Staying well in uncertain times

We are writing in response to Dr. Catherine Cervin’s President’s Message in the Canadian Family Physician May 2021 issue titled “Staying well in uncertain times.”

We appreciate Dr. Cervin’s recognition of wellness as a collective effort and acknowledgement that family physicians are already resilient. The science of wellness supports this, as well as the need to focus on the system factors that drive 80% of occupational burnout. We are pleased to see the CFPC’s commitment to working at a system level to improve the wellbeing of family physicians. The CFPC is uniquely positioned to advocate for the voice of family physicians and the value that we bring to patients and communities. We are hopeful that the CFPC will use its influence to address the drivers of burnout at the system level, including challenges with workload, administrative, and technology burdens facing family physicians across the country. When solutions neglect these system factors, physicians pursue options that are personally beneficial yet harmful to the profession and society. Advocacy on a national level has the potential to improve professional wellness more than any individual solution. We believe that physicians and leadership at all levels must contribute to this collective effort towards wellness.