Suicide among doctors refers to

physicians A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

or medical trainees dying by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

. Studies report that physicians are more likely to die by suicide than the general population and even people with similar academic training who are not physicians. The suicide mortality rate is about the same among male and female doctors, and significantly higher than the general population. Female physicians are at higher risk of attempting suicide than men, showing rates over 250% higher among women and about 70% higher among men versus the general population. In the United States of America, an estimated 300 to 400 doctors die by suicide each year, a rate of 28 to 40 per 100,000 or more than double that of general population.

Medical trainees

A 1999 paper reported that even though there is agreement that being a physician increases a person's risk of suicide, there is little research on the risk of suicide among medical students. A study of medical residents in the United States from 2000-2014 found that suicide was one of the leading causes of death in that population.

Institutions

In 2018 a journalist for

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reviewed how Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan responds to suicide by its physicians.

Response

Historically, physicians who sought help for

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, means having thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal ideatio ...

sometimes faced professional punishments including risk of having their medical license revoked, future barriers to career advancement, and restrictions on professional privileges. However, many non-profit organizations and healthcare systems have begun developing tools and resources for physicians and other healthcare professionals to seek help and support as well as to address systemic barriers to treatment. Some professional organizations recommend that health organizations reform policy to allow physicians who want counseling to be able to access it with fewer professional penalties.

In the media

''Do No Harm'' is a documentary film about physician suicide released in 2018. During the

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifi ...

in New York City in 2020, doctor's deaths by suicide gained media attention. The story of Dr. Lorna Breen, an ER doctor at New York Presbyterian-Allen Hospital in Northern Manhattan, helped to gain awareness about this issue of mental health struggles, burnout, and suicide risk amongst doctors working through the crisis.

References

{{Suicide navbox Suicides by occupation