recruiting boost adds 20 psychiatrists in two years at the ottawa hospital
“there’s reason for optimism with the new people and talent we’re bringing in, but there’s still a lot to be done."
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the first time he tried to enter canada to start his new job as head of the ottawa hospital’s department of mental health, dr. jess fiedorowicz was stopped at the border crossing in sault ste. marie and sent back to the united states. it was june 2020, and he didn’t have the required work permit.
“it was pretty stressful,” he remembers. “i got a written order to leave the country.”
fiedorowicz made a second attempt two months later with work permit in hand and succeeded in assuming his new role in ottawa — following two weeks in pandemic quarantine.
his persistence has been critical in remaking the hospital’s department of mental health: during his short tenure here, fiedorowicz has presided over a significant expansion of the department’s staffing and services.
in the past two years, 20 new psychiatrists have been recruited to the ottawa hospital. not all work full-time, and some other staff members have departed, but it still represents a 30-per-cent increase in the department’s full-time equivalent (fte) staffing levels.
that has helped address a surge in demand for mental health services during the pandemic. covid-19 and its control measures have led to more people seeking treatment for anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
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“it’s a substantial increase in staffing, but we could still use more people,” said fiedorowicz, who came to ottawa from the university of iowa, where he had been a faculty member and director of the mood disorders centre.
the ottawa hospital’s success in recruiting new psychiatrists is remarkable, not least because demand for mental health service providers has skyrocketed.
“people can go anywhere,” fiedorowicz said. “there’s a shortage of psychiatrists locally, provincially, nationally, internationally.”
ottawa’s mental health department was grossly understaffed when he arrived, fiedorowicz said, with fewer than 30 fte psychiatrists struggling to manage two in-patient units with 96 beds, two psychiatric emergency services, an eating disorders program, an outpatient clinic and other services.
the hospital now has 38.8 full-time equivalent psychiatrists — fiedorowicz would like to reach the mid-40s — and the additional staff has helped to reduce patient wait times.
“there’s reason for optimism with the new people and talent we’re bringing in, but there’s still a lot to be done,” he said.
key to the successful recruitment drive has been fiedorowicz’s determination to make psychiatry careers more “sustainable,” especially for those working with the city’s most challenging patients.
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to guard against burnout, fiedorowicz ensures psychiatrists can balance frontline clinical work with academic pursuits, such as research, teaching and professional development.
“in my mind, if we can create sustainable careers, then we can keep people in the settings where they’re treating the people with the highest needs,” he said.
fiedorowicz’s sales pitch has found success with people such as dr. marco solmi, a psychiatrist from padua, italy, who has published more than 225 scientific papers in his field. solmi approached the ottawa hospital about a job after selecting the country where he wanted to work and the city where he wanted to raise his family. he signed on in january 2021.
dr. marco solmi came to the ottawa hospital from padua, italy. he said he liked the hospital’s flexible approach, which allows him to work both as a researcher and physician.
courtesy of the ottawa hospital
solmi appreciates the hospital’s flexible approach, which allows him to work both as a researcher and clinician. “i think you don’t find this opportunity everywhere,” he said.
solmi’s research focuses on population-based studies and the physical health of people with mental disorders.
dr. gayatri saraf arrived in march from vancouver months after first meeting fiedorowicz in a virtual break-out room during a conference on bipolar disorder. he began a virtual conversation with her and let her know about opportunities in ottawa.
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saraf said the ottawa hospital’s emphasis on teamwork and personal growth made her consider the move.
dr. gayatri saraf began work as a psychiatrist at the ottawa hospital in march after arriving from vancouver, b.c. saraf said the hospital’s emphasis on teamwork and personal growth made her consider the move.
courtesy the ottawa hospital
“ottawa appealed to me because of what it offers as a city as well,” said saraf, whose research and clinical work focus on mood disorders.
both saraf and solmi also have faculty positions with the university of ottawa’s department of psychiatry.
fiedorowicz says he’s always recruiting for talent since the hospital still needs more psychiatrists, particularly for the eating disorders program.
the hospital has created an eating disorders fellowship in an effort to attract a candidate to that program. it’s also restructuring the way in-patients are treated, with family medicine specialists taking on the role of primary physician — caring for the acute medical issues that can accompany eating disorders — which allows psychiatrists to work more as consultants.
fiedorowicz himself opted for a move to ottawa after considering positions in ohio, maryland, michigan and wisconsin, his home state.
“i was a long-standing advocate for universal health care in the united states, so i’ve always wanted to practise somewhere that provided care for everyone regardless of income and ability to pay,” he said. “i have to say i really do enjoy that piece of the system.
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“things aren’t necessarily better or worse here in some ways — there are some differences — but i really like not having that as part of my practice and my leadership role.”
at the ottawa hospital, psychiatrists are mostly paid on a fee-for-service basis, billing for their work through ohip, the provincial health insurance program.
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