Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine

Authors: Tandi Wilkinson, Rola Ajjawi, Shireen Mansouri

Publication date: May 2024

Informal peer support enabled recipients to move through an emotionally difficult experience. Empathy, shared vulnerability and connection were the part of the peer support encounter. In addition, the support offered benefits which are known to help physicians not only process emotionally difficult events but also to acquire ‘post‑traumatic growth’. Practitioners, healthcare leaders and medical educators all have roles to play in enabling the conditions for informal peer support to flourish.