Jenn D'Mello *

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Candidate statement

I am a physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Calgary, where I've worked clinically in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Child Maltreatment for 13 years. I'm a clinical assistant professor at the University of Calgary and teach at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education levels. For 6 years I served as the Deputy Section Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at ACH, completing my term in 2023.
I wish to join CMPA Council because over the course of my career it’s become clear to me that CMPA’s core values align closely with aspects of medicine that are meaningful to me- specifically providing safe patient care and providing support to my colleagues in a stressful and demanding profession. Additionally, CMPA excels at driving meaningful change and shaping Canada’s Health Care System, which is something I want to be a part of.
I have unique experience within the medico-legal system as my work in child maltreatment has required me to provide court testimony as a medical expert for multiple criminal trials. CMPA’s assistance in preparing me to testify in a high-profile trial was invaluable and is what initially piqued my interest in becoming more involved with CMPA.
I have additional experience in my role as Deputy Section Chief that would be an asset. I sat on our emergency department’s Quality Assurance Committee and reviewed and responded to patient concerns related to care provided in our department. Those reviews gave me an appreciation for the importance of implementing systems to provide safer patient care and avoid medical errors balanced with a recognition that not all patient’s expectations are realistic or appropriate to meet. Reviews can be distressing to physicians, and I developed a skillset in responding to them that enabled improved patient care and satisfaction for the patients and their families, but also maintained healthcare provider wellness and job satisfaction.
Our healthcare system has been in a crisis for several years and physician well-being continues to decline. I have extensive experience and success addressing physician well-being locally in my leadership roles and my colleagues have described me as a decisive, collaborative, trustworthy and transparent leader with exceptional communication, professionalism, and conflict resolution skills.
Joining CMPA council would allow me to more broadly support physicians across Canada.