Today is the first ever National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. Founded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to suicide prevention, the day places a priority on mental health awareness in an effort to allow healthcare professionals to better care for themselves and their patients.
It has been found that, on average, one doctor per day will take their own life in the United States, making it the highest suicide rate of any profession and more than twice that of the general population. According to resources provided by the AFSP, suicide generally is caused by the convergence of multiple risk factors — the most common being untreated or inadequately managed mental health conditions.
Suicide is preventable. Help is possible. We encourage any physician that may be struggling with their mental health to seek help.
If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
To learn more about National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, including facts, figures, and scores of resources for physicians, please visit afsp.org/physician.
Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
The endless, punitive, and often incomprehensible HIPAA rules, excessive government oversight, idiotic EHR formats, the constant threat of malpractice, as well as the public’s disinterest in OUR wellbeing, are, in my estimation, the major causes of this tragic epidemic.