Emergency room doctors are leaving according to a study co-authored by Kingston physician

Dr. Kerstin de Wit is one of 13 Canadian doctors collaborating on a longitudinal study on the well-being of emergency room physicians.

A Kingston physician is sounding the alarm over the number of emergency room doctors leaving the profession.

Dr. Kerstin de Wit works in the emergency department at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. She is also a professor at Queen's University.

de Wit along with 12 other doctors from across Canada collaborated on a longitudinal study on the well-being of emergency room physicians.

615 doctors participated in the study when it began in April of 2020. There were three follow-ups in November of 2020, September 2022, and January 2025.

de Wit says what they discovered was that many were experiencing a high level of burnout.

The study found that of the remaining physicians who stayed, 48 percent reduced their clinical hours in emergency medicine and 20 percent took time off from working in the emergency room. Some of them work or have previously worked at Kingston General or Hotel Dieu hospitals.

de Wit says this is something that no hospital in Canada has ever experienced before, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study concludes that the current state of the health care system in Canada has contributed to the high burnout rate.

de Wit believes governments have not been able to provide the level of funding to keep up with demand.

de Wit hopes the findings in the study will get the attention of both provincial and federal governments.

The study can be found on the Canadian Medical Association Journal website. 

Story by Ken Hashizume