Recruitment adds 20 psychiatrists in two years at The Ottawa Hospital

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The first time he attempted to enter Canada to begin his new job as head of the mental health department at The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Jess Fiedorowicz was arrested at the Sault Ste. Marie and returned to the United States.

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It was June 2020 and he did not have the required work permit.

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« It was quite stressful, » he recalls. « I received a written order to leave the country. »

Fiedorowicz made a second attempt two months later with a work permit in hand and successfully assumed his new role in Ottawa – after two weeks in pandemic quarantine.

His perseverance was essential in overhauling the hospital’s mental health department: during his short tenure here, Fiedorowicz presided over a significant expansion of the department’s staff and services.

Over the past two years, 20 new psychiatrists have been recruited to The Ottawa Hospital. Not all are working full-time and some other staff have left, but this still represents a 30% increase in the department’s full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing levels.

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This has helped address an increase 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.

« It’s a substantial increase in staff, 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 center for mood disorders.

The success of The Ottawa Hospital in recruiting new psychiatrists is remarkable, not least because the demand for mental health service providers has skyrocketed.

« People can go anywhere, » Fiedorowicz said. “There is a shortage of psychiatrists locally, provincially, nationally and internationally.

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Ottawa’s mental health department was severely understaffed when he arrived, Fiedorowicz said, with less than 30 FTE psychiatrists struggling to manage two 96-bed inpatient units, two psychiatric emergency departments, a disorder program food, an outpatient clinic and other services.

The hospital now has 38.8 full-time equivalent psychiatrists — Fiedorowicz would like to reach his mid-40s — and the extra staff has helped reduce patient wait times.

“There are reasons to be optimistic with the new people and talent we are bringing in, but there is still a long way to go,” he said.

Key to the recruitment drive’s success was Fiedorowicz’s determination to make careers in psychiatry more « sustainable, » especially for those who work with the city’s toughest patients.

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To guard against burnout, Fiedorowicz ensures that 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, we can keep people in settings where they treat people with the greatest needs,” he said.

Fiedorowicz’s sales pitch has found success with people such as Dr. Marco Solmi, a psychiatrist from Padova, Italy, who has published over 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 in January 2021.

Solmi appreciates the hospital’s flexible approach, which allows him to work as both a researcher and a clinician. « I think you don’t find that opportunity everywhere, » he said.

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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 breakout room at a conference on bipolar disorder. He struck up a virtual conversation with her and told her about the opportunities in Ottawa.

Saraf said The Ottawa Hospital’s emphasis on teamwork and personal growth led her to consider the move.

« Ottawa also appealed to me because of what it offers as a city, » said Saraf, whose research and clinical work focuses on mood disorders.

Saraf and Solmi also hold professorships in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa.

Fiedorowicz says he’s always on the lookout for talent since the hospital still needs more psychiatrists, especially for the eating disorders program.

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The hospital has established an Eating Disorders Fellowship in an effort to attract a candidate for this program. It also restructures the way inpatients are treated, with family medicine specialists taking on the role of primary care physician – dealing with acute medical issues that can accompany eating disorders – enabling 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-time advocate for universal health care in the United States, so I always wanted to practice somewhere that provided care for everyone, regardless of income and ability to pay,” a- he declared. “I have to say that I really enjoy this part of the system.

« 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 primarily fee-for-service and bill for their work through OHIP, the provincial health insurance program.