Over the past few years, I’ve often reflected on what feels like a major paradox of modern healthcare: we ask those at the heart of the system—physicians and health-care staff—to deliver compassion and excellence under conditions that often undermine their own well-being. Medicine is an inherently demanding profession, but the systemic pressures we face today—intense workloads, shrinking resources, and the erosion of work-life boundaries—have turned what were perhaps manageable challenges into what can feel like a series of crises. Burnout is no longer a risk; it’s a reality for many.
Yet, I believe there is reason for hope. Just as we prescribe treatment plans for our patients, we can prescribe strategies for wellness in our workplaces. At WorkSafeNB, our vision to make New Brunswick the safest place to work includes promoting the importance of the well-being of those who provide care. Focusing on physician and staff wellness is not just a nicety, it is an imperative.
Building Policy to Support Wellness
Wellness in the workplace starts with strong, actionable policies. Physicians and health-care colleagues need environments that are designed to support their physical, emotional, and mental health. Examples include ensuring adequate staffing levels to prevent overwhelming workloads, providing protected time for self-care, and the respect for legislatively mandated breaks, such as a 30-minute break for every five hours worked, and at least one day off per week.
These policies are not just luxuries; they are necessities. Sufficient staffing ensures that physicians have time to engage meaningfully with patients, rather than rushing from one crisis to the next. Mandated breaks offer opportunities for mental reset, reducing errors and improving the quality of care. Most importantly, these structural supports send a clear message: the well-being of our caregivers matters.
Resourcing Wellness for Individuals and Leaders
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has long championed wellness as a cornerstone of effective healthcare. Their Physician Wellness Hub offers practical resources for individual physicians, learners, and leaders alike. These tools are designed to address both personal resilience and the systemic issues contributing to burnout.
Key examples include:
- Resilience training for physicians to manage stress and build coping skills.
- Leadership modules that guide organizations in embedding wellness into their workplace cultures.
- Policy strategies for addressing systemic challenges, from workload management to team conflict resolution.
By leveraging these resources, we can ensure that wellness is not just a talking point but a tangible reality for those working in healthcare.
In addition, the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) Wellness Program provides tailored supports specifically for physicians, medical residents, students, and their families in New Brunswick. These include:
- Tailored counseling and peer support programs to address the demands of practice, relationships, and mental health.
- Professional coaching to help physicians navigate career and personal challenges.
- Initiatives like the Physician Social Engagement Fund and the Physician Lounge Improvement Initiative, which foster community and well-being within the medical profession.
WorkSafeNB also offers a range of programs to support workplace mental health and well-being. These include:
- The Traumatic Psychological Injury (TPI) Resource Centre, which provides evidence-based support for workers and healthcare providers dealing with work-related traumatic events.
- The SUCCEED Program, an early intervention initiative offering timely psychological care for workers.
- The Working to Well Program, which supports workers in returning to their jobs after an injury while maintaining a connection to their workplace.
For more information on WorkSafeNB’s wellness programs, visit our website.
A WorkSafeNB Strategy for Wellness
Our strategy at WorkSafeNB is built on three pillars; People, Prevention and Integrity. These principles guide our collaboration with health-care organizations, policymakers, and frontline providers, with the shared goal of making New Brunswick the safest place to work.
Wellness policies for physicians don’t just benefit health-care providers—they benefit patients too. Burnout leads to errors, inefficiencies, and depersonalized care, all of which directly affect patient outcomes. Conversely, when physicians are supported, they can deliver the compassionate, high-quality care that every patient deserves.
Investing in physician wellness is a win-win: healthier doctors mean healthier patients and a stronger health-care system for everyone.
A Call to Action
The time to act is now. By building policies that support physician wellness, leveraging resources like the CMA’s Physician Wellness Hub, the NBMS Wellness Program, and WorkSafeNB’s initiatives, we can create a culture where our caregivers thrive.
Let us commit to this shared vision. Together, we can make wellness in healthcare a reality—and in doing so, deliver better outcomes for physicians, staff, and the patients we serve.
Dr. Paul Atkinson, Chief Medical Consultant at WorkSafeNB
