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In this edition

View previous updates

• The " Short" Report from Dr. Christine Short
• Important dates
• Member updates
• A continuation of our "Conflict and Culture" series
• Awards and recognitions
• Research
• Learning opportunities
• Quick reference / recurring content

September 22-28 - Gender Equality Week

Although this week has now officially passed, it's an important reminder that gender equality is essential for a thriving and equitable society. Dismantling barriers to gender equality leads to a more robust and sustainable economy, which fosters a future full of opportunities that benefits everyone.

Learn more about the week and this year's theme at this link, and consider taking the Government of Canada's Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) online course to help you recognize how various identity and social factors can influence the experience of federal government initiatives affecting different people.



September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home from, and Survivors of, residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Coinciding with Orange Shirt Day – an Indigenous-led, grassroots, commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family, and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools — it's an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the reconciliation process by reflecting on and commemorating the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools.

In addition to participating on the day, you may also want to extend your learning by taking part in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's virtual programming, especially their Lunch & Learns, which you can sign up for and watch on YouTube.



October 1 - Treaty Day; Month of October - Mi'kmaw History Month

Treaty Day, held annually on October 1st, marks the beginning of Mi’kmaw History Month in Nova Scotia, as proclaimed in 1993 by Premier John Savage and Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy. By celebrating Treaty Day, we are giving thanks to the Mi’kmaq and the Crown for signing treaties of peace and friendship that continue to benefit us to this day.

Visit Treaty Day | Halifax for a list of ceremonies and events taking place around HRM. Also, be sure to visit mikmaqhistorymonth.ca to learn more about Mi'kmaw history and culture, including this year's theme, "Food Gathers Us Together," which honours the significance of food in Mi'kmaw culture.



October 9-23 - TEND Focus Groups

Registration is now open for physicians who are interested in participating in TEND focus groups. These groups are an important opportunity to hear from NSH team members in more detail about the challenge identified in the TEND Roadmap Survey. You will be asked four questions throughout the focus group, and these groups will run October 9-23.

Click here to register.

To help further the work of the strategic plan, we are focusing on strengthening our toolkit to improve culture and conflict in our workplace. Content submitted by Diane LeBlanc, Basia Solarz, and Brennan Dempsey.

The Mindful MD – A Path to Autonomy and Burnout Relief (Part 1 of 2)

In this first part of a two-part review of The Mindful MD by Gail Gazelle, Brennan Dempsey explores the ways the book promotes mindfulness to help physicians overcome burnout, restore job satisfaction, and regain a sense of autonomy in their demanding profession.

Gail Gazelle is a physician and an expert on mindfulness, and in her book The Mindful MD she combines her knowledge of these fields in an attempt to reduce burnout, increase autonomy, and restore job satisfaction. Gazelle argues that medical education, job pressures, and bureaucracy all contribute to feelings of helplessness and inadequacy. She also suggests that the solutions to those issues can be found within, by focusing on what is in our control in the face of a dysfunctional system.

Gazelle traces the roots of burnout to perfectionism, comparison, and medical education. Often, physicians are labeled as “special” from a young age. While in some ways this label is a good thing, it also creates difficulties. It can lead to a reliance on external validation, unrealistic standards, harsh self-criticism, and perfectionism. And in medical school, surrounded by other high-achieving, special, competitive people, these feelings are exacerbated. Students are constantly ranked and rated based on everything from grades to their chosen specialty. In work and social life, comparison is the thief of joy.

While the diagnostic mindset works for patients, it can make physicians focus on the negative; everything becomes a problem to be solved, and failed attempts feel like a threat to a core identity. All of these patterns lead physicians to work harder and harder, eventually causing burnout and feelings of powerlessness.

The bulk of The Mindful MD provides tools to address these conditions. Gazelle’s first suggestion is to “recognize that you are not your thoughts.” Often, we can fuse with negative emotions until they feel totalizing and oppressive. Gazelle compares this kind of thinking to living with a bad roommate inside your own brain. In that situation, we would move out or set some kind of boundary; however, we struggle to do that with our own minds.

