“The humanities are what keeps us human.”

— Allison Russell

Life is hard. Medicine is hard. We are all looking for ways to address professional stress and enhance resiliency. This series is for everyone who wishes to enhance the well-being of practitioners and learners in healthcare settings and members of healthcare teams.

We will draw from the works of contemporary clinician-authors — including Jillian Horton, Sunita Puri, Rana Awdish, Michele Harper, and Ronald Epstein — as inspiration for personal reflection and group discussion. You will gain a better understanding of the challenges of professional practice, and of narrative-based strategies for addressing them.

Each session will include discussion of key concepts, reading activities, and writing exercises. Throughout, you will have ample opportunity to discuss your ideas and reactions in a supportive and collegial environment. There are no required reading between sessions.

Ultimately, the goal of the series is to:

• Enhance reflective capacity, narrative competence, and resiliency in professional practice
• Improve the quality and experience of relationship-centered care for patients, families, and providers through an examined, collaborative use of story
• Utilize a narrative approach to address clinician moral distress, well-being, and resilience while enhancing team-building and collaboration

Everyone is welcome. No previous writing experience is necessary to join.

Learning Objectives

• Identify 4-5 key concepts related to clinician resiliency and well being
• Utilize narrative methods for individual and group reflection
• Identify ways to integrate these methods into their own future practice

“I found [Karen’s] teaching style quite nurturing and inclusive. [This series] was such a lovely way to meet more Canadians pursuing their writing and searching for answers to difficult questions. I felt quite inspired.”

— Family Physician

Series Dates and Times

Sessions will take place online from 6 pm – 8:30 pm ET on bi-weekly Thursdays, and run for a total of 4 sessions, starting October 24, 2023. Dates for all sessions in the series are October 24, November 7, November 21 and December 5

Fee

Program Fee: $660

All amounts are in Canadian Dollars (CAD $) and are subject to 13% HST.

Cancellation

Cancellations will be accepted until Monday, October 16, 2023, and are subject to a processing fee of $60 plus applicable taxes. Refunds will not be processed after this date. No refunds will be issued where the cancellation fee exceeds the registration fee.

Requests for cancellation must be made in writing to cpd.programs@utoronto.ca .

Registrations are not transferable.

The University of Toronto reserves the right to cancel events. Registrants will be notified at the earliest possible date in the event of a cancellation. Registration fees for events cancelled by the University will be refunded; however, the University will not be liable for any loss, damages or other expenses that such cancellations may cause.

Accreditation

Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, is fully accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME), a subcommittee of the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). This standard allows CPD to review and assess educational activities based on the criteria established by The College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) has established agreements with each of the American Medical Association (AMA), and the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) where activities approved for Royal College MOC Credits are eligible for conversion to AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and UEMS-EACCME European CME Credit (ECMEC®) credits, respectively.

For CPD credits, participants are required to submit a short piece of reflective writing (250-500 words) to the instructor. Writing completed during sessions can be submitted.