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This week’s Vitals is 1,509 words or a 5.5 min read. If you only have 1 minute, here are the highlights:
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Announcing Our 2026 Award Winners! We are celebrating seven physicians who match their outstanding dedication to Manitoba patients with a meaningful commitment to mentoring colleagues.
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Ticket Sales Open for Awards Gala: Join us to celebrate our 2026 Award Winners at our Annual Awards Gala on May 1 at the RBC Convention Centre! Ticket sales are now open for members and their guests at an exclusive early bird rate. Grab yours today!
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Match Day is Coming Up: Join Doctors Manitoba in the Brodie Auditorium for Match Day on March 3. We’ll offer sweets and treats, along with a healthy dose of encouragement and support.
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FutureMed Town Hall is March 9! Join us for a virtual town hall designed specifically for medical students and residents. We want to hear from you ahead of negotiations for our 2027 Physician Services Agreement.
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Understanding Burnout: Doctors Manitoba Physician Health and Wellness Committee is hosting a series of small, in-person roundtable discussions to better understand how burnout, moral distress, and other wellness challenges are affecting physicians and residents.
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Jets Discount! You’re invited to purchase discounted tickets to the Jets’ April 6th home game against the Seattle Kraken for Emergency Services Appreciation Night!
LAST CALL for our Annual Physician Survey! If you haven’t already, please complete our annual survey, as your feedback ensures we are advocating and focused on your top priorities. We have extended the deadline to Sunday, March 1. Complete the survey by then and you will be entered to win one of two free annual memberships with Doctors Manitoba or one of two $500 Visa gift cards.
➡ Click to complete your survey: If there is no link available, please contact us.
The survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Your answers are anonymous and will never be connected to your name or reported in any way that could identify you.
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Announcing Our 2026 Award Winners!
Doctors Manitoba is pleased to unveil our 2026 Award recipients, seven physicians who match their outstanding dedication to Manitoba patients with a meaningful commitment to mentoring colleagues.
“Our 2026 Doctors Manitoba Award recipients reflect a wide range of specialties and career stages, and they share a defining commitment to advancing medical care for Manitobans,” said Dr. Nichelle Desilets, President of Doctors Manitoba. “They are role models who elevate their colleagues and learners by their examples. We are proud to celebrate their contributions to the medical community, and the tremendous impact they have on patient care in Manitoba.”
Meet the 2026 Award Recipients
Physician of the Year – Dr. Devon Evans, for his transformative work in gynecologic care.
Distinguished Service Award – Dr. Cliff Yaffe, for his four decades of leadership in post-graduate education and mentorship.
Humanitarian Award – Dr. Holly Hamilton, for her longtime service with Aspen Winds / Vents de Tremble serving adults with disabilities, all while championing rural medical practice.
Resident of the Year – Dr. Tegan Turner, for clinical excellence in emergency medicine and commitment to mentorship.
Medal of Excellence – Dr. Mandy Buss, for her leadership and advocacy in Indigenous health and medical education
Medal of Excellence – Dr. Natalie Casaclang, for her leadership in launching the new infant RSV immunization initiative, responding to emerging measles outbreaks, and the support she offers on breastfeeding.
Medal of Excellence – Dr. Shayne Taback, for his leadership in establishing the Clinician Investigator Program and improving research capacity in Manitoba.
➡ Read this story to learn more about the award winners, and see their full achievements on our awards page.
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Ticket Sales Open for Awards Gala
Join us to celebrate our 2026 Award Winners at our Annual Awards Gala on May 1 at the RBC Convention Centre! Ticket sales are now open for members and their guests at an exclusive early bird rate. Ticket sales will open for non-members in early March.
This year, our Gala falls on National Physician Day. In addition to recognizing our seven award winners, we will also celebrate all physicians and medical learners at our We đź’– Doctors Gala.
➡ Purchase Early Bird Tickets to the We 💖 Doctors Gala
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FutureMed Town Hall is March 9
Join us March 9 at FutureMed, a virtual town hall for medical students and residents.
The first-of-its-kind event will capture feedback from students and residents about what Manitoba needs to do to offer the practice environment you seek as you complete your training and transition into full independent practice. This Town Hall is also taking place as Doctors Manitoba prepares to negotiate the next Physician Services Agreement, and we want to think ahead to the remuneration and funding the physicians of tomorrow will want to support your practice.
