Burnout, depression, anxiety: These are long-standing challenges within medicine. But since the pandemic was declared, physicians’ mental health has continued to deteriorate. Now, new health and wellness data from the Canadian Medical Association sheds light on the seriousness of the situation.

"I've never seen so many physicians feeling so demoralized by the system and so deeply burnt out. I think we are in dark times, but I still have optimism because my colleagues remain committed to being at the table to try to make things better." -- Dr. Katharine Smart, CMA past president

On this episode of Sound Mind, Dr. Katharine Smart joins host Dr. Caroline Gérin‑Lajoie to reflect on a year of doctor-to-doctor conversations across the country while advocating for physicians’ well-being.

Medical school is tough enough. For Indigenous students, it can also be fraught with racism, and the pressure to share their cultural ‘expertise’ with teachers and classmates.

“A lot of the time, the stereotypes they’ve grown up with, their internal bias, the racism they don’t realize is there, comes to the surface, and it can be very traumatic as an Indigenous student to hear that, to sit through that, to sometimes have the questions directed at you.” - Jayelle Friesen-Enns

On this episode of Sound Mind, Dr. Caroline Gerin-Lajoie speaks to Josha Rafael from McMaster University and Jayelle Friesen-Enns from the University of Manitoba, about the blessings and burdens of being an Indigenous role model, and where they find support.

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Read more:

Physician Wellness: A Perspective from Indigenous Physicians | CMA

Physician Wellness: A Perspective from Indigenous Medical Students | CMA

Being a culturally safe physician | CMA

The shortage of health care workers in Canada is a growing crisis. The daily tradeoffs of caring for patients while keeping up with administrative demands is leading to burnout – and prompting some professionals to trade private clinics and hospitals for team-based practices.

“Working in a team makes me feel valued. I feel like I have a team that supports me just as much as I support the physician… There's no worrying about rushing to finish your shift and having to choose between not giving care rounds to my patients or not documenting in the EMR.” – Shawna Pasiciel, HealthWORX Medical Clinic

In this episode, host Dr. Caroline Gérin‑Lajoie speaks to Vancouver family doctor Christie Newton and registered nurse Shawna Pasiciel, of Medicine Hat, Alberta, about the wellness benefits of interprofessional collaboration – both for health care professionals and their patients.

If you're looking for resources, tools, and research on the topics covered today, please visit the CMA Physician Wellness Hub at cma.ca.