The province-wide Facility Engagement Initiative (FEI) was created to build physician engagement and trust. VPSA FEI activities have been ongoing since October 2016, with medical staff identifying and prioritizing issues, and committees forming to deliver members’ priorities. Yet three health authority engagement surveys later, the needle has not moved on developing meaningful engagement between VPSA physicians and VCH leadership. To turn the tide, a joint physicians and leaders workshop was … Read More
The benefits of mindfulness for physicians
Mindfulness—the ability to focus your awareness calmly and nonjudgmentally on the present moment—is becoming a popular technique among people of all ages, backgrounds and professions. The positive health effects of mindfulness have also been shown by a number of studies, although the exact neural mechanisms involved remain unclear. Practicing mindfulness can be especially effective in helping physicians increase their own personal well-being while improving empathy and psychosocial beliefs, which are … Read More
What it takes: preparation; stamina; appreciation
A physician’s workload can be overwhelming and stressful. But we’re more than doctors. We have families and we have passions outside of work. How do we balance the demands of one without sacrificing the others? According to Dr. Esta Bovill, it takes preparation, stamina and appreciation. These were three of the four things she learned by competing in the grueling Marathon des Sables in 2013. (The fourth was that she … Read More
Excellent results coming in for project funded jointly by VPSA Facility Engagement and Physician Led Quality Improvement Initiatives
The hard work is paying off for Dr. Kelly Mayson and her multi-disciplinary team. Their project, Pre-operative optimization prior to major oncology surgery as a component of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, is seeing some great preliminary results. “Over the past year we have seen a reduction in the incidence of anemia in gynaecology oncology and radical cystectomy patients presenting for major abdominal surgery based on our work,” said Dr. Mayson. … Read More
VPSA-funded project aims to improve perioperative cardiac risk evaluation and management for noncardiac surgery
Over 200 million adults undergo noncardiac surgical procedures worldwide every year. Of these, more than 8 million people will suffer a major cardiac complication. In 2016, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society introduced new guidelines on perioperative cardiac risk assessment and management for patients who undergo inpatient noncardiac surgery. With funding from VPSA, a multidisciplinary team of VCH physicians has developed standardized order sets and protocols and to educate surgical staff on … Read More