Key Details:
- When: March 9 at 6 p.m.
- Where: Zoom
- Who: Medical students and resident physicians
- Register: Click here to register
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Match Day: Supporting Medical Learners on a Milestone
Medical learners are approaching the moment they’ve been preparing for: Match Day on March 3.
How physicians can help: As Match Day approaches, your empathy and encouragement mean more than you may realize.
💬 A quick check‑in, a conversation about their goals, or sharing your own Match Day experience can help normalize what they’re feeling.
🩺 Listening without trying to “solve it” is often the most supportive response you can offer.
❤️ Encouraging learners to access supports through Bannatyne student services and Doctors Manitoba Docs360 if they’re struggling or simply need to talk things through.
Join us in the Brodie Atrium: Doctors Manitoba will be on-site at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre on Tuesday, March 3, with snacks, encouragement, and a supportive presence.
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Manitoba Leads in Access to Family Medicine
A new OurCare national study suggests 89% of Manitobans are connected to a family doctor or primary care provider, the highest rate in Canada, and supports a similar result shown in other recent research from CIHI and Angus Reid.
Manitoba also leads on a number of key indicators of strong primary care, including patient satisfaction with their clinic’s support of their general well-being and respect of cultural background.
Yes, but… Just 32% said a nurse was available in their clinic, the 3rd lowest of any province.
- This is an important marker of team-based care, an area on which Manitoba continues to lag behind other provinces.
- We have urged the government to include funding to expand team-based care in physician practices as part of their 2026 budget, expected next month.
Read our full analysis about where Manitoba stands and where we need to improve.
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Share Your Feedback on EDS Request Process
Manitoba’s Exception Drug Status (EDS) program provides Pharmacare coverage for specific, high-cost, or specialized medications not normally listed on the Manitoba Drug Formulary.
How it works: The program requires physicians to submit a request demonstrating the need for the coverage exception. Approved drugs may then gain limited or indefinite coverage.
Reducing your administrative burden: Physicians have cited the EDS submission process as a source of frustrating administrative burden, and a cause for delay in patients getting the care they need. Doctors Manitoba is engaging collaboratively with Manitoba Health to fully understand and address these burdens, so that appropriate adjustments can be made.
Concerns raised have centred around:
- Delays in responsiveness
- A lack of physician engagement on changes within the EDS process
- Outdated EDS requirements which involve a burdensome process to revise
What do you think? We want to hear from you. To better inform our advocacy efforts and ensure physicians’ concerns are heard and addressed, please write to us, in confidence, at practiceadvice@doctorsmanitoba.ca.
View the latest Manitoba Drug Benefits Formulary and Manitoba Drug Interchangeability Formular bulletin here.
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Jets Discount Offer
Our partners at the Winnipeg Jets invite physicians, residents and medical students to attend their April 6th home game against the Seattle Kraken for Emergency Services Appreciation Night! Each ticket purchased comes with a $10 Concession Voucher that can be used at the game!
🏒 Get your discounted tickets today.
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New Health System Safety Enhancements
The Manitoba government has introduced safety upgrades at hospitals in the province in the wake of increased violence, and after physicians and other health care providers raised concerns about their own safety, and that of their patients and colleagues.
What’s new: The enhancements include prevention-focused measures designed to strengthen safety environments and response capacity:
- Expansion of the SAFE app to St. Boniface Hospital and Brandon Regional Health Centre in addition to Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, providing staff with real-time safety alerts
- 128 fully funded institutional safety officers (ISOs)
- Increased visitor and entry-point screening
What we’re doing: The measures reflect some of the formal recommendations we issued to Shared Health and provincial leaders last year based on physician advice. We continue to press for an expanded safety presence that also respects culturally-safe access to care at our health facilities.
Read our full coverage.
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Measles Update
With 157 confirmed Manitoba measles cases to date, January and February already account for nearly half of all measles cases, 319, for 2025. The province still far outpaces any other in Canada.
🏥 Latest exposure sites: Access Event Centre in Morden, Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg Children’s Hospital
Bookmark the Doctors Manitoba Measles Update page for physician-curated resources, including tips for talking to patients about vaccines and the latest memos to health care providers.
