Dr. Michael CT Wansbrough,
MD CCFP(EM) DTM&H DLHSTM CHSE ACPP MSc
Pain & Emergency Physician
Medical Director of ORI

Advanced Credentialed Pain Practitioner, Academy of Integrative Pain Medicine Emergency Physician, Schwartz-Reisman Emergency Center, Mount Sinai Hospital Assistant Professor, DFCM, University of Toronto Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator, Harvard/MIT Center for Medical Simulation Interventional Chronic Pain Management

Expanding my scope of practice from emergency medicine to include interventional pain management, I have combined skills from two very connected fields and have broadened my ability to manage a diverse range of issues. My experience in emergency medicine introduced me to the power of ultrasound to diagnose and treat a large variety of health problems which translated easily to chronic pain management. Likewise, my experience in interventional chronic pain management has benefited many of my emergency medicine patients. I am currently part of a team developing and training emergency physicians in expanding their interventional skills which will greatly benefit patients (Emergency Department Interventional Pain and Ultrasound Course).

Through my experience with the Canadian Network for International Surgery, I have connected with people from around the world and continue to help develop health care programs in East Africa. As a research fellow of the London School of Tropical Medicine, I learned a great deal about health and illness in West Africa and about unique ways to approach challenging problems. Working as a ship’s doctor in the arctic and antarctic I have had the privilege of experiencing some of the most remote areas on the globe and learn about how to manage medical issues when there is little back-up or support. Along with these experiences I have been faced with challenging, sometimes rewarding and sometimes quite traumatic experiences, though always exposing a new level of resilience in those I have worked with and within myself.

During my time as a Critical Care Transport Physician with Ornge, I facilitated the transportation of patients in the province of Ontario and connecting with rural physicians and nurses from remote nursing stations as well as with tertiary care centers. This experience has imparted the importance of clear and concise communication, empathy and trust. This is a rare position to be in where the trust in the clinical skills of the medic and the information they provide at a bedside hundreds of kilometers away is critical in successfully transporting patients to centers where they can receive the help they need. Coming up with unique solutions to transport is also extremely intellectually satisfying. Working occasionally as the town physician in the remote community of Chapleau, I have been on the other side of the phone from the transport physician and experience the challenges of delivering quality health care with little support apart from the excellent local team. I have brought my interventional pain skills to this rural environment and it has been very satisfying.

I care deeply about the legacy we leave our kids and how we can be good stewards of the environment. As a founding board member of Harbinger Foundation, we work towards improving people’s lives with a focus on Native health and in the past on global access to clean water.

I endeavor not only to improve quality of life, but also exploring new methods of reducing pain and suffering. Both advances in platelet-rich plasma and stem cells is showing promise in offering more long term approaches to certain painful conditions. I am a great believer in how we can harness the power of the mind through techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness meditation as well as the effects of nutrition on reducing pain. Working with patients in pain has brought great satisfaction, although the challenges faced, both financial, technological and physiological seem at times astronomical, however I see glimmers of hope in many returning patients whom I consider as not only as family, but as team members working together in improving their quality of life.