Lynn Desjardins
Radio Canada International
Originally published August 28, 2017
A recent survey suggests that 54 per cent of Canadian doctors have symptoms of burn-out and it’s a problem that physicians themselves don’t like to talk about. This was a topic much discussed at the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association which represents more than 80,000 doctors.
‘Very frustrating and annoying’ interventions required
“First and foremost, it’s about the inability that physicians have sometimes to get what the patient actually needs in a timely way,” says Dr. Granger Avery, immediate past president of the Canadian Medical Association.
“So, that’s whether looking for a consultation, following up on an operation, whether it’s transferring a patient from one level of service to another, these things often require the doctor to make repeated phone calls, repeated interventions to get what should be a relatively simple piece of work done. So, that’s very frustrating and annoying for a physician who’s been brought up and trained and focused on helping people, not doing that administrative work.”
The article and the podcast are here.