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Emergency department burnout is a clear sign of a health system in need of solutions. A new @CMAJ study of Canadian emergency physicians should concern everyone who cares about the future of health care in Canada. Among survey respondents, 10% had left emergency medicine, nearly half had reduced their clinical hours and 20% had taken time off from emergency medicine. Nurses know this crisis well. Emergency nurses are working in overcrowded, high-pressure environments where long waits, rising patient needs, workplace violence and moral distress are contributing to burnout and making it harder to provide safe, timely care. Emergency departments (ED) are where pressures across the system show up: gaps in primary care and community services, limited access to specialist care, avoidable ED visits, and increasingly complex patient needs. Physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and other health workers are all carrying the consequences of a system under strain. The answer is not to shift pressure from one profession to another. It is to build teams and collaborative models of care that allow every provider to use their expertise effectively and safely. To address pressure in emergency departments, health systems need to fully integrate and optimize nurses and nurse practitioners in primary care, urgent care, emergency care and community settings. CNA has long advocated for greater integration of nurse practitioners and nurse-led fast-track clinics in EDs — proven solutions that can improve access, support teams and help patients receive the right care sooner. “Emergency department burnout is a warning sign for the whole health system,” says @ValerieGrdisa, CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association. “Supporting nurses and nurse practitioners to use their full knowledge and skills helps patients get care sooner, strengthens health-care teams and keeps emergency departments from being left to absorb gaps across the system.” cbc.ca/news/health/ed-physic… #CNA2026 #NursingLeadership #HealthPolicy #HealthWorkforce #EmergencyCare