One way of warding off emotional fusion, she explains, is to be explicit about our thoughts. Instead of thinking “I’m a failure,” we should train ourselves to realize that we are “having the thought that I’m a failure.” This simple step creates distance from our negative thoughts, and it also better reflects reality. Another tool I personally rely on is the “friend test.” If our self-talk is more critical, judgmental, and totalizing than how we would talk to a friend, we should recognize that—and treat ourselves as well as we treat our friends!

In the next installment, Brennan will continue exploring Gazelle’s approach, including her techniques for reducing emotional reactivity, cultivating compassion, and finding purpose in medicine.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in next month's newsletter!

Drs. Elkhateeb and Losier Participate in Listen to Your Heart Event

We'd like to recognize Dr. Osama Elkhateeb, Interventional Cardiologist and Dr. Evan Losier, Cardiology Fellow (pictured above from left to right) from our Cardiology Division for participating in Listen to Your Heart: a free stethoscope check event where Nova Scotia Health healthcare providers listened to the hearts of over twenty Nova Scotians to see if they could detect a heart murmur with a stethoscope. 

The event took place last Wednesday, September 18, at the North End Pharmacy/Mentor Health Clinic in Halifax in support of Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week (September 16 - 22). Way to go, doctors Elkhateeb and Losier!



Dr. Chen, Division of Hematology, Publishes Case Study in the New England Journal of Medicine

We'd like to congratulate Dr. Luke Chen (pictured left) from the DoM's Division of Hematology on his newly published article in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrating his expertise in complex diagnostic work.

Dr. Chen’s evaluation involved a 45-year-old woman with kidney and bone lesions who was initially suspected to have IgG4-related disease. Through thorough clinical investigation, including biopsy analysis and differential diagnosis, Dr. Chen was able to rule out other conditions and ultimately diagnose the patient with Rosai–Dorfman–Destombes disease, a rare disorder. His contributions underscore the importance of detailed clinical assessment and diagnostic precision in managing rare and atypical diseases. Read the full case study at this link, and if you missed it, check out this article published in June by Dalhousie about Dr. Chen's return to the university in the hopes of creating an Atlantic Centre for Rare Diseases after 17 years at the University of British Columbia.

NSH Quality Awards - Open for Nominations

The annual NS Health Quality Awards competition is open for submissions! This is an opportunity to share the great quality work that your team is doing across NS Health and to showcase your team’s commitment to excellence, quality improvement, patient experience, and patient safety.

Nova Scotia Health Quality Awards are modeled on the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) National Awards Program. Apply by 4 pm on Wednesday, November 13. All details can be found in the submissions forms online at this link.



AFMC (the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada) Awards - Open for Nominations

Thw AFMC Awards, recognizing and celebrating distinguished individuals for their leadership, excellence, and achievements in academic medicine, are now open! Visit Awards - AFMC to make your nominattion.

The awards will be presented at the International Congress of Academic Medicine (ICAM), which is taking place in Halifax in 2025 from April 3-6. More to come! Keep your eyes on this page for updates and early bird registration.

Making Waves Awards - Open for Nominations

The Making Waves Awards recognize the exemplary efforts and contributions of employees, physicians, researchers and volunteers who advance Nova Scotia Health’s values and strategic directions.

If you are interested in nominating a colleague, nominations are now open for the 2024 awards until November 15! Visit this page to make your nomination, and review this list of the most recent winners for the eligible categories.

DoM Professional Development - Call for Funding Requests by October 4

The DoM Education Committee is holding a one -time call for funding requests for Professional Development activities in the 2024-2025 academic year. All DoM AFP members are eligible to apply.

Please contact Shelly McNeil at shelly.mcneil@nshealth.ca with the name of the formal professional development activity, the total cost, and the amount of funding you are requesting. Please also include a description of the opportunity and how it will enhance your practice and role within the DoM.

