Shirley's story

Dr. Shirley Sze is a semi-retired family doctor who has worked in Kamloops for the past 30 years. She continues to organize Continuing Medical Education (CME) which she views as an informal extension of the PAW work. Her colleague, Dr. Robert Baker, who started PAW work in Kamloops, continues to play an important role in conducting regular support sessions for health-care professionals undergoing stressful life events.

Dr. Sze organizes a weekly morning and an evening event as part of her PAW/CME work. Attendees vary depending on the topic, although everyone is invited i.e. doctors, pharmacists and other health-care providers. “For example, if there is a talk on depression, psychiatric nurses would come,” she explains.  There is also an annual weekend medicine conference in Sun Peaks every February that brings in physicians from outlying referral areas. This year’s conference includes a session on “Medical Family Survival.”

The value of the CME sessions is both educational and peer collegiality, Dr. Sze says. This can be particularly important for doctors going through difficult life transitions. “They feel less alone and get the support they need from their peers in a friendly atmosphere.”  Social dinner events for physicians and their partners with speakers from PHP are also part of her PAW work. She feels that by attending such events, doctors, especially those new to Kamloops, are less inclined to have feelings of isolation.
  
One project she views as a success in building local relationships is a medical staff yearbook. It included a photo, name and hospital department of almost all the community physicians. Because hospitals can sometimes be impersonal places, the yearbook has helped people get to know one another and has played a role in welcoming new staff.

As told to Ann Gibbon