Black Physicians of Canada Mentorship Program

Black Physicians of Canada’s (BPC) mentorship program was launched in 2021 in response to a needs assessment which found that 95% of Black resident physicians desired racially concordant mentors. The program provides mentorship for Black trainees and early career physicians. Mentorship has been shown to improve wellness, which this program supports.

Each year, Black mentees are self-matched with mentors based on preferences for gender, specialty and location using the MentorCity online platform. The program also hosts workshops on important topics. BPC conducts research to enhance the mentorship’s effectiveness over time and assesses outcomes to demonstrate the program’s impact on metrics like wellness and satisfaction. Partnering with academic institutions offers credits, incentivizing participation. Periodic needs assessments refine the mentorship program experience.

Black Physicians of Canada Conference: October 12 – 15, 2023 Conference | Black Physicians of Canada

The Faculty of Medicine’s Office of Professional Affairs (OPA) was launched with the goal of supporting faculty and learners by creating and maintaining a healthy and safe learning environment in the medical school.

Led by assistant deans of professional affairs, Drs. Ian Epstein (Dalhousie Medicine Nova Scotia) and Samantha Gray (Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick), the OPA is focused on addressing reports of learner mistreatment, and the promotion of professionalism through education and outreach activities.

The OPA is more than just a support for faculty and students—it is a support for the profession of medicine, which is becoming more and more critical as physicians navigate the complexities of the environments and individuals with whom they interact.

The McGill Department of Medicine (DOM) has developed programs and initiatives to support faculty wellness through mentorship, clear and transparent mechanisms for reporting and handling mistreatment, communication about wellness resources and issues, leadership development, other wellness programming and general wellness oversight. The DOM is committed to preserving and protecting faculty well-being to optimally support the provision of excellence in patient care, research and education. Our overarching goal is to support the professional fulfillment of all DOM faculty embodying the characteristics and mindset of a contemporary physician well-being model.

In January 2023, McMaster Okanagan coordinated the launch of the McMaster Period Equity Pilot Project to provide free menstrual products to students, staff and faculty in select washrooms on McMaster’s Westdale campus. As of April 2023, more than 30,000 pads and tampons have been distributed.

This pilot project will assess the need for free menstrual products on campus and advocate for period equity at McMaster University. Period equity describes uninhibited access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and educational materials.

In summer 2023, McMaster Okanagan will be conducting co-design research to evaluate the McMaster Period Equity Pilot Project. McMaster Okanagan is proud to add this project to its many initiatives that enhance the health and well-being of the McMaster community.

The Gathering Rounds (TGR) is a small group peer support program driven by the Office of Learner Well-being and Success (LWS) and lead by learners.

TGR provides a safe, positive and supportive environment for learners to connect over common experiences, talk with and meet peers in a more intimate setting than class. It also fosters learner leadership skill development through its structure.

LWS staff train learners to be peer facilitators and learners co-facilitate each session. All learners are welcome to attend these sessions. Facilitators are trained to refer learners to necessary mental health or other well-being resources if/when needed.

“Sustaining our resilience” is one of the four strategic enablers of the NOSM University Challenge: 2020 – 2025 strategic plan.

As NOSM University evolves and continues to grow, we require more structures to support the evolution of a wellness strategy.

To meet the needs of a distributed campus of a free-standing Medical University, we envisioned a primarily Virtual Health and Wellness Hub hosted by Learner Support Services.

Health and Wellness Hub – Creating a Safe Space for Learners

The vision for the Health and Wellness Hub is to have a one-stop shop for wellness and learner success services. The Hub is a Helpdesk model connecting learners with the right resources at the right time.

The Hub will be the central Hub for advocating, educating, guiding, and supporting learners on their journey through the high-stress environment.

