Beyond Heroes: Building Supportive Work Cultures in Health Care

Health care organizations have long relied on the heroics of providers to save the day. Such heroics often result in temporary workarounds and quick fixes that leave patient safety and quality care at risk.

The high pressure and often disjointed work environment for health providers can put workers at high risk for “burnout.” After prolonged stress, health providers frequently move into work environments with fewer demands or even leave the health field entirely.

While Canadians publicly heralded front line health providers as “heroes” during the pandemic, the post-pandemic health system, and those who work in it, are fragile. To ensure the well-being of the health system health leaders will need to focus on building better work environments.

In this webinar, a patient advocate and two pairs of health leaders—a physician pair and a nursing pair—will examine today’s work culture post pandemic. Each of the health leaders is at a different stage of their career, some are early emerging leaders while others are mid- to late-career leaders. From their unique perspective, panelists will address: How do we “make a fresh start” and build healthier, more supportive work places for providers and patients? How can health leaders support, engage and reenergize a work force that is frankly, “running on empty?"

Register via IHPME to reserve your spot. Zoom webinar link will be emailed to you two days prior to the event.

Host: Dr. Isser Dubinsky, Senior Fellow and Vernissage Health Project Co-lead

Panelists:

• Patient advocate: Anne Borden King, Writer, Podcaster and cancer survivor
• Physician pair: Dr. Brandon Tang, resident, general internal medicine, and Dr. Gillian Hawker, professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of Toronto and senior scientist at Women’s College Research Institute
• Nursing pair: Ru Tagger, executive vice president, Chief Nursing and Professions Executive, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Zahra Ismail, program director, transitional care and community integration, North York General Hospital

Speaker bios:

Anne Borden King is a writer, podcaster and children's rights advocate. Her monthly column in Healthy Debate focuses on health care equity and patient experiences. She lives in Toronto.

Dr. Gillian Hawker is the Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist at Women’s College Research Institute. Her research focus has been on disparities in access to care for people living with osteoarthritis. She has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and was the 2020 recipient of the International Osteoarthritis Research Society’s Clinical Research Award. As department chair, she has implemented strategies to enhance equity, diversity and professionalism, with a particular focus on advancing women and marginalized groups in academic medicine.

Zahra Ismail is a values-based clinical leader with progressive operational leadership and management experience. She has a passion for leveraging data and technology to drive innovative models of care while improving the human experience. She is the project director for transitional care and community integration at North York General Hospital, and previously, director, clinical transformation at The Hospital for Sick Children. Ru Taggar is the executive vice president, Chief Nursing and Health Professions Executive at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She provides professional practice leadership to nurses and other health professionals. She also provides executive leadership to the hospital’s Trauma, Women and Babies, Heart, and Bone and Joint Programs.

Dr. Brandon Tang is an educator, author and resident physician in general internal medicine at U of T. He has published two medical textbooks, two mobile apps and over 60 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts. Brandon is a TEDx speaker and has served in leadership for provincial, national and international medical organizations. He received the 2021 Canadian Medical Association Award for Young Leaders for his leadership in systems and culture change. Gratitude to our partners: The Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, in partnership with Associated Medical Services (AMS), are pleased to support Vernissage Health 2021: A Dialogue Series for Health Care Leaders. Our partners share the aim of developing and supporting the future success of emerging leaders in health care.

Registration is required. Registrants will receive an email including a link to the webinar TWO HOURS before the event starts on Oct 20.