The Thriving Project supports and enhances the wellness of rural healthcare practitioners, including doctors, residents, nurse practitioners and midwives, from across British Columbia by fostering connections between them and building a community of practice they can draw upon for learning, support, solace and inspiration.
“This is a difficult time to practice medicine. Many of us are struggling. While some of the difficulties are outside of our direct control, aspects of our medical culture also blind us to beautiful sources of support that may be easily available to us. We’re in this together and, together, we’re pretty amazing.”
Dr. Tandi Wilkinson, Lead, Thriving Project
The need for Thriving
There’s often a poverty of thinking in our medical culture and, at times, a poverty of humanity in our work. We feel like we don’t know enough, don’t have the time we need to do our jobs, and that we can’t afford the time needed to recharge ourselves. The bureaucratic pressures of medical practice take us away from the bedside—the place where we connect with our patients as people, have our biggest impact, and see the value of what we do.
The Thriving Project suggests that we expand our vision of how our work could be. What if, instead of merely surviving, we were thriving in our work? Why do we need to just get by? What if we change our focus and find new ways of being at work that take us in the direction of thriving?
While it’s hard to imagine thriving during the current healthcare crisis, it’s certainly possible to take steps in that direction. A number of small steps can lead to big changes in how we experience our work.
The Thriving Project aims to shift our well-being and that of our medical culture so we can feel more fully supported by:
- Facilitating access to wellness-related education and experiences that support rural practitioners. These experiences are readily available in your community or online based on an understanding of the complexity of rural medicine. They leverage our caring and humanity and draw upon the wealth of wisdom we already have.
- Creating opportunities for you to meet with like-minded colleagues in safe spaces, where we have time to connect about what really matters.
The ‘Providers Thriving Together’ Wellness Conversations Series
Join us for the ‘Providers Thriving Together’ Wellness Conversations Series. These free monthly virtual drop-in sessions provide a facilitated space to experience camaraderie and peer support in the service of activating our collective resilience. Each month, presenters—usually rural peers from around the province—will share practices, frameworks or ideas they’ve found useful. Sessions will prioritize time for exploring these themes in both small and large group conversations.
When and where:
All sessions occur on Zoom on the first Monday evening of each month from 7–8:30 pm, starting in January 2023. There is no expectation to attend all sessions—come to those that inspire you and work in your calendar.
Who can attend:
A health practitioner (Doctor, resident, nurse practitioner, midwife) serving a rural community in BC (as defined by the Doctors of BC RSA list).
Register:
Fill out the registration form to participate in any or all of the Providers Thriving Together sessions. We’ll send you a calendar invite, monthly reminders of session dates, and other information from the Thriving Project.
Would you like to present?
We’re looking for presenters in 2023. Please contact us if you’re passionate about a wellness theme and would like to present it to your colleagues.
Providers Thriving Together session schedule
| Date | Speaker(s) | Topic |
|---|---|---|
|
April 3, 2023 (via Zoom) 7–8:30 pm |
We're better together: Growing resiliency within close relationships Presenters: Drs. Jen Roger & Blair Stanley | Facilitator: Dr. Shireen Mansouri |
Spouses/partners, family and close friends can be pivotal in helping build internal resilience in times of stress. Come explore healthy ways to harness the resource of deep emotional connection—and, if you'd like, invite a friend or family member to join you for this session. |
|
May 1, 2023 (via Zoom) 7–8:30 pm |
Exploring dreams can open doors: Both for myself, and for patients Presenter: Darren Jakubec | Facilitators: Drs. Rahul Gupta & Jen Roger |
Come explore the language of inner journeys and dreams as one of the many links between the outer and inner world and correlation to overall health. |
|
June 5, 2023 (via Zoom) 7–8:30 pm |
Getting down & dirty: Wellness through gardening Presenter: Nancy Yao | Facilitators: Drs. Rahul Gupta & Tandi Wilkinson |
Feeling burdened and overwhelmed by the current challenges of healthcare delivery? De-stress and find hope in the garden: Tips and tricks from a garden enthusiast. |
Feature Stories
Related Content
Quality Team Coaching for Rural BC
QTC4RBC workshops and leadership coaching empowers teams to regroup and reconnect with their purpose and take steps toward building their desired team culture and advancing their chosen goals.
Isolated Medical Provider Aftercare Team
IMPACT offers confidential peer-to-peer support to rural doctors and to nurses in remote nursing stations in British Columbia who have experienced a potentially challenging incident at work.