Vaping is becoming increasingly popular with youth. Healthcare workers are concerned as it can lead to nicotine addiction and other negative health effects. Healthcare and youth workers have other common concerns: the need to broadcast the same message and to have organized resources designed specifically for youth. With funding from the Vancouver Physician Staff Association’s Engagement Accelerator, the VGH Smoking Cessation Clinic and Legacy Airway for Health were able to … Read More
VPSA Dinner Groups – Getting to know the human side of your colleagues
Burnout is a serious concern among physicians and addressing it will require systemic change. In the meantime, there are other steps you can take to build resilience. “One theme that emerged from the VA/VC wellness survey that VCH conducted last fall was the desire for greater peer support,” said Dr. Fahreen Dossa, co-chair of the VA/VC Physician Wellness Steering Committee and a member of VPSA’s Community Building and Wellness Task … Read More
VA/VC Physician Wellness Survey results reveal high levels of burnout
“We are in the midst of a physician wellness crisis.” That is how Dr. Lucy Lyons, one of three physician co-chairs of the VA/VC Physician Wellness Steering Committee, opened the presentation about the results of last fall’s wellness survey of VA and VC physicians. The results were presented at the May 10 VMDAS quarterly meeting. “We wanted the survey to assess burnout but also its drivers and the underlying contributing … Read More
Addressing the gender pay gap
Women in Canadian medicine consistently earn less than men. The pay gap exists within every medical specialty as well as between specialties: physicians in male-dominated areas receive higher remuneration. These were some of the facts used as background for an International Women’s Day presentation on Gender Equity in Medicine presented by the VCH Medical Staff Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiative that VPSA supports. Drs. Tara Kiran and Michelle Cohen … Read More
Finding common ground: Collaboration increasing between VPSA physicians and their health authority
Every month leaders from the 1,900-member Vancouver Physician Staff Authority (VPSA) and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) sit down to talk over mutual issues. They come to each meeting with an intentional focus that was agreed to by both groups and they rotate who chairs the meeting between VCH Interim President and CEO Vivian Eliopoulos and VPSA Managing Director Dr. York Hsiang. There is lots to talk about; both see physician … Read More