Sonali TiwaryA national survey of Canadian emergency medicine physicians has revealed a profession in crisis, with nearly half reducing work hours and one in ten leaving the specialty entirely due to burnout and poor working conditions.
The study, conducted by researchers in the Network of Canadian Emergency Researchers, surveyed 410 emergency medicine physician respondents across all provinces and territories except Yukon in 2025. The findings paint a concerning picture of the state of Canadian emergency medicine and the future of patient care.
Approximately half of Canada’s emergency room doctors have reduced their work hours, while 10 percent have departed the profession entirely. These departures represent significant losses of trained medical professionals from the healthcare system. Burnout among responding physicians reached levels described as consistently high across all dimensions measured, with these elevated burnout levels remaining “substantively unchanged” since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many surveyed emergency doctors expressed hopelessness about their profession’s future. Researchers noted that for significant portions of respondents, “the future of emergency medicine was hopeless, with no possibility of recovery.” This pessimism indicates moral distress and psychological impacts beyond typical workplace stress.
Canadian emergency rooms struggle with growing patient loads, record overcrowding, and dangerous wait times. Hundreds of thousands of patients annually experience waits of 14 hours or more for emergency care, creating both unsafe conditions and difficult work environments for emergency physicians trying to provide adequate patient care under resource constraints.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information documented that wait times for admitted patients in emergency departments have increased each year, with waits growing progressively longer despite ongoing healthcare discussions about the crisis. Emergency physician departures create additional pressure on remaining staff, requiring those who stay to increase workloads and take additional shifts, potentially worsening burnout among those remaining.
