Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Well-being of Canadian doctors declining: survey

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2022 09:46 AM
  • Well-being of Canadian doctors declining: survey

TORONTO - The well-being of physicians across Canada has significantly decreased with many doctors reporting poorer mental health than before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey suggests.

The Canadian Medical Association's national physician health survey, released Thursday, indicates that 53 per cent of respondents reported symptoms of burnout, including emotional exhaustion.

The reported burnout rate among doctors was 1.7 times higher than it was in the association's previous survey in 2017.

The survey suggests that one-quarter of respondents were experiencing severe or moderate anxiety and almost half of the respondents were struggling with depression.

Forty-nine per cent of physicians who participated in the survey also indicated they were likely to reduce or modify their clinical hours in the next two years.

The association's president, Dr. Alika Lafontaine, said the participants' responses "reflect the current state of the health-care system," adding the COVID 19 pandemic exacerbated many challenges physicians have been facing for years.

"People pulling back full-time clinical practice, people doing different things in order to mitigate burnout, more pervasive negative sentiment towards the direction that the health-care system is going and then just how this is affecting certain types of physicians more ... family physicians in particular are really struggling," he said in a recent interview.

The online survey involved 4,121 physicians, medical residents and medical students who participated between Oct. 13 and Dec. 13, 2021.

Lafontaine, who is a practising anesthesiologist in Grande Prairie, Alta., said doctors are resilient but the stress levels they face are very high.

"We've been trained in situations where stress is a normal part of work," he said. "We know that providing care in the medical system is a stressful job, but that stress has just completely gone out of control."

The survey suggests 36 per cent of physicians have had thoughts of suicide at some point in their life, compared to 18 per cent of doctors saying they thought about suicide in 2017.

Fifty-seven per cent of all respondents said they always or often feel fatigued at work, and only 36 per cent of respondents saidthey always or often get optimal sleep.

Lafontaine said provincial governments across Canada have had an "obsession with efficiency" over the last two decades, and health-care providers have not received the support they need to make sure their work environments are sustainable.

He said health-care providers, administrators and governments should start working toward pan-Canadian solutions.

"And then make sure that we have the right priorities: focusing on sustainable work environments, making sure that high-quality, high-safety patient care is provided," he said.

Lafontaine, who was recently elected as the first Indigenous president to the Canadian Medical Association, said the federal government can help by working toward more collaboration in health human resources.

MORE National ARTICLES

Two dead, one injured in Chilliwack shooting

Two dead, one injured in Chilliwack shooting
The RCMP's Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment says officers were called to the residence on McNaught Ave. near Yard Rd. at about 11 a.m. Thursday for reports of gunfire.When they arrived, they found the body of one woman, and a second woman with life-threatening gunshot wounds. She was airlifted to hospital, where she later died of her injuries.

Two dead, one injured in Chilliwack shooting

Surrey man charged with 17 criminal offences, gets 15 years imprisonment

Surrey man charged with 17 criminal offences, gets 15 years imprisonment
Brandon Nandan has pleased guilty to various charges including possession of controlled substances (Fentanyl, Cocaine and Methamphetamine) for the 
purpose of trafficking and counselling person A to commit the Indictable Offence of Discharging a Firearm with intent to 
endanger life, and possession of a loaded 9mm caliber Beretta model 92FS Semi automatic pistol. 

Surrey man charged with 17 criminal offences, gets 15 years imprisonment

Woman attacked in unprovoked stranger assault on a bus in June

Woman attacked in unprovoked stranger assault on a bus in June
As soon as the bus stopped, the suspect approached the victim as she was speaking with the bus operator.  Then, without provocation, allegedly punched her in the head and face several times, causing her to fall to the ground. He was last seen exiting the bus at Main Street and 64thAvenue.

Woman attacked in unprovoked stranger assault on a bus in June

B.C. ending immigration detention deal with CBSA

B.C. ending immigration detention deal with CBSA
The groups released a report in June 2021 saying immigrants with no criminal charges against them are detained in holding centres, federal prisons or provincial jails for "indeterminate amounts of time." They launched a campaign calling on B.C. to end its contract last October, and later expanded their push to Quebec and Nova Scotia.

B.C. ending immigration detention deal with CBSA

Highest court agrees B.C. man guilty of 1st-degre

Highest court agrees B.C. man guilty of 1st-degre
The Supreme Court of Canada decision released Thursday agrees with a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling last year that raised the conviction of Darren Sundman from second-degree murder to first-degree and imposed a minimum 25-year prison term before being eligible for parole.

Highest court agrees B.C. man guilty of 1st-degre

B.C. announces consumer protection for homebuyers

B.C. announces consumer protection for homebuyers
Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the consumer protection policy effective Jan. 1 is aimed at providing people with peace of mind as unconditional offers are common and could later end up costing buyers thousands of dollars in repairs.

B.C. announces consumer protection for homebuyers