Number and amount awarded will be dependent on quality and quantity of applications and available funding. The deadline is October 4.



UIMRF Competition, 2024

Don't miss out! UIMRF is currently accepting applications for grant and fellowship funding for the following categories and deadlines:

• Research Fellowships (Internal / External, and CIP Sponsorship) – deadline Oct 1, 2024
• Junior Dept Member and Bridge/Pilot Funding – deadline Oct 15, 2024
• Matching Research Funds – deadline 4 weeks prior to external application deadline

If you haven't received them already, please contact DoMResearch@nshealth.ca for information and application forms. 

Faculty of Medicine’s New Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) Curriculum Map

The new UGME curriculum map, now accessible online, is a tool designed to provide a clear and organized representation of how the curriculum is structured. It links educational objectives at different levels to ensure alignment across the program and offers a comprehensive view of how students will progress through their learning. 

Accessing the Curriculum Map 

To access the curriculum map, all users will need their Dalhousie login credentials (NetID and password) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), as required for all Dalhousie platforms. 

Learn more about Curriculum Map 

You are encouraged to review the instructional videos to introduce you to the curriculum map.  

For any questions or additional support regarding the curriculum map, please contact the UGME Curriculum Map Administrator at ugmemap@dal.ca.  

Medical Affairs Seminars

Medical Affairs is hosting informational seminars this Fall for Physicians, Physician Leaders, and healthcare professionals. These sessions will cover key topics that Physicians frequently seek information and resources on, focusing on Medical Affairs support, processes, and procedures. 

The recording of Navigating Nova Scotia Health’s Medical Affairs Department: Services and Supports, presented by Grayson Fulmer, Senior Director of Medical Affairs, is now available.

Register for October's upcoming presentation:



• Tues, Oct 8, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM: Physician Resources Process Overview Presented by Grayson Fulmer.

2024 Kinley Lecture: Transforming Health Care Through Innovation and Collaboration

The health workforce is under enormous pressure, and “business as usual” is no longer an option.

In this lecture on October 3 from 5-6:15 pm, the Honourable Jane Philpott, Dean, Health Sciences at Queen’s University, will share her perspective on the health workforce of the future and how to drive innovation throughout health care systems. Her talk will outline how community engagement, education, and radical collaboration across professions are tools for building a stronger health workforce, more effective health systems, and a healthier population.

In-person seats are now filled, but there is still room to attend virtually! Sign up here.



Medical Education Research Roundtables

Held on MS Teams from 12-1 pm, roundtables will be taking place on the following dates:

• October 8: The Art of the Academic CV: Strategies for Showcasing your Skills and Professional Achievements Dr. Lara Hazelton & Dr. Sarah Burm
• November 12: Help me Understand…Authorship Dr. Sarah Burm
• December 10: Rigour in Qualitative Inquiry Dr. Jacqueline Torti
• January 14: Developing and revising an interview guide for quality interviews: A real-life example Dr. Dawn Burleigh & Dr. Sarah Burm

(February to June dates TBD.)

For more information, please contact sara.burm@dal.ca.



Creating Healthy Learning Environments: A Dalhousie Webinar Series

In this webinar series from October 21-November 29, open to all faculty at Dalhousie's Faculty of Medicine, you will:

• Recognize how the learning environment is linked to student/trainee and faculty wellness; develop approaches to support student/trainee wellness.
• Learn what is meant by student/trainee mistreatment, how it occurs, and what can be done about it in relation to its impact on the learning environment.

Sign up and learn more here.

Mental Health & Well-Being

Department of Medicine

Nova Scotia Health

Additional Links

We Teach, Research, and Serve our patients on Mi’kmaw territory, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. The people of the Mi’kmaw Nation have lived on this territory for millennia, and we acknowledge them as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land. We are all Treaty people.



We recognize that African Nova Scotians are a distinct people whose histories, legacies, and contributions have enriched that part of Mi’kma’ki known as Nova Scotia for over 400 years.