OTTAWA, Aug. 1, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) today named Dr. Dianne Maier this year's recipient of its Physician Misericordia Award. The CMA Physician Misericordia award recognizes outstanding contributions by a CMA member toward enhancing the overall health and well-being of physician colleagues at both the personal and professional levels, in particular during times of conflict and crisis.
"Dr. Maier's ground-breaking work in physician health and her complete devotion to the physical and mental well-being of her colleagues make her deserving of this award," said Dr. John Haggie, CMA president. "She is not only having a positive impact on physician health, she is also contributing to society at large because healthier physicians lead to healthier patients and a more efficient health care system."
Psychiatrist Dianne Maier is a passionate advocate for physician health and well-being. She has worked with the Alberta Medical Association's (AMA) Physician and Family Support Program for more than a decade, and at the national level she has helped develop an active Canadian conference program for physician health.
A graduate of the University of Alberta, she practised as a family physician before beginning a residency in psychiatry in 1987 at the University of Calgary. She opened her clinical practice in Calgary in 1992 and was appointed clinical assistant professor at the university in 1996.
In 2000, Dr. Maier became an assessment physician for the AMA Physician and Family Support Program; becoming its clinical and program director in 2004. The program she and her team developed is widely used and trusted by physicians at all career stages and their families. In designing and implementing health promotion initiatives and educational programs, she has delivered more than 100 presentations to medical organizations, doctors and trainees, and wrote an AMA Doctors Digest feature for physicians and their families.
She has been a member of the Canadian Physician Health Network since 2004, serving as chair (2007-2009) and meeting chair (2010-2011). She was on the planning committees for the 2009 and 2011 Canadian Conferences on Physician Health, which were co-sponsored by the Canadian Medical Association and Canadian Medical Foundation and the provincial physician health programs in which the conferences were held.
Dr. Maier has also held leadership positions in the Alberta Psychiatric Association. Passionate about addressing stigma and insuring that all physicians receive the best care possible for their health and well-being, she was an active member of the CMA working group that developed the CMA mental health strategy for Canadian physicians.
Dr. Maier will receive the Physician Misericordia Award on Aug. 15 at a ceremony held at the Shorty Brown Arena in Yellowknife as part of the CMA's 145th annual meeting.
SOURCE: CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Dominique Jolicoeur, Communications Officer
Tel : 613-731-8610 or 800-663-7336 ext. 2038
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