You can care deeply
without losing yourself.
MARCUS GREATHEART MD MSW
Physician, Social Worker, Facilitator
I help healthcare teams, educators and community organizations care for people experiencing addiction, homelessness and mental illness without losing sight of their own humanity.My work includes keynotes, workshops, my new book The Field Guide to Frontline Care, and Notes on Staying Human, a free twice-monthly email for people doing frontline work.
Book Marcus to Speak
Speaking and Workshops
Frontline work asks people to make difficult decisions in difficult systems.My keynotes and workshops help healthcare teams, educators and community organizations develop practical ways to navigate those moments with compassion, clarity and confidence.Drawing on experience in addiction medicine, street outreach, hospital care and leadership, I combine real clinical stories with practical tools that participants can use immediately.Who I work with
-Health systems and primary care networks
-Hospitals and inpatient teams
-Residency and training programs
-Community organizations
-Indigenous health gatherings and anti-racism conferencesWhat participants take away
Participants leave with practical approaches they can use in their next shift, including:-Communicating through conflict without escalating it
-Holding boundaries while preserving relationships
-Responding to harmful behaviour without shame
-Repairing trust after difficult interactions
-Supporting colleagues in demanding work environments
-Staying human while working within imperfect systems
Common Topics
Every keynote and workshop is tailored to the audience. Common themes include:-Staying human in frontline work
-Addiction, homelessness and harm reduction
-Leadership that strengthens culture
-Anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare
-Communication skills for difficult conversations
-Building compassionate systems without burning outIf you're planning a conference, workshop or educational event, I'd be happy to discuss what would be most useful for your audience.
The Field Guide to Frontline Care
Practical tools for frontline workers in homelessness, substance use and harm reductionWritten for shelter staff, outreach workers, peer workers and anyone doing frontline work with marginalized populations. This is the book you keep at the desk, not on the shelf.Shipping Summer 2026 from Ethica Press
Watch Marcus Speak and see how he works with audiences.
Watch Marcus Speak
Watch Marcus in action in this PechaKucha talk on street medicine, burnout prevention, and why compassion is a strategy, not a weakness.
Social Media Reach
Videos have reached over 1.9 million views in the last year, resonating with clinicians, families, and leaders. Most viewed video has over 850K views, opening with the blunt truth: “Using drugs is the only thing that makes homelessness tolerable.
Other Resources
for Clinicians
Be the Doctor You Always Wanted to Be is a reflective workbook for physicians who want to reconnect with why they chose medicine. With more than 100 prompts on communication, meaning, and burnout, it is used by residency programs and wellness groups as a structured way to talk about the hard parts of practice.
About Marcus
Sign up for my bi-weekly email on staying human in frontline care.
Dr. Marcus Greatheart is a physician and social worker who works at the frontlines of medicine, caring for people who are often pushed to the margins. He brings clarity, grounded empathy, and a commitment to justice into every room.Marcus focuses on compassionate, trauma-informed care and system-level change. With experience in clinical care, outreach, and leadership, he helps teams explore how to show up for marginalized people while staying effective and human.
What leaders are saying...“Marcus is a rare kind of speaker—reliable, deeply authentic, and able to connect with people on a profoundly human level. At our conference, his talk stood out as one of those moments that people don’t just hear, they feel. He speaks to what we all need to be reminded of: the power of love, community, and humanity. Marcus doesn’t just share ideas—he leaves you changed.”Dr. Sara Lea, Medical Director, Education, Onboarding and Leadership Development, Island Health
I live and work on the unceded territory of the Laichwiltach people, and the We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and Kwaikah First Nations, for which I am truly grateful.“Compassion is empathy in action.”© 2026 Dr. Marcus Greatheart