It would seem that Canadian ER doctors aren’t doing too hot right now.
Driving the news: According to newly published survey data in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), 10% of emergency medicine doctors left the specialty due to crushing workloads and high stress. Those who stuck around aren’t faring well either: 48% of respondents said they cut their hours and 20% said they took time off from ER work.
Researchers conducted the survey last year, fielding responses from 410 emergency medicine doctors across every province in Canada, plus the Northwest Territories.
Zoom in: ER doctor has certainly never been a stress-free profession, but the conditions have become untenable for many docs. A rapidly aging population combined with the too-high number of Canadians without a family doctor has led to a surge in trips to the ER.
A co-author of the CMAJ paper put it bluntly to the Globe and Mail: “For many, the future of emergency medicine was hopeless, with no possibility of recovery.”
Why it matters: The effects of burnout are already piling up. Wait times continue to rise — 10% of Canadians spent more than 48 hours waiting in the ER in fiscal 2024-25, up 12 hours from six years prior — and temporary ER closures are now commonplace in rural jurisdictions.
Bottom line: There’s no silver bullet for this issue (unless the popularity of The Pitt suddenly makes every med student want to become an ER doc), but more funding definitely wouldn’t hurt. Some cash should come from the $5 billion infrastructure fund announced in last year’s budget — the feds and the provinces just need to figure out the best way to spend it.—QH
