Caring for patients and yourself
OTTAWA, August 14, 2023—Limited resources are a growing cause of professional challenges among doctors and all healthcare providers in the current healthcare environment. At today's 2023 Information Session, the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) shared strategies to help doctors reduce moral distress and navigate the complex realities of practising medicine with scarce resources. This session was held in conjunction with the 2023 CMPA Annual Meeting of members.
Managing limited healthcare resources has always been a reality for Canadian doctors. The public health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing backlogs, waitlists, and healthcare worker shortages. The CMPA plays an important role in addressing the healthcare crisis by providing advice, support, and education to doctors.
The CMPA assembled a distinguished panel of experts, moderated by Dr. Armand Aalamian, Executive Director, Learning, CMPA, to discuss practising under significant resource constraints, featuring:
- Dr. Marie-Chantale Brien, Physician Advisor and Director of Intervention, Prevention and Research, Québec Physicians’ Health Program;
- Dr. Vania Jimenez, Family Physician/Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, McGill University;
- Andrée-Anne Labbé, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault; and
- Dr. Richard Mimeault, Physician Advisor, CMPA.
Recognizing the tremendous stress experienced by doctors working with limited resources, panellists shared strategies to mitigate medico-legal risk and proposed resources to enhance work satisfaction and support physician wellness.
“We recognize that the current healthcare crisis is causing moral distress among physicians, and it is crucial to engage them, along with managers and decision-makers, to bring back meaning to their work,” said Dr. Marie-Chantale Brien. “By working together, we can offer solutions to optimize peer support and promote unified leadership to help physicians provide safe care.”
Dr. Vania Jimenez, a co-founder of La Maison Bleue—a not-for profit organization that provides a living environment for young children based on a preventive approach—said: “At La Maison Bleue resource constraints are a reality, but by providing institutional support, fostering interprofessional work, and delivering continuity of service, we continue to provide medical care to a population that is more vulnerable due to psychosocial conditions.”
“Under the current healthcare crisis, the ability of physicians to experience work satisfaction and deliver safe and reliable care relies on the learnable skills and behaviours that create successful teamwork and collaboration, said Dr. Armand Aalamian. “The aim of this interactive discussion is to provide helpful resources that will assist physicians in all specialties to navigate the reality of limited resources and mitigate medico-legal risk.”
In addition to providing tools and resources for participants, the session was followed by a Q&A period, where panellists addressed physicians’ concerns surrounding the critical issue of caring for patients and themselves during the current healthcare crisis.
For more information, or to arrange an interview: [email protected].
About the CMPA
The CMPA empowers better healthcare by delivering efficient, high-quality physician-to-physician advice and assistance in medico-legal matters. Importantly, the CMPA provides appropriate compensation, on behalf of our members, to patients injured by negligent medical care (fault in Québec). Our peer-reviewed research results in evidence-based products and services focused on enhancing patient safety and reducing patient harm and healthcare costs.
As Canada’s largest physician organization and with the support of our 109,000+ physician members, the CMPA collaborates, advocates, and effects positive change on important healthcare and medico-legal issues. The Association is governed by an elected Council of physicians.
