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Candidate statement
The CMPA plays an important role in the lives of physicians in Canada. Most physicians will interact with CMPA at some point in their careers: whether it be to reach out to a physician advisor or that they need medico-legal support for a complaint or lawsuit.
Our profession is under ever increasing strain: resource scarcity which makes our jobs harder to do, an aging and growing population which increases the demand on our time and limits our ability to serve everyone who needs care, scope creep, as well as changing patient expectations. I believe we can do more to support members in navigating the difficulties of providing patient care in this environment.
Physician wellness has become an area of focus for me. Founding the Peer Support Program at Trillium Health Partners has brought me tremendous personal and professional satisfaction. I completed the Stanford WellMD Director course which provided many insights about well-being. More needs to be done at the organization and system level to support physician well-being. Physicians are as a group, highly resilient. Yet burnout continues to rise; not because we have a resilience deficit problem, but because we are working harder with fewer resources and long term this causes chronic stress and burnout. I believe there is more we could do to help physician wellness at a systems level. As a member organization, CMPA is uniquely positioned to innovate ways to support physicians throughout their working lives.
I have served on several hospital committees, as well as external leadership positions at OMA Council and OMA Insurance Board, Communications Chair, Canadian Women in Medicine, and the Toronto Women in Emergency Medicine executive. Through these roles, I have gained a wealth of experience by watching and learning how organizations function, as well as the stress points of working in our healthcare system. During a 26-year career in emergency medicine, I have worked in a collaborative interdisciplinary team-based environment which has allowed me to develop strong interpersonal and communication skills. The diversity of patients served in the ED has brought me a profound understanding of the barriers that people of different groups in our society face as they try to obtain healthcare. I have endeavoured to advocate for safe care; both for our patients and for physicians working in the system.
I would be honoured to take these experiences, skills, and energy to serve my fellow physicians at CMPA council.
