New Year’s resolutions from health-care professionals: Advocate, avoid burnout and remember to love

During a time of poly crisis, I tend to overwork on trying to improve things. I need to be more conscious of taking time for myself because if I burn out, then obviously, all the work that I do stops. I need to focus on being kind to myself and to be kind to what I believe is the important work I do on both COVID and climate.

It can be a never-ending bucket to fill. The bucket just keeps getting bigger and bigger as the problems grow. But you fail everyone if you fail yourself.

I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, mostly because I’m an impatient Type A person, so if there is something I want to change about my life, I am the type to do it the very next day!

That said, I do want to continue with evidence-based living such as ensuring I am eating wholesome meals, getting at minimum seven hours of sleep daily, lifting weights and doing cardio at least four or five times per week, drinking less than two alcoholic beverages per week, spending as much time as possible outdoors and laughing and making new core memories as often as I can! Oh, and holding our government accountable every single day.

I started in medical school at McGill in 1974. From almost the very first day, we were taught to uphold the dignity of the person and to respect the patient’s right to privacy and strict confidentiality. That was then and this is now. As an emergency physician in 21st century Ontario, I practice largely in an emergency department hallway, and oftentimes, when they are filled, in a chair in full public view, or as we call it in Ontario, “an unconventional space.”

Sadly, I now discuss intimate personal details within earshot of other waiting patients or discuss a new diagnosis of a terminal cancer in a hallway. It’s either that or the patients will wait an unbearable length of time, and many will give up in frustration and leave without assessment or a diagnosis.

News travels fast in a small town and I am now officially tired of denigrating my Hippocratic oath on a daily basis. So, my New Year’s resolution is to commit to reminding political leaders, regulatory authorities and hospital administrations that we must collectively do better in getting back to the basics, respecting confidentiality and restoring dignity in our patient interactions.

I don’t believe in resolutions. But I do believe in personal philosophies. And my ongoing resolution, not just for the New Year, is to live philosophically: To devote time and resources only to things that are truly important and to remember to love everyone – even my enemies. It sounds pretentious and hollow to some. But as I age, I become increasingly confident that a surfeit of anonymous generalized love is what is sorely lacking in the world.

My New Year’s resolution is to step away from the noise more often! Research consistently shows that taking a break from our chaotic – and way too negative and rage-filled – information environment is good for both our mental health and critical thinking. I need to take my own advice! Chill.

In recent years, Canada has made meaningful strides in addressing the social and environmental determinants of health – such as child benefits, childcare, dental care, the beginnings of universal pharmacare and action on the climate emergency. We also have advanced equity, diversity and inclusion while striving to uphold the rights of all Canadians. Yet, much work remains.

My resolution for the New Year is to inspire and influence as many people as possible to continue this progress and resist any movement backward.

The alarming trends in the U.S. serve as a stark warning: efforts to dismantle social benefits and environmental protections to further enrich billionaires, alongside escalating attacks on trans, Black, immigrant and Indigenous communities. Signs of this regression are already evident in Canada – look no further than developments in Alberta.

It would be a tragedy to see divisiveness gain ground in Canada. Instead, we must remain committed to a more inclusive and sustainable future for this remarkable country we call home.