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Social Prescribing Now Available in All Regions
Social prescribing, a model that connects people to community‑based supports such as social programs, peer groups and practical services, is now available in all five regional health authorities as referrals continue to increase across the province.
Physicians and other providers across Manitoba can refer seniors, individuals managing chronic conditions and those experiencing social isolation or mental health challenges to more than 120 resource co-ordinators working across the province.
Learn how.
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New cCMV Program Sees Early Success
More than 1,500 newborns have been screened for congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) in Manitoba since the province implemented the new universal program in December. Because many infants show no symptoms at birth, universal screening helps ensure infections are identified early rather than missed until complications appear later.
Congenital Cytomegalovirus is a leading infectious cause of infant disability including hearing loss and developmental delay.
Read the announcement.
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Join Our Physician Health and Wellness Roundtables
Doctors Manitoba Physician Health and Wellness Committee is hosting a series of small, in-person roundtable discussions to better understand how burnout, moral distress, and other wellness challenges are affecting physicians and residents.
➡ Learn more and register to participate.
Unapologetic: A Critical Race Feminist Conversation
Join Unapologetic: A Critical Race Feminist Conversation on March 27 hosted by the University of Manitoba’s Office of Anti-Racism, the Office of Equity, Access, and Participation, and the Office of Community Engagement.
➡ Learn more and register here.
Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership
The 2026 Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership is May 15-16 in Montreal, with pre-conference courses taking place May 14. The conference theme is Redefining Leadership through Courage and Kindness.
➡ Learn more here.
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Doctors Manitoba’s job board has 3 new practice opportunities for physicians at Trucare Minor Injury and Sport Medicine Clinic, Manitoba Minor Injury, and Harbourview Medical Centre and Walk-In Clinic, along with dozens more opportunities previously listed. Check it out!
Placing a job ad on our site is free – add one here.
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Here are the most-read and important recent stories, in case you missed them:
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New CT Requisition Form: This year, Shared Health Diagnostic Services released an updated standardized CT Requisition Form intended for requesting Computed Tomography (CT) examinations to be performed at all facilities providing CT service in Manitoba. View a sample form and instructions here. We want your feedback on this form too, which you can email to practiceadvice@doctorsmanitoba.ca.
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Hepatitis A Vaccine Eligibility Expands: Manitoba continues to see new cases of Hepatitis A associated with the ongoing provincial outbreak and has expanded access to free vaccines. Read the Memo to Health Care Providers here.
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Half of Canadians Turning to AI for Health Info: That’s according to the new CMA Health and Media Tracking Survey that also shows physicians remain the most trusted source in Canada for health information. Read the report.
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We feature events planned by Doctors Manitoba, as well as other events submitted by the medical community to share and connect with their peers.
Transgender, Gender Diversity Awareness and Inclusion Training, Winnipeg, February 28, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., Klinic Community Health. This half-day workshop explores the impacts of systemic anti-Trans discrimination and offers practical strategies to create inclusive, affirming, and supportive care environments. Learn more and register.
Leading Change, March 5-6, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Virtual This Physician Leadership Institute course is relevant for physicians in formal or informal leadership roles who want to learn how to build support for, overcome barriers to, and successfully implement, influence, and sustain change. Accredited for 13.5 hours. Learn more and register.
Design and Lead Well-Being at the Unit-Level, March 5 – April 9, Virtual. Framed by the Stanford Model of Occupational Well-BeingTM, this virtual six-week educational series equips leaders with knowledge and tools to advance well-being at the unit level in departments, divisions, practices, sites, and groups. Learn more and register.
The Canadian Women in Medicine Conference, Winnipeg, June 11-13, RBC Convention Centre Hear from an impressive lineup of speakers, including best-selling authors, physicians, founders and other inspirational women leaders. Make connections that will last a lifetime! Learn more and register today!
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We are here to support the whole physician.
Every step of the way.
Your health & well-being are important to us.
Visit DRMB.ca/HELP to connect to support services or call 1.844.433.3762
For all other support, including benefits and insurance support,
career resources or practice advice please
email general@doctorsmanitoba.ca or call 204.985.5888
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Visit DRMB.ca/Bannatyne for more information on our Bannatyne office and to view the full calendar.
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