PhysiciansOnPurpose [ POP ] Podcast #74

Preventing Physician Suicide Part 2:
Reaching out to a colleague in distress

[Part 1 - The first-person experience of Suicidal Ideation - is here]

Unfortunately, we cannot stop all physician suicides for two simple reasons.

• Doctors are too good at hiding their struggle and distress. Our "never show weakness" programming is so very strong.
  
  
• We know the anatomy and physiology, so doctors are very good at themselves.
  
  

What we can do is reach out to any of our colleagues who appear to be struggling.  

In this post you will learn:

~ How to recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout and suicidal ideation

~ A proven method to reach out to that friend/colleague, simply and effectively 

The end result is lives will be saved that would be lost without your caring and outreach.

PhysiciansOnPurpose [ POP ] Podcast #70

The first step in preventing physician suicide is recognizing a clear and present danger of suicide in an individual person - be that you or someone else.

This recognition comes in two parts.

First Person:
You recognize when you are in danger, step back and get support.

Second Person:
You recognize someone else is - or may be - at risk and reach out to offer support.

• In this podcast we will explore the First-Person experience of suicidal ideation, so you can understand what happens on the inside when suicide risk is high.
  
  
• In Part 2 we will explore how to recognize suicide risk in a colleague and reach out to them to offer support. 
  
  

Watch or listen as two of our coaches here at TheHappyMD.com
Pam Pappas MD and Penelope Hsu MD
... bravely share their personal experiences of suicidal ideation, so all of us can learn to recognize these symptoms and inner voices in ourselves.

New Resources to Prevent Physician Suicide from a Powerful New Coalition - Please Download and Share

Physician Suicide Awareness Day is September 17th, 2021

This mornings headlines in my InBox were dominated by a pair of suicides - one ER Doctor and one newly graduated EMT

Dr. Lorna M. Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital.

FDNY EMT John Mondello, 23, graduated from the EMS academy in early February and worked with the Tactical Response Group in the Bronx

This is a heartbreaking loss. Tragic to an extreme.

It is one thing to die doing what you love ...

It is another to die from your own hand, because the pain of doing what you love is too much to bear.

A Lightworker's burden ... may they both rest in peace.

This highlights the need raise our "I've got your back" caring for team mates to a whole new level. Time to step up.

==========

We know three things for sure:

Physician suicide is the most extreme complication of physician  burnout, yet suicides often fly under the radar

Physician suicides are taboo subjects, quickly swept under the rug and subconsciously banned from civilized conversation ... until ... someone popular and famous and well-loved dies in a highly visible suicide. This week it was Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential and host of his Parts Unknown TV series. 

While the world mourns Bourdain, the natural tendency is for all of us to remember someone we lost to suicide in our own lives. For doctors, the person we remember is often a colleague. The whole issue of doctor, resident and medical student suicide gets lost in the larger conversation about the tidal wave of physician burnout. The sad truth is that physician suicide is a known complication of physician burnout and ... 

Whether you are male or female, choosing to become a doctor immediately doubles your suicide rate. 

As the world mourns the unexpected loss of Bourdain, my heart mourns for those doctors, doctors in training, nurses, EMT's and other healthcare workers who also took their lives ... the people whom only you and I remember.

Four Reminders and Action Steps to Prevent Physician Suicide in wake of this week of tragedy: