical, psychological and cultural safety Policies, standards and best practices Governance tools Organizational wellness
Leaders play a critical role in community and individual recovery after a disaster. This tipsheet from the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress offers concise insights into traumatic grief and advice on immediate responses, communication, recovery and growth.
Topics
This page on the Workplace Strategies for Mental Health website offers guidance on measuring the costs of a psychologically unsafe workplace, considering legal trends, reviewing statistics, and identifying existing initiatives and innovative leadership perspectives. These elements all contribute to building the business case for addressing psychological health and safety in the workplace.
Topics
Building a case for support Measurement and outcomes Organizational wellness Physical, psychological and cultural safety
This short guide outlines steps physicians can take to prepare for life after residency. It covers topics such as applying for licensure, malpractice insurance, applying for a billing number and more.
Topics
Coping with Depression is a workbook from the Government of Western Australia’s Centre for Clinical Interventions that provides information about depression and strategies for managing mood. Its sequential modules start with an overview of depression and move on to strategies for management and self-management. Each module includes information, worksheets and suggested exercises or activities.