A New Year’s resolution list for Canada’s MDs

The new year is upon us. Time to pull out the stone tablet and chisel, pen and paper, laptop or cell phone and start making our 2026 New Year’s Resolution List. This is not just about us—this list should include our patients, colleagues, clinic/hospital staff, the whole kit and caboodle.Let’s keep this in mind as we forge ahead, knowing that only 46% of us who make resolutions are successful. Without the list, however, only 4% are successful at achieving their goal. Before we start making our list, it’s good to check out the competition. The average Joe on the street—otherwise known as our patient(s)—ends up slipping on the ice after having one too many drinks at the bar, injuring himself and developing a slew of medical complications fully out of keeping with the original minor trauma. What’s on their lists? A quick internet search reveals the top 10 for 2025:Exercise moreLose weightGet organizedLearn a new skill or hobbyLive life to the fullestSave more money/spend less moneyQuit smokingSpend more time with family and friendsTravel moreRead morePretty generic. I think we as physicians can do better. We can even add more. From the movie Spinal Tap: “These go to eleven.” If this is an annual project, reviewing 2025 might be wise as one prepares to conquer 2026. What did I set out to do in the past year? Where did I make progress? Where didn’t I see progress?Are there any other rules before we get started?Of course there are lists about lists (about lists). A quick summary (in a list, of course), with some personal editorializining:Mentally prepare for change — absolutelySet a goal that motivates you — wouldn’t think of anything lessLimit resolutions to a manageable amount — 11 is a prime numberBe specific (S.M.A.R.T. concept) — well, I wouldn’t think of using D.U.M.B.Break up big goals into smaller goals — sub-lists of lists . . . yeah!Write down your goals — that’s what we are going to doShare your resolutions with others — that’s what I am doing with this silly blogAutomate where possible — AI is misinterpreting my warped humour as we speakReview your resolutions regularly — at least annually (just kidding). They’ll be on our Google calendar weekly, to be ignored like all the restIf you fall off track, get back on quickly — quicker than the deployment of a notwithstanding clause in AlbertaSo, based on this foundational research—which took at least 15 minutes—let’s get started with:A Canadian MD’s New Year’s Resolution List for 20261. At least pretend that you are prepared for all the changes that are going to happenThis may involve sending a clapping-hand emoji in your next virtual meeting while silently screaming, “WTF, when did we make that switch?” Bonus points if you stop asking, “Will this be permanent now?” (FYI—it always is, at least until next year.)2. Stop using the term “pleasant” when describing your patientEvery patient is pleasant until they aren’t. Expand your vocabulary: this (fill in the blank) 66-year-old “talkative,” “rambling,” “non-communicative,” “soon-to-be ex-patient.” You get the gist.3. Believe—really believe—that this year will be differentIf you put yourself in the right positive headspace, there is no reason you can’t eat lunch most days, finish on time at least one day a week, and not chart after 10:00 p.m. (up to and including this time is just being realistic).4. Stop saying “just one more patient”There is no such thing. There has never been such a thing. Actually start saying “NO”—one less patient. Firing patients is a thing (call the CMPA first, if you must).5. Learn more “tricks”Be a magician this year. Medical hocus pocus. Use more EMR shortcuts, templates, macros, stencils. Use scribing AI whenever and wherever you can. Time is more than money—it’s the currency of experience. Don’t quote me on that line; I stumbled on it while reading back issues of the Economist.6. Read your messages before responding(Sorry—this is almost serious now.) So much of our communication with patients, colleagues,and staff has gone digital. We need to be careful about when we answer, how we answer and if we answer at all. Watch the emotion, or even what might appear as emotional. That is a resolution . . . worthy of being broken within weeks.7. Accept that guidelines, new medications and tests change faster than you canSome guidelines I memorized last year are now outdated, revised, amended and possibly retracted. What is that drug—Elfabrio, Tenecteplase, Lecanemab, Qulipta, Ubrelvy . . . what?? Allowing patients to purchase any lab test or diagnostic they wish—why not? We can run harder and keep up and be faster than a dermatology visit. 8. 10,000 steps to a better selfModel healthier behaviour (quietly). Not preachy. Exercise when you can. Workouts do not have to be heroic, but being active has to be regular and consistent. Take the stairs more, bring back that seven-minute workout (again), drink water that isn’t coffee. And acknowledge that burnout is not a badge of honour. 9. Less is greatExcept for humour, sleep, and vacations—of which we always need more—how about one (or two) fewer drinks, meetings or “urgent” forms per week? Some of this is fully under our control. Be bold. Sell that third car, book that trip, take a nap! Be good to your future self this year. 10. When lifelong is too lofty—year-long learningEvery patient has a story to tell, and there is so much to learn from them. Always remain curious. Spend more time teaching, if you are so inclined. Continue healthcare advocacy, even though it is soul-sucking to talk to soon-to-be-very-well-pensioned government bean counters who don’t know the difference between their ani and the holes in their daily schedules.11. Continue to find medicine absurd, meaningful, exhausting and occasionally hilariousPreferably all in the same clinic day. Hopefully throughout the coming year. We’ve got this.Will all 11 resolutions stick? Absolutely not. Will some quietly disappear by February? Guaranteed. But writing them down forces reflection, intention and maybe just a little positivity. In the face of an impending disaster, we need to remain optimistic this year And if by December 2026 we’ve improved even one thing, for ourselves, our colleagues, or our patients, then that’s a win. Because unlike the average Joe on the ice outside the bar, at least we’re wearing sensible footwear, limiting our drinks, and surveying that sidewalk with the vigilance of a cardiac monitor.Here’s to 2026. May our internet connections be stable enough to keep our EMRs perpetually up and running, our clinics end on time most days and our resolutions fail just enough to keep us humble—but succeed enough to keep us going, with a smile, as we walk into the next exam room, fresh as Irish Spring deodorant (Aluminum free of course).Dr. Ted Jablonski is a performing artist and writer who has retired his family practice to focus on sexual medicine and transgender health in Southern Alberta, all while keeping his feet firmly planted in the front-line trenches of acute primary care.

A New Year’s resolution list for Canada’s MDs

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