Commentary: Medical educators must do more to prevent physician suicides

The general internist Elisabeth Poorman, MD, calls for institutions “to confront the size of the epidemic of [physician] depression and suicide head on,” while describing two exemplars at providing physicians with mental health support, in a recently published commentary.

“I want to call attention to the gap between what educators think and say is available, in terms of mental health support, and what trainees experience,” Dr. Poorman said in a statement on her piece in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management. She shared the results of an anonymous depression survey of interns, which showed that 41.8% of participants screened positive for depression. Dr. Poorman also provided statistics on physician suicide, including that at least 66 residents killed themselves between 2000 and 2014, according to ACGME, and that another source estimated that 300-400 physician suicide deaths occur annually.

“When it comes to mental illness and suicide, we are all at risk, but we too often lacked compassion in the way we approach our colleagues. We have lacked the courage to fight the stigma that is killing us. We have not asked whether our unwillingness to reform medical training has eroded the empathy of generations of doctors. We have not done enough to fight medical boards that ask doctors about mental health diagnoses in the same way they ask if we have domestic violence charges,” wrote Dr. Poorman, who practices at a University of Washington neighborhood clinic in Kent.

“A focus on the occupational risks we face would shift us away from ‘wellness’ and ‘resilience,’ and place the onus on schools, training programs, and hospitals to do better for providers and patients,” continued Dr. Poorman, who serves on the editorial advisory board of Internal Medicine News.

She commended Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, and Stanford (Calif.) University’s divisions of general surgery for providing “rigorously confidential mental health support” through a wellness and suicide prevention program for residents and faculty, and a wellness program for residents “that emphasizes relationships, structural support, and psychological safety,” respectively. Dr. Poorman also applauded both for speaking openly about physician suicides.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Poorman E. J Patient Saf Risk Manag. 2019 Aug 5. doi: 10.1177/2516043519866993.

This article was updated 8/5/19.

The general internist Elisabeth Poorman, MD, calls for institutions “to confront the size of the epidemic of [physician] depression and suicide head on,” while describing two exemplars at providing physicians with mental health support, in a recently published commentary.

“I want to call attention to the gap between what educators think and say is available, in terms of mental health support, and what trainees experience,” Dr. Poorman said in a statement on her piece in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management. She shared the results of an anonymous depression survey of interns, which showed that 41.8% of participants screened positive for depression. Dr. Poorman also provided statistics on physician suicide, including that at least 66 residents killed themselves between 2000 and 2014, according to ACGME, and that another source estimated that 300-400 physician suicide deaths occur annually.

“When it comes to mental illness and suicide, we are all at risk, but we too often lacked compassion in the way we approach our colleagues. We have lacked the courage to fight the stigma that is killing us. We have not asked whether our unwillingness to reform medical training has eroded the empathy of generations of doctors. We have not done enough to fight medical boards that ask doctors about mental health diagnoses in the same way they ask if we have domestic violence charges,” wrote Dr. Poorman, who practices at a University of Washington neighborhood clinic in Kent.

“A focus on the occupational risks we face would shift us away from ‘wellness’ and ‘resilience,’ and place the onus on schools, training programs, and hospitals to do better for providers and patients,” continued Dr. Poorman, who serves on the editorial advisory board of Internal Medicine News.

She commended Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, and Stanford (Calif.) University’s divisions of general surgery for providing “rigorously confidential mental health support” through a wellness and suicide prevention program for residents and faculty, and a wellness program for residents “that emphasizes relationships, structural support, and psychological safety,” respectively. Dr. Poorman also applauded both for speaking openly about physician suicides.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Poorman E. J Patient Saf Risk Manag. 2019 Aug 5. doi: 10.1177/2516043519866993.

This article was updated 8/5/19.

The general internist Elisabeth Poorman, MD, calls for institutions “to confront the size of the epidemic of [physician] depression and suicide head on,” while describing two exemplars at providing physicians with mental health support, in a recently published commentary.

“I want to call attention to the gap between what educators think and say is available, in terms of mental health support, and what trainees experience,” Dr. Poorman said in a statement on her piece in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management. She shared the results of an anonymous depression survey of interns, which showed that 41.8% of participants screened positive for depression. Dr. Poorman also provided statistics on physician suicide, including that at least 66 residents killed themselves between 2000 and 2014, according to ACGME, and that another source estimated that 300-400 physician suicide deaths occur annually.

“When it comes to mental illness and suicide, we are all at risk, but we too often lacked compassion in the way we approach our colleagues. We have lacked the courage to fight the stigma that is killing us. We have not asked whether our unwillingness to reform medical training has eroded the empathy of generations of doctors. We have not done enough to fight medical boards that ask doctors about mental health diagnoses in the same way they ask if we have domestic violence charges,” wrote Dr. Poorman, who practices at a University of Washington neighborhood clinic in Kent.

“A focus on the occupational risks we face would shift us away from ‘wellness’ and ‘resilience,’ and place the onus on schools, training programs, and hospitals to do better for providers and patients,” continued Dr. Poorman, who serves on the editorial advisory board of Internal Medicine News.

She commended Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, and Stanford (Calif.) University’s divisions of general surgery for providing “rigorously confidential mental health support” through a wellness and suicide prevention program for residents and faculty, and a wellness program for residents “that emphasizes relationships, structural support, and psychological safety,” respectively. Dr. Poorman also applauded both for speaking openly about physician suicides.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Poorman E. J Patient Saf Risk Manag. 2019 Aug 5. doi: 10.1177/2516043519866993.

This article was updated 8/5/19.