SUICIDE AMONG DOCTORS IS NOT UNCOMMON ALTHOUGH NOT ACCEPTED BY COMMON PEOPLE

SUICIDE AMONG DOCTORS  IS NOT UNCOMMON ALTHOUGH NOT ACCEPTED BY COMMON PEOPLE 

Prof.Dr.Dram,profdrram@gmail.com,Gastro Intestinal,Liver Hiv,Hepatitis and sex diseases expert 7838059592,9434143550

Suicide is the ultimate self-punishment. Humans make mistakes. When doctors make mistakes, they are publicly shamed in court, on television, and in newspapers (that live online forever). As doctors, we suffer the agony of harming someone else -- unintentionally -- for the rest of our lives.Blaming doctors increases suicides. Words like "burnout" and "resilience" are employed by medical institutions to blame and shame doctors while deflecting their own accountability for inhumane working conditions in failing health systems. When doctors are punished for occupationally induced mental health wounds, they become even more desperate.

            If physicians do seek help, they risk being disciplined. Doctors rightfully fear lack of confidentiality when receiving mental health care as private conversations with therapists could be turned over to medical boards and illegally accessed by their supervisors via electronic medical records at their institutions. So physicians drive out of town, pay cash, and use fake names in paper charts to hide from state boards, hospitals, and insurance plans that interrogate doctors about their mental health and may prevent or delay state licensure, hospital privileges, and health plan participation.

               High doctor suicide rates have been reported since 1858. Yet 160 years later the root causes of these suicides remain unaddressed. Physician suicide is a global public health crisis. More than one million Americans lose their doctors each year to suicide -- just in the U.S. Many doctors have lost several colleagues to suicide. One doctor expressed that  he lost eight physicians during his career with no chance to grieve.As per in advanced country registry of suciding doctors of these 1,013 suicides, 888 are physicians and 125 are medical students. The majority (867) are in the U.S. and 146 are international. Surgeons have the greatest number of suicides on my registry, then anesthesiologists.

               However, when accounting for numbers of active physicians per specialty, anesthesiologists are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than any other physician. Surgeons are number 2, then emergency medicine physicians, obstetrician/gynecologists, and psychiatrists.For every woman who dies by suicide in this  registry, we lose four men. Suicide methods vary by specialty, region, and gender. Women prefer overdose. In the U.S., men use firearms. Jumping is popular in New York City. In India, doctors are found hanging from ceiling fans. Male anesthesiologists are at highest risk among all physicians. Most anesthesiologists overdose. Many are found dead inside hospital call rooms.

          Public perception maintains that doctors are successful, intelligent, wealthy, and immune from the problems of the masses. To patients, it is inconceivable that doctors would have the highest suicide rate of any profession.Even more baffling, "happy" doctors are dying by suicide. Many doctors who kill themselves appear to be the most optimistic, upbeat, and confident people. Just back from Disneyland, just bought tickets for a family cruise, just gave a thumbs up to the team after a successful surgery -- and hours later they shoot themselves in the head.

           Doctors are masters of disguise and compartmentalization.Turns out some of the happiest people -- especially those who spend their days making other people happy -- may be masking their own despair. Reading this excerpt from the 1858 Manual of Psychological Medicine,which  reminded of so many brilliant doctors who have  lost to suicide.

         Many of our most inspiring and visionary leaders -- artists, actors, even doctors -- suffer from mental illness.Yet students enter medical school with their mental health on par with or better than their peers. Suicide is an occupational hazard in medicine. Doctors develop on-the-job PTSD -- especially in emergency medicine. Patient deaths -- even with no medical error -- may lead to self-loathing.

With a great work ethic until their last breath, doctors are often checking in on patients, reviewing test results, and dictating charts minutes before orchestrating their own suicides. Many leave apologetic heartfelt letters detailing the reasons for their suicide for friends, family, and staff. One orthopedic surgeon simply wrote: "Im sorry I couldnt fix everyone."

            Doctors choose suicide to end their pain (not because they want to die). Suicide is preventable if we stop the secrecy, stigma, and punishment. In absence of support, doctors make impulsive decisions to end their pain permanently. I asked several male physicians who survived their suicides, "How long after you decided to kill yourself did you take action -- overdose on pills or pull the trigger?" The answer: 3 to 5 minutes.

Ignoring doctor suicides leads to more doctor suicides. Lets not wait until the last few minutes of a doctors life when heroic interventions are required. Most physician suicides are multifactorial involving a cascade of events that unfold months to years prior. So reach out to "happy" doctors today to protect them for suicide -- especially male anesthesiologists and surgeons who are least likely to cry or ask for help.