Fellow Spotlight: Dr. Henry Wiebe
Last month, the Department of Medical Imaging (MI) met with PGY2 Diagnostic Radiology (DR) Resident Dr. Katie Harris to learn more about a new wellness initiative she’s leading, the Resident Coffee (Half) Hour. The initiative, Dr. Harris told us, was born out of a wellness survey conducted by Dr. Henry Wiebe during his last year of DR residency.
Dr. Wiebe, currently a Women’s Imaging Fellow with the Joint Department of Medical Imaging (JDMI), began his journey into medicine at the University of Alberta, earning is Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. After completing his undergraduate studies, his interest in sports science and medicine became evident, however before diving into medical school, Dr. Wiebe took some time off to pursue another passion of his, professional doubles badminton, playing with Canada during the 2016 Olympic cycle. With injury sidelining him before making it to the Olympics, he wasted no time getting back to his education. He completed his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Alberta before moving to Toronto for his Diagnostic Radiology (DR) residency and eventual fellowship.
During his residency, Dr. Wiebe continued focusing on health and wellness, applying this lens to improving the conditions for his coresidents as well. For a Quality Improvement project last year, he put together a mock project about conducting a wellness survey amongst DR residents. MI Professor Dr. Andrea Doria, Vice Chair, CPi, was so impressed with his mockup that she asked Dr. Wiebe to implement his project and circulate and conduct the survey amongst residents.
The wellness survey was aimed at gathering data on the wellbeing of radiology trainees in MI, and included questions about feelings of belonging, reliance on colleagues, and experiences of isolation both during regular working hours and on-call times. The results were not entirely surprising but still eye opening, with a significant number of respondents indicating that they felt more isolated during regular working hours, despite being surrounded by colleagues.
“The survey highlighted that a critical issue for trainees was a sense of isolation, but not how I expected it,” Dr. Wiebe says. “During on-call shifts, trainees are alone and are usually prepared to spend those shifts alone. But we had a lot of trainees respond that they feel isolated during their day shifts, when they are essentially surrounded by hospital staff. This was interesting to see.”
To address the results, Dr. Wiebe worked with coresidents like Dr. Katie Harris to implement new initiatives encouraging trainees and faculty to build bonds and socialize with each other, including the Resident Coffee (Half) Hour. While Dr. Wiebe graduated from the DR residency in July 2024, he’s still focusing on wellness in his fellowship – including following up on his initial survey – and plans to continue working towards creating positive and healthy spaces throughout his career.
Looking ahead at his plans after fellowship, Dr. Wiebe plans to stay in Toronto with his partner and is excited about the many radiology opportunities that wait for him. Throughout his education so far, Dr. Wiebe has worked on numerous research projects, including the trainee wellness survey, several presentations and has published the first manuscript to detail the positive fetal impact of prenatal exercise in pregnancy. Dr. Wiebe has also received several awards including the University of Toronto Radiology Residency Citizenship Award (2024).