The Physician Health Program of BC provides all BC physicians, trainees, and their families with confidential advice, support, counselling, advocacy, referrals, and education services to help with mental health issues, burnout, relationship stress, workplace conflict, and more.
Access PHP's 24/7 helpline at 1-800-663-6729 or email info@physicianhealth.com and a clinical coordinator will refer you to appropriate services.
Clinical Services.
PHP's 24/7 confidential helpline (1-800-663-6729)for immediate intake assessment and crisis counselling, and for access to the services described below.
Short-term counselling with clinical counsellors trained and experienced in supporting physician.
Referrals to specialized coaches and therapists who can address your specific challenges and needs.
Help supporting a physician you are concerned about. PHP will plan and coordinated an approach with you.
Physician-to-physician peer support to help with personal or professional issues, such as dealing with a complaint, a negative clinical outcome, or workload stress.
Connection to a family physician
Career and life transitions coaching, planning and follow-up supports.
Occupational health consultations to help you understand how your health influences your work and how work impacts your health.
Strengthening workplace relationships to help you enhance workplace relationships and improve communication.
Drop-in Physician Peer Support Sessionsare peer support groups for sharing issues and challenges you are facing co-led by a PHP Program Physician and Clinical Coordinator. Participants may join anonymously and/or just to listen. Virtual, drop-in sessions occur monthly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday from 12-1pm PST. Email peer support@physicianhealth.com for the link.
CBT Skills for Physicians and Medical Residents offered by PHP and the CBT Skills Society is for physicians and residents with a mental health diagnosis to participate as patients and learn practical skills for dealing with anxiety, depression, and stress. Virtual, small group, 8-week series of 2 hour sessions led by Psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Barley. A referral from your primary care provider to the Physician CBT Skills Group is required for enrolment or email info@physicianhealth.com and PHP can refer you.
CBT for Insomnia helps individuals who identify insomnia as an issue change their relationship with sleep using CBT, and takes a change-orientated and evidenced-based approach. Virtual, small-group, 6-week series of 1.5 hour sessions led by Psychiatrist Dr. Karen Palmer and Registered Social Worker Dallas Badawi. Contact info@physicianhealth.com to express your interest in enrolling.
BIPOC Virtual Peer Support Group is specifically for BC physicians who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC). The group aims to harness the power of safety in community to discuss burdens and leverage assets from participants' cultures of origin.
Peer support can take many forms, from an occasional phone call with a coach/mentor to a site visit to shadow a specialist as they perform procedures you don’t often see in your community. CAMP connects you with personalized, just-in-time support in whatever form works best for you. Coach/mentors provide support in a wide variety of areas including transitions in practice, emergency medicine, palliative care, Indigenous patient care, personal wellness and more.
Coaches and coachees can register for the program here: https://bit.ly/CAMP-CPD, or contact the CAMP team for more info at camp.rcpd@ubc.ca. Participants, or coachees, can earn 35 Mainpro+/MOC Section 1 credits through this incredibly flexible program.
RCCbc Wellness Supports for Rural Providers.
Isolated Medical Provider Aftercare Team (IMPACT) offers confidential peer-to-peer support to rural physicians and nurses in remote nursing stations in BC who have experienced a potentially challenging incident in the course of their work. These incidents might include cases involving a child, multiple casualties, or a friend or family member of the provider. IMPACT peer supporters are rural health care providers who understand the unique challenges of providing care in rural and remote settings.
Access IMPACT peer support by calling 1-236-631-9090. Colleagues, managers, patient transfer coordinators, or anyone else may also request peer support on behalf of a rural doctor or nursing station nurse by calling the IMPACT line. For general questions about IMPACT, email impact@rccbc.ca.
Parenting in Practice increases awareness and support for parents in practice and advocates for, and improves, the futures of rural physicians, their families and their communities. Drawing on the experience of parents who practice medicine, RCCbc is developing tools to support parents with work and family responsibilities at all stages of their professional career.
The Thriving Project aims to support and enhance the wellness of rural healthcare practitioners, including doctors, residents, nurse practitioners, and midwives, from across BC by fostering connections between them and building a community of practice they can draw upon for learning, support, solace and inspiration.
Join the'Providers Thriving Together Wellness Conversation Series'. These free monthly virtual drop-in sessions provide a facilitated space for providers to experience camaraderie and peer support. Each month, presenters - usually rural peers from around the province - will share practices, frameworks, or ideas they've found useful. All sessions occur on the first Monday evening, monthly from 7-830am.
Mindfulness in Medicine is a program that offers Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to rural providers. In pausing together, providers can care for one another in ways that activates our personal and collective resilience, which is much needed during this time of great transition in healthcare, the planetary health crises, and deep calls for social justice. RCCbc supports 1-2 MBSR virtual programs per year for rural providers. This participatory, trauma-sensitive course consists of 8 weekly 2.5 hour classes and one day-long class on a Saturday.
Learn about theMindfulness in Medicine yearly program details, including dates and registration.
Physician Health Program (PHP). 
UBC CPD Coaching and Mentoring Program (CAMP)
RCCbc Wellness Supports for Rural Providers.