Stop Physician Suicide Part 2: Reaching out to suicidal physician colleague (CME)

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

PhysiciansOnPurpose [ POP ] Podcast #74

Preventing Physician Suicide Part 2:
Reaching out to a suicidal physician colleague

Part 1 - The first-person experience of Suicidal Ideation - is here
Part 3 - Coaching a suicidal physician client - 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.

Tags: stop physician burnout, physician suicide, physicians on purpose podcast

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Suicidal Ideation - the First-Person Experience (CME)

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

PhysiciansOnPurpose [ POP ] Podcast #70

Preventing Physician Suicide Part 1:
Recognizing You Are At Risk - The First-Person Experience of Suicidal Ideation

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.

Tags: stop physician burnout, physician suicide, physicians on purpose podcast

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Female Physician Gender Bias and Status Leveling Burden at Work

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

PhysiciansOnPurpose [ POP ] Podcast #62

Watch or Listen as Dr. Teresa Cardador PhD and I discuss " Status Leveling Burden " an old source of gender bias for female physicians with a new name.

In the medical profession, women physicians are automatically assigned a position of inferior status compared to their male colleagues. Women physicians also run into challenges to their status from female nurses on the job site.

Status leveling burden is a set of behaviors all female physicians must perfect in order to up-level their status with regards to these two groups on the practice site. 

1) Male physicians. Men are automatically granted higher status purely virtue of their gender. Women physicians must work to bring themselves up to the level of status and respect of their male colleagues. It takes finesse, practice and effort.

2) Female nurses. There is an additional set of behaviors women physicians must master in order to maintain status with Female Nurses on the practice site. Again, these specific communications and acts of kindness take finesse, practice and additional effort that male physicians need not expend at work.

This was a great discussion for women and men alike with the lead researcher from a new study, Dr. Teresa Cardador PhD. This is a set of behaviors that make it harder for female residents to make it through training and can drive female physicians right out of medicine in some cases. We have all seen them. Now we have a name to aid our discussions of how to respond.

Tags: stop physician burnout, Bias and Discrimination, physicians on purpose podcast, Female physician gender bias

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Doctors Emotionally Abusive Relationship With Our Careers

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

PhysiciansOnPurpose [ POP ] Podcast #60

Dr. Elizabeth Hughes MD and "Doctors Emotionally Abusive Relationship With Our Careers"

Are YOU at Risk?

Learn six parallels between classic abusive romantic relationships and employee physician's often dysfunctional relationship with their career.

This is Episode 60 of our Physicians On Purpose [ POP ] Podcast - with 19,564 downloads to date. 

Tags: stop physician burnout, physicians on purpose podcast

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How to Talk to Senior Leaders About a Corporate Physician Wellness Strategy

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

Just how do you begin a conversation with your senior leadership team about building out a Corporate Physician Wellness Strategy?

What is the best way to bring up the staggering costs of physician burnout and the benefits of a corporate physician wellness strategy -- if your senior leaders are not already engaged in this dialog?

We have supported hundreds of doctors around the world who act as physician wellbeing insurgents in their organization - working hard to get the attention of the C-Suite on the need for a burnout prevention strategy at the level of the organization. 

Learn from our 10 years and over 175 organization experience in these critically important discussions. 

In Physicians On Purpose (POP) Podcast #18...

    • Learn how to start the conversation on a level playing field of shared understanding.
    • Learn the 3 competitive advantages of physician wellbeing.
    • Learn where to get backup and support on HOW to get started on your organizations strategy.
All in ... POP PODCAST #25:

Talking With Senior Leaders about a Corporate Physician Wellness Strategy

Tags: Physician Leadership, stop physician burnout, physicians on purpose podcast

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Gita Pensa MD - a 12 Year Malpractice Journey - Lessons Learned

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

What lessons can we all learn from being sued for malpractice?

So many learnings on so many layers. About lawsuits and lawyers, settlements and verdicts. About human nature and most importantly about yourself and career choice to be a physician.

There is no better teacher of these lessons than Gita Pensa MD

In Physicians On Purpose (POP) Podcast #18...
Let her show you a magnificent 12 year saga of ups and downs, detailing exactly what she learned, inside and out, in the process.

POP Podcast 18:
Dr. Gita Pensa - 12 Year Malpractice Litigation Journey

Tags: stop physician burnout, physicians on purpose podcast

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New 2021 Evaluation and Management (E&M) Codes - the Habits You Must Change Now

Posted by Dike Drummond MD

Will the 2021 revised E & M codes restore some value to the intellectual side of patient management?

That question is open for now.

What does need to happen immediately is a change in your old coding habits. 

When you stop the old cut and paste of physical exam findings and learn how to use Risk and Decision Making properly - a Level IV visit will most likely become your new normal and Level V much simpler to justify. 

Learn Much More in our latest Physicians on Purpose Podcast:

POP Podcast 13:
2021 Evaluation and Management (E&M) Codes with Paul DeChant MD

Tags: stop physician burnout, physicians on purpose podcast

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