Dr. James Maskalyk: Making the Emergency Department Healthier for Everybody

Healthcare Change Makers

Burnout is a prominent issue for healthcare workers and a topic Dr. James Maskalyk is passionate about. This led to the creation of a wellness program at St. Michael’s Hospital and later across 15 hospitals in the GTA through the University of Toronto. The program promotes facets such as peer support for providers, critical incident debriefing, and more.

On the episode, Dr. Maskalyk also touches on small yet important steps that can be taken to boost overall mood in the emergency department, such as mindfulness practices, and snacks.

Quotables:

“…medicine is not something that just happens in the emergency room, but something that very much follows us home as practitioners and patients.”

“It really is just about beginning the conversation that doctors are people too, and nurses are people too, and the people who are there who support us as porters, the people who cook the food, we are human beings working in an increasingly inhumane system – to be honest.”

“There is an opportunity for us to speak to each other about what’s happening inside of us that could be more clear, because vulnerability is not a skill that we learn in medical school, or I never did.”

“You standing there, beside these people, doing the best you can, is one of the most beautiful acts ever completed by a human being.”

“Life ultimately is a temporary situation. So, then the question becomes, what do you do with what you’ve been given… it sounds trite but the answer is just be kind, to yourself and other people.”

“It’s an honour to be here and to have the trust of my patients and my colleagues, who are in the ER this very moment helping people.”

Mentioned in this Episode:

• St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health

• University of Toronto

• Dr. Sara Gray

• Dr James Orbinski

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast

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