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Why Do Doctors Commit Suicide?
"Physicians are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as nonphysicians (and female physicians three times more likely than their male counterparts)."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/opinion/why-do-doctors-commit-suicide.html?src=me&ref=general
Why Do Doctors Commit Suicide?
By PRANAY SINHASEPT. 4, 2014
NEW HAVEN — TWO weeks ago, two medical residents, in their second month of residency training in different programs, jumped to their deaths in separate incidents in New York City. I did not know them, and cannot presume to speak for them or their circumstances. But I imagine that they had celebrated their medical school graduation this spring just as my friends and I did. I imagine they began their residencies with the same enthusiasm for healing as we did. And I imagine that they experienced fatigue, emotional exhaustion and crippling self-doubt at the beginning of those residencies — I know I did.
The statistics on physician suicide are frightening: Physicians are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as nonphysicians (and female physicians three times more likely than their male counterparts). Some 400 doctors commit suicide every year. Young physicians at the beginning of their training are particularly vulnerable: In a recent study, 9.4 percent of fourth-year medical students and interns — as first-year residents are called — reported having suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks.
Hospitals and residency programs recognize the toll residency takes on the mental stability and physical health of new doctors. In 2003, work hours were capped at 80 hours a week for all residency training programs. Residents are provided confidential counseling services to help cope with stress. My residency program offers writing workshops and monthly reflection rounds. We have a wellness committee that organizes social events such as bonfires on the beach and visits from therapy dogs.
But despite these efforts, people still fall through the cracks. While acute stress, social isolation, pre-existing mental illness and substance abuse may be obvious factors to consider, we must also ask if there are aspects of medical culture that might push troubled residents beyond their reserves of emotional resilience.
<snip>
Why Do Doctors Commit Suicide?
By PRANAY SINHASEPT. 4, 2014
NEW HAVEN — TWO weeks ago, two medical residents, in their second month of residency training in different programs, jumped to their deaths in separate incidents in New York City. I did not know them, and cannot presume to speak for them or their circumstances. But I imagine that they had celebrated their medical school graduation this spring just as my friends and I did. I imagine they began their residencies with the same enthusiasm for healing as we did. And I imagine that they experienced fatigue, emotional exhaustion and crippling self-doubt at the beginning of those residencies — I know I did.
The statistics on physician suicide are frightening: Physicians are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as nonphysicians (and female physicians three times more likely than their male counterparts). Some 400 doctors commit suicide every year. Young physicians at the beginning of their training are particularly vulnerable: In a recent study, 9.4 percent of fourth-year medical students and interns — as first-year residents are called — reported having suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks.
Hospitals and residency programs recognize the toll residency takes on the mental stability and physical health of new doctors. In 2003, work hours were capped at 80 hours a week for all residency training programs. Residents are provided confidential counseling services to help cope with stress. My residency program offers writing workshops and monthly reflection rounds. We have a wellness committee that organizes social events such as bonfires on the beach and visits from therapy dogs.
But despite these efforts, people still fall through the cracks. While acute stress, social isolation, pre-existing mental illness and substance abuse may be obvious factors to consider, we must also ask if there are aspects of medical culture that might push troubled residents beyond their reserves of emotional resilience.
<snip>
22 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
I've been pushed to the brink twice. Once in school, just the sheer exhaustion and realizing I'd been conned into a debt hole that I will not climb out of in this lifetime.
And the 2nd time when I complained about sexual harassment by a lab assistant, who told a brain-damaged janitor that I was going to have meet him for a cup of coffee and shared personal information with him. I was stalked for a year as a result of that...and forced to work 13 hour night shifts with all of 2 nights of training (and after I'd told them in the job interview that I thought I might be able to work a night shift in an emergency, but my health issues precluded my ever doing it on a regular basis).
It helps me put my troubles into perspective. I never had to undergo what you have been faced with...
right back!...
