For generations, medicine has been shaped by a quiet but powerful narrative, one of endurance, sacrifice, and placing the needs of the profession above one’s own. Wellbeing has often been framed as a personal responsibility, something to attend to once the demands of academic and clinical medicine have been met. But the demands are never-ending, and the cost of this narrative has become increasingly visible.

Across Canada’s Faculties of Medicine, learners, faculty, and staff have experienced rising levels of burnout, moral distress, disconnection, and inequity. These are not signs of individual weakness or lack of commitment; they are understandable responses to complex systems that have long depended on people giving more than can be sustained.

Woven throughout this Toolkit is a central narrative: wellbeing matters. It matters for learners navigating formative stages of training, for faculty balancing multiple roles, for staff who sustain our institutions, and for the patients and communities we serve. Wellbeing is not a luxury, nor solely an issue of individual effort. It is a shared responsibility, shaped by leadership, policies, culture, environments, and everyday practices.

Wellbeing Matters was developed to support the faculties of medicine in shifting this narrative. This toolkit invites reflection and action, helping institutions recognize where we are while intentionally shaping where we are going.

About This Toolkit

This toolkit adapts the Okanagan Charter principles to the Faculty of Medicine context. It provides tangible ways to implement the Charter through a series of tailored resources.

Developed through the Culture of Academic Medicine Initiative (CAMI), an initiative of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), this toolkit supports learners, faculty, staff, physicians, and institutional leaders in translating the Okanagan Charter’s principles into meaningful action.

Grounded in a whole-system approach to wellbeing, the toolkit focuses on the policies, environments, cultures, services, and practices that shape everyday experiences in medical education and healthcare settings.

The toolkit is flexible and non-prescriptive. Users are encouraged to engage with sections most relevant to their role, context, and priorities, whether beginning this work or building on existing efforts.

By supporting reflection, collaboration, and continuous improvement, this toolkit aims to advance safer, more inclusive, and health-promoting academic medicine environments across Canada

This toolkit is intended to support health-promoting learning and work environments across Canadian Faculties of Medicine. Because institutional contexts, policies, and legislative requirements vary across jurisdictions, readers are encouraged to adapt the guidance to their local environment and apply it in accordance with applicable legislation, collective agreements, accreditation standards, professional obligations, and institutional policies.

How to use This Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help medical education communities put the Okanagan Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges into action in practical, meaningful ways.

Whether you are a learner, faculty member, staff person, administrator, or physician, this toolkit is meant to meet you where you are and help you move forward.

Wellbeing is shaped by policies, environments, culture, and services… not just personal efforts. This toolkit reflects that whole-system approach.

What This Toolkit Is (and Isn’t)

This toolkit is:

A practical, action-oriented guide to advancing wellbeing at multiple levels
Grounded in Canadian medical education and healthcare contexts
Flexible and adaptable to different roles and settings

This toolkit is not:

A checklist to complete all at once
A one-size-fits-all solution
Focused solely on individual self-care

Getting Started

There is no single “right” way to begin. Here are a few common starting points:

If you are new to this work:
Start with: Introduction | Foundations
These sections provide shared language and context.

If you are leading or supporting change:
Focus on: Policy | Culture | Continuous Improvement
These sections are useful for committees and working groups.

If you are looking for practical, immediate actions
Explore: Spaces | Health Services | Personal Development
Look for “quick wins” alongside longer-term strategies.

You can also approach the toolkit through your role:

- Leaders: Embed wellbeing into strategy and decision-making.
- Faculty/educators: Reflect on teaching and learning environments.
- Staff: Integrate wellbeing into systems and processes.
- Learners: Build understanding and contribute to change.

Learn more about roles and contributions in “Who is This Toolkit For”

Using This Toolkit as a Team

This toolkit works best when used collectively across your institution. You might:

Review a section together as part of a meeting or retreat
Use reflection questions to guide discussion
Identify one or two priority actions to pilot
Revisit sections over time as your context evolves

Change does not need to be perfect or comprehensive to be meaningful.

Start where you are!

You do not need to read everything or do everything in this toolkit!

Start with what feels most relevant, most urgent, or most achievable in your setting and build from there.

If this toolkit helps spark conversation, reflection, or small changes, it’s doing its job.

Who is This Toolkit For?

This toolkit is designed for everyone within the Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences environments and can be adapted in broader contexts. While your role may shape how you engage with the content, advancing wellbeing is a shared responsibility.

You may identify with one or more of the following groups.

Senior Leadership & Governance

Deans, Vice/Associate Deans, Presidents, Chief Executive Officers, Executive Directors, Senior Administrators

These decision-making roles shape institutional direction, priorities, culture, and system-level change.

Focus: strategy, governance, system-level change

How Senior Leaders can apply the toolkit:

Set vision and priorities by embedding the Okanagan Charter and PPC Safety principles into strategic plans.
Allocate resources and FTE support for wellbeing initiatives.
Integrate wellbeing into policies and accountability frameworks.
Model visible commitment to wellbeing in leadership practices.
Adopt Wellbeing Governance structures at the institutional level.

