Doreen Day, MHSc, is a Senior Project Manager at Choosing Wisely Canada, overseeing Pan-Canadian Initiatives. With extensive experience in the health care sector, including at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, Doreen plays a key role in managing relationships with provincial and territorial affiliates and leading the development and execution of national initiatives for the Choosing Wisely campaign. She holds a master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Toronto and brings a wealth of expertise in program management and health care improvement to her work.
Read below to discover how foundational sustainability principles, as shared by Doreen, guide the work at Choosing Wisely Canada. Through their commitment to reducing unnecessary tests and treatments, they improve patient care while addressing health care’s significant climate impact. Doreen's insights include actionable recommendations that empower professionals to foster a more sustainable health system.
Growing up, the slogan "reduce, reuse, recycle" was foundational in shaping my understanding of sustainability. Though climate research has evolved, and our benchmarks have moved, I believe these principles can continue to guide sustainability in health care and our work at Choosing Wisely Canada. Our mission to reduce unnecessary tests and treatments not only aims to enhance the quality of patient care but also aligns with the broader goal of reducing adverse climate impacts from the health care system, which produces over 5% of Canada’s emissions.
Beginning to address climate issues within health care can feel daunting, but it is not necessary to undertake massive transformations all at once. Figuring out what steps to take can be overwhelming and can make some want to quit before they begin. At Choosing Wisely, our cornerstone is practical, evidence-based recommendations developed in collaboration with our professional societies. By focusing on actionable recommendations, we aim to provide simple practice change suggestions for health care professionals.
Recently, Choosing Wisely collaborated with our national professional societies to develop recommendations focused on climate mitigation. In May, we launched 41 new ‘climate-conscious’ recommendations, and now there are over 50 and growing. These recommendations address waste reduction, energy use, medications, and more. As an example of some practical actions, one-quarter of these new climate recommendations focus on waste reduction — things like hand hygiene and minimizing the use of gloves, or specific examples of how to avoid unnecessary single-use materials within their specialty. These initiatives can be reasonably tackled at the clinician, department, or organisational level and demonstrate that simple measures can be impactful.
I truly believe everyone can play a role in fostering a more sustainable health care system whether they are a clinician, staff or involved in the health system in some capacity, regardless of their level of expertise. By providing access to actionable recommendations and resources, I hope Choosing Wisely can empower clinicians and help dismantle some of the many (perceived) barriers to making impactful change.
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Learn more about Choosing Wisely Canada HERE.
Read the new Choosing Wisely Canada climate-conscious recommendations HERE.
Get started in sustainable prescribing and take a look at the many resources and projects done by the green health care community, HERE.
For any additional questions, reach out to Choosing Wisely at info@choosingwiselycanada.org.
