As physicians, we spend years learning how to make the right diagnosis. We memorize diagnostic criteria, interpret investigations and learn to distinguish one condition from another. Accuracy does matter. A diagnosis guides treatment, shapes prognosis and helps us communicate with our colleagues.
As physicians, we should absolutely continue improving access to mental health care. At the same time, we should also be willing to ask larger questions about the kind of society people are attempting to stay mentally well within.
Burnout in Northern Ontario is not simply about being tired. It is about being stretched across distance, across roles, and across unmet needs. It reflects the broader challenge of delivering care in a vast country with uneven resource distribution.