Saskatoon doctor honoured for easing stress in the ER

A University of Saskatchewan physician is being recognized nationally for her work in trying to ease the stress of her co-workers struggling with the demands of the ER.  

"It's crazy and chaotic," Dr. Zafrina Poonja told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

• Sask. government spending $12M to improve ER wait times
• Hundreds more doctors in Sask. than a decade ago

Pushing the limits is tradition for doctors and healthcare workers in the ER. Pulling long shifts and skipping meals is just the way it has always been done.

But when a personal crisis hit, Poonja began to have doubts about life in the ER.  

"If we aren't well ourselves, how can we come to work and treat people?" she said.

So, Poonja set out not only to reduce her own stress, but also to help her co-workers. She said she began by blogging and reaching out to physicians who excelled at work-life balance to find out how "they stay well."

Floor hockey — 'stat'!

But Poonja's efforts have also manifested in other changes in the ER. There is now an "escape" room where frazzled healthcare professionals can go to focus their minds, and shifts at the hospital now include an hour of floor hockey, basketball or some other type of exercise.

"It just gives them the time to de-stress and they love it," she said.

Poonja said the culture in the ER of pushing it to the limit is slowly starting to transform.

Poonja is one of five doctors across Canada being honoured by Resident Doctors of Canada for improving the lives of resident physicians.