Life in the slow lane: reflective practice in postgraduate Emergency Medicine training in South Africa

Emergency Medicine in South Africa faces multiple challenges from insufficient human and physical resources, high patient load, the rapid pace of the profession and the impact of trauma, vicarious trauma and moral injury on physician and trainee wellness. Recently, the College of Emergency Medicine of South Africa introduced wellness as a core competency for an Emergency Medicine specialist. In the context of the existing South African public healthcare sector and the literature on the challenges emergency medicine healthcare workers face, this may seem like an unrealistic expectation. The authors suggest possible strategies learned during engagement with health professions education to foster Emergency Medicine physician and trainee wellness. Slow medicine, transformative learning theory, and trauma-informed care are explored in the context of the South African Emergency Medicine postgraduate training platform, and suggestions for their incorporation into the workplace are presented. The authors do not offer a silver bullet for the complex challenges, but they open a dialogue to realistically explore ways to support this crucial workforce.