Toolkit starting points: Foundations | Policy | Continuous Improvement

Operational Leaders & Staff

Administrators, Managers, Professional Staff, Directors, Coordinators, HR Professionals, Finance Officers, Project Managers, and Project Staff

These roles are responsible for operationalizing strategy and supporting day-to-day functions.

Focus: implementation, operations, and local culture

How Operational Leaders & Staff can apply the toolkit:

Translate strategy into department-level culture and practice.
Foster physical, psychological, and culturally safe environments.
Embed wellbeing into team processes and workflows.
Support flexible work, fairness, and recognition practices.
Encourage and enable participation in wellbeing activities.
Identify local wellbeing leaders or peer supports.

Toolkit starting points: Policy | Health Services | Continuous Improvement

Academic & Clinical Faculty

Educators, Clinicians, Physicians, Professors, Instructors, Preceptors, Adjunct Faculty

Academic Faculty focus on foundational teaching, research, and curriculum, while Clinical Faculty bridge theory and practice, teaching clinical skills, applying evidence, and serving as role models in care.

Focus: teaching, mentorship, and learning environments

How Academic & Clinical Faculty can apply the toolkit:

Integrate wellbeing into curriculum, mentorship, and clinical practice.
Foster health-promoting learning and working environments.
Model balanced, compassionate, professional behaviour.
Support learners’ development, including wellbeing and emotional intelligence as a core competency.

Toolkit starting points: Culture | Personal Development | Spaces

Learners & Trainees

Undergraduate Medical Students, Post-graduate Residents, Fellows, Graduate Students (PhD, MSc), Post-Doctoral Fellows, Residents

These roles are the foundation of culture change and embody everyday actions that normalize caring and connection.

Focus: learning environments, advocacy, and lived experience

How Learners & Trainees can apply the toolkit:

Contribute to a culture of respect, community, and support.
Engage with and provide feedback on wellbeing initiatives.
Support peers and speak up when wellbeing is at risk.
Celebrate and reinforce positive team norms and behaviours.

Toolkit starting points: Foundations | Culture | Health Services

Researchers & Scientists

Faculty/Clinical Researchers, Research Fellows, Research Students, Biostatisticians, Biomedical Engineers, Specialized Scientists, Investigators

Generate and apply evidence to advance wellbeing, inform practice and policy, and support continuous improvement across education and healthcare systems.

Focus: evidence generation, translation, and innovation

How Researchers & Scientists can apply the toolkit:

Generate and apply evidence to inform wellbeing initiatives.
Evaluate programs and contribute to continuous improvement.
Translate research into practice and policy.
Mentor others and model healthy, sustainable ways of working.

Toolkit starting points: Foundations | Continuous Improvement | Policy

Where do you see yourself?

Throughout the toolkit, we use broad terms such as leaders, faculty, or learners to guide you to relevant content. We recognize that roles are diverse and often overlapping. Many individuals may see themselves reflected in more than one group.

As you explore the toolkit, we encourage you to:

Identify your primary role(s)
Consider how others in your environment contribute to wellbeing
Engage with sections beyond your role to support collective action

Who leads, who enables, and who lives the change?

In practice – everyone! While responsibilities differ, each group plays a meaningful role in advancing wellbeing.

Final Thoughts Before You Continue

A Shared Responsibility

Creating a health-promoting learning and working environment is a shared effort that depends on contributions from every role.

Leaders set direction and priorities

Faculty and staff shape everyday environments and experiences

Learners and trainees contribute insight, energy, and change

Researchers strengthen the evidence base that informs action

Bringing Wellbeing to Life

Health promotion comes to life through what we prioritize, how we work together, and the environments we create every day.

Upheld by institutions through governance, policies, and resources

Upheld by individuals through respect and ethical treatment

Upheld by the self through recognizing that wellbeing matters and taking action to support oneself and others

From Intention to Action

Meaningful change begins with intention, but it is sustained through action.

Across the Faculties of Medicine, there is a growing opportunity to embed wellbeing into the fabric of our systems, cultures, and everyday practices in ways that are visible, measurable, and sustainable.

This toolkit invites you to reflect, act, and lead change, wherever you are.

Continue exploring the toolkit:

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Foundations

Developed by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Culture of Academic Medicine Initiative (CAMI) in collaboration with the Okanagan Charter Collaborative.

Suggested Citation

Do, V. Wellbeing Matters: An Okanagan Charter Implementation Toolkit. Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), Culture of Academic Medicine Initiative – Towards Improved Provider Safety (CAMI-TIPS); 2026. Available from: [URL placeholder]

Help Improve the Toolkit

We welcome your feedback to help improve future versions of the toolkit. Questions, suggestions, and corrections are always appreciated.

Developed by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Culture of Academic Medicine Initiative (CAMI) in collaboration with the Okanagan Charter Collaborative.

Suggested Citation

Help Improve the Toolkit

We welcome your feedback to help improve future versions of the toolkit. Questions, suggestions, and corrections are always appreciated.

Wellbeing Matters: An Okanagan Charter Implementation Toolkit ⋅ Version 1.0 ⋅ September 2026