Keynotes, workshops, virtual sessions
Speaking and Workshops
Your frontline staff are carrying more than their training prepared them for. Encounters escalate, people they care for die, and the system often cannot provide what is needed.
I am a family physician and social worker practicing street medicine and addiction care. I deliver keynotes, workshops and virtual sessions for teams, leaders and organizations in healthcare, homelessness, substance use, mental health and other complex human-service settings.
Where this work starts
A commitment to reconciliation and cultural humility
My work is grounded in an explicit commitment to addressing anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare and social-service systems. As a non-Indigenous settler, I bring that responsibility into how I teach about care, leadership, systems and organizational culture.
Talks and workshops
What I speak about
Each topic can run as a keynote, a workshop or a virtual session, and is adapted to your audience.
Staying Human in Frontline Work
Moral distress, grief, burnout, cynicism, boundaries and how people keep caring when the work is taking a toll.
People leave able to name what is wearing them down and choose one or two practices that make the work more sustainable.
Difficult Conversations and Communication
Practical skills for anger, mistrust, refusal, limit-setting, bad news, repair and conversations when people are overwhelmed or under strain.
Flagship workshop: Language That Lowers the Temperature
People leave able to use specific phrases that lower the temperature, state a limit without risking the relationship, and repair a conversation that went badly.
Good Care in Constrained Systems
How workers and leaders preserve dignity, trust and useful care when housing, treatment, staffing or other resources are limited.
People leave able to keep offering care that helps when housing, treatment or staffing falls short, and be honest with people about what is and is not available.
Disrupting Anti-Indigenous Racism
Dedicated keynotes and education on disrupting anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare and social-service systems.
People leave able to recognize how anti-Indigenous racism shows up in everyday care and identify specific changes in their own practice and team.
Planning an event
For organizers
Every session is adapted to your setting and your audience. Here is what most organizers ask first.
Formats
Keynotes, half-day and full-day workshops, team education sessions and virtual sessions. Keynotes usually run 45 to 75 minutes. I speak for 25 to 30 minutes and use the rest for conversation with the audience. That works in a large plenary too.
Audiences
Frontline teams, clinicians, leaders and organizations in healthcare, homelessness, substance use, mental health and other human-service settings. Groups from 15 people to full conference plenaries.
Location and travel
I am based on Vancouver Island, BC. I speak in person across Canada and the US, and virtually anywhere. Because of my clinical schedule, in-person sessions generally need to be booked well in advance.
Fees
Fees depend on the format, length and travel. Send me your event details and I will reply with a quote. I reply within three business days.
Room and equipment
A screen or projector, a microphone for larger rooms, and space for people to talk in pairs during workshops.
Books for your team
Bulk copies of The Field Guide to Frontline Care start at 10 copies and can be paired with any session.
Get in touch
Book Marcus to speak
- Send a request. Tell me about your event. I reply by email within three business days.
- We book a call. We talk through what your teams are facing, what you are asking for, and the format that fits.
- I deliver the session. A highly interactive keynote or workshop built for your audience, with time for conversation.
“At our conference, his talk stood out as one of those moments that people don’t just hear, they feel.” Dr. Sara Lea, Medical Director, Education, Onboarding and Leadership Development, Island Health
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Notes on Staying Human
An email for people doing frontline work. Practical tools, new ideas and conversations from the front lines of care.
