We are Women’s offers the WCH community a chance to get to know each other and share our stories.
Name: Dr. Dominik Nowak
Pronouns: he/him
Title & Department: Family Physician, Department of Family & Community Medicine; President, Ontario Medical Association
On the WCH team for: 3 years
1. What does your typical workday look like?
For family doctors, there is no such thing as a typical day! The variety is part of the joy, both in my clinical care as well as in my health systems work.
As a family doctor, a day might start with meeting a newborn and their new parents. A few moments later, caring for someone with diabetes and a mental health concern. Followed by helping a family navigate aging and end-of-life. Being a family doctor means building care relationships with people and their families, from birth to death, and along the way understanding what matters to them in health.
As president at the Ontario Medical Association, what I love about my role is being the top advocate for the 43,000 doctors and medical learners in Ontario toward a better healthcare system. Aside from hearing the stories from doctors across the province, I meet with decision-makers, media, and health system advocates. All in a shared effort to build a health system that can make Canadians proud again.
2. What excites you the most about working at WCH?
Women’s College Hospital is a special place. From the moment I joined the family practice in caring for people with COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic, I felt part of a united team and supported to be my best in caring for patients. Our culture is a remarkable strength. I sense that comes from shared purpose — everyone I meet has a clear reason for working here. That purpose also translates to how our patients and their families feel when they get care here. I’ve heard stories from people across Ontario of kind and compassionate care from our health professionals, educators, scientists, staff, and volunteers at Women’s.
3. How does your work contribute to creating a positive patient experience?
As a family doctor, I get to be the personal physician for my patients. People connected to a family practice have more confidence and better experiences in their care (I recently published about this in the Canadian Family Physician), timely preventive care and cancer screening, fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations, at a lower cost to the health system, and even live longer.
As president at the Ontario Medical Association, I advocate for a health-care system that is more kind, caring, and careful. Right now, one in five people can’t find a family doctor, that’s soon to be one in four. Millions of people in Ontario have no other choice than to use the emergency room as their front door to care. At the same time, hospitals and emergency rooms are overwhelmed. At the OMA, we’re putting forward systems-changing proposals that would get our health system back on track for patients, and finally get people the care they need. I know our health system can once again be a source of pride for Canadians.
4. As the newly appointed OMA president, what are you looking forward to most in your role?
It’s no secret that things are challenging in healthcare. Our health system is in crisis. Too many people can’t find a family doctor and can’t get access to the care they need.
To me, optimism means realism and hope. Embracing the difficult realities, while also charting a path to a better future. What gives me hope is hearing the stories of physicians and health professionals across the province. In response to a health system in crisis, so many of our colleagues are stepping forward with solutions to create a better future for patients in Ontario—a key part of my job is to support them, amplify their stories, and advocate for those solutions to spread and scale.
5. Tell us one to three things that your colleagues would be surprised to learn about you!
People are often astonished when I tell them I have a Great Dane weighing in at over 100lbs. Big dogs like Great Danes are some of the sweetest, most affectionate animals.
I’m also a competitive tennis player. That’s where I find “flow”, which is that feeling when you are completely immersed in an activity. Tennis practice kept me grounded through the more challenging chapters in medical training and life.