Queen’s School of Medicine in partnership with the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO), Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Providence Care hospital has formed a Physician Wellness Advisory Committee. Membership includes representation from each clinical department and administrative lead. Its mandate is to identify and make recommendations to advance the overall culture and well-being of physicians. The Committee, funded by SEAMO and other stakeholders, has developed a strategic plan and identified key priorities along with a vision and mission. Foundational initiatives include a Peer Support Program, facilitated rostering of all physicians to a primary care provider, expedited access to mental health resources, a Wellness Speaker Series, and annual measurement of physician well-being.

Two projects are added in 2023 to many initiatives that improve the well-being of the community of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Université de Sherbrooke.

• A pilot project is launched to provide menstrual hygiene products free of charge to all who need them in selected washrooms on the health campus to promote access and equity in menstruation.
• The “Labo-Vert” environmental certification program aims to support research and teaching laboratories wishing to reduce their environmental impact and improve their eco-responsible and sustainable practices. The program proposes 26 actions which revolve around three axes: management of residual materials and responsible procurement, responsible energy consumption, and sustainable mobility.

En toute présence is a student initiative whose mission is to offer meditation workshops, in attentive presence, accessible and adapted to students of the Faculty of Medicine of Université Laval. It allows members of the student community to learn mindfulness meditation.

Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine places social responsibility at the heart of its values. It fulfills its duty to meet the needs of the populations it serves and positively influences the evolution of our health system by supporting social responsibility initiatives in its community.

The UBC Faculty of Medicine is committed to cultivating a respectful, inclusive and discrimination‑free organizational culture.

To advance this commitment, the Faculty established the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI). REDI ensures principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are represented in Faculty initiatives and decisions affecting all learning and work environments. REDI also coordinates proactive initiatives, training, and meaningful engagement opportunities to raise awareness and promote a culture of respect and professionalism across the Faculty. The Office is currently developing a wellbeing framework based on the UBC model and will be launching a new wellness initiative for faculty and staff.

We all deserve safety. In that spirit, the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) introduced its Cultivate Inclusion initiative in March 2023. It’s a plan prioritizing our anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) efforts to create positive change.

Cultivate Inclusion offers direction to the CSM community for reporting microaggressions, discrimination or harassment, including the option of reporting an incident confidentially or informal discussions with a trusted peer or support resource. The initiative also promotes supports and resources available across the faculty.

Family Medicine’s first-of-its-kind learning circle features VR film ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

uOttawa Chancellor Claudette Commanda co-led activities calling upon participants to bear witness to inequity and explore approaches to better health care. 

Here’s a newly published Q&A with Dr. Paul MacPherson, who was recently named Clinical Research Chair in Gay Men’s Health, a trailblazing  role at the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine and The Ottawa Hospital. Dr. MacPherson and his team are working towards identifying and filling some of the biggest gaps that gay men face in the health-care system. We spoke to him about this topic, 2SLGBTQIA+ visibility, and the importance of Pride Month.

Pride Month Q&A with Dr. Paul MacPherson | Faculty of Medicine (uottawa.ca)

Click ‘Read More” to learn about uOttawa Faculty of Medicine’s mentoring programs developed by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Temerty Medicine has developed two new initiatives to support the wellness of our leaders:

Leading for Wellness Communities of Practice (CoP):

The CoP’s facilitated group meetings, held monthly over a one-year period, are led by three faculty members, as well as an Indigenous elder. Participants learn about aspects of leadership that promote wellness, including the development of reflective practice skills.

Applied Mindfulness for leaders:

This initiative, consisting of two five-session classes, is part of a research study seeking to understand how best to implement the program more widely across Temerty Medicine and the potential use of this intervention to support the work of leaders.

Physician burnout is a health care crisis that has been simmering for years. Working to address the issue, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry developed the Peers for Peers (P4P) program – providing one-on-one peer support for clinical faculty.

A first-of-its-kind program in Canada based at an academic centre, P4P emphasizes empathetic listening and shared experience.

The notion of peer-to-peer support recognizes that professionals need to be able to access emotional support, but at a distance from leaders. It builds on mounting evidence that one-on-one conversations with peers enhance wellbeing.