by Trisha Minocha

Pixabay/Parentingupstream

Content warning: mentions of #suicideideation and #suicide.

#Physicians may appear to be flawlessly composed in their dapper white coats and clean stethoscopes swung around their necks. Their seamless discussion of medical jargon coupled with their collected appearance creates a powerful perception of excellence. However,  #physicians’ portrayal of perfection couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

2022 has been both a grueling and devastating year for #physicians with nearly one in ten #physicians experiencing #suicidalthoughts. In September of 2022, resident #physician Dr. Jing Mai took her own life after battling struggles with her #mentalhealth as a first-year #physician. It pains me to watch another young and spirited #physician fall into the cracks of an inherently broken system. I hope for Jing to find peace, and hope this tragedy propels change within the medical field. 

Jing’s story is not uncommon. The statistics regarding #physician #suicide are alarming. Around 300 #physicians die by #suicide every year. The medical profession has repeatedly failed its own, reporting high #suicide rates among #doctors since 1858. The pressures of the medical field have pushed distraught #physicians to the limits of their emotional resilience. As we lose nearly one #doctor per day to #suicide, the neglect of #physician #mentalhealth has caused tragic and irreversible consequences that can only be ceased with a dramatic cultural reset in the medical field’s current approach to wellness. 

Medical #schools and residency programs have acknowledged the emotional toll of medical training. Medical #students have wellness seminars embedded into their curriculum as institutions have begun to offer courses in mindfulness and #self-care. For instance, the University of California San Diego’s School of Medicine provides its #students with web-based screening along with educational resources centered around #mentalhealth and wellness. In 2003, residency hours were capped to 80 hours a week to alleviate #physician burnout. Despite these efforts, there has been no significant improvement in #physician #suicide and #mentalhealth outcomes. The exhaustive and pressurized nature of medicine continues to push #physician emotional boundaries beyond its limits. The medical community is in need of a necessary cultural shift. The healthcare field owes it to its #physicians to not only recognize its shortcomings, but to also generate tangible and impactful changes in the #mentalhealth sector. 

The root of the problem lies in the healthcare industry’s general and stigmatized approach to #mentalwellness. #Doctors feel pressured to display a facade of physical and emotional competence. Stoic culture has been encouraged in medicine since the 1800s, with the first residency program at Johns Hopkins Hospital stressing the importance of emotional detachment among #physicians. While a physician’s composure is of great value, the appraisal of immense poise has resulted in the creation of an ultimately dehumanizing system that deprives its workers of raw emotion. #Healthcareworkers often suffer in silence due to the #stigma associated with experiencing #stress and #mentalillness. Nearly 50% of #female #physicians have disclosed that they have not sought out treatment despite meeting the criteria for #mentalillness. #Physicians are dissuaded from seeking necessary treatment due to the fear of reporting their diagnosis to the medical board as well as worries that their diagnosis would be perceived as shameful. In a community that has grown to shame emotion, #physicians work to masquerade as unblemished professionals at the cost of their own #mentalhealth. With only 13% of medical providers seeking treatment for their #pandemic-related #mentalhealthconcerns, the medical community’s current approach to wellness fails to dismantle the #stigma surrounding #mentalillness in medicine.  

#James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleOrder your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife:From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy

In order to effectively address #physician #mentalhealth concerns, we must first work to eradicate the shamefulness that surrounds #mentalillness among #physicians. Healthcare institutions fail to recognize that #depression, #anxiety and #suicidalideation can not simply be resolved through generalized wellness seminars. #Mentalhealth is distinct to the individual. The standardization of #mentalhealth education not only fails to effectively address one’s personal journey, but it also fails to ignite honest and open conversation. To combat a culture that suppresses both the discussion and expression of sentiment, we must allow individualized treatment to become the center of our approach to improving physician #mentalhealth. 

To destigmatize #mentalillness among the medical community, healthcare institutions must foster personalized and authentic discussions regarding one’s mental wellbeing. #Doctors are not exempt from the complexities of human emotion. #Physicians should feel encouraged to share their vulnerabilities. The mere verbalization of fears and anxieties can improve one’s ability to better regulate their emotional experience. Likewise, encouraged discussion of personal burdens dismantles facades of composure and empowers physicians to seek necessary support. As medicine is inherently an emotionally taxing profession, the medical community must be unflagging in its efforts to encourage the honest discussion of #mentalhealth.  

As we reflect upon the countless number of #physician lives lost to #suicide, let us remember and honor the life of Jing. Jing’s life was both beautiful and impactful. Her life embodied a young woman, driven and passionate, who had chosen to devote herself to medicine and #patient care. A cherished life, that tragically fell victim to the hostility of medicine. May we forever honor Jing’s story and memory. Life is so precious, and it’s sobering to say that we may see little change in #physician #suicide rates with the current #mental-wellness systems in place. The medical field cannot claim to be an industry of  healing when it continuously fails to remedy its healers. Hundreds of our #physicians have died at the hands of the medical community. 

Our #physicians deserve better. Jing deserved better. We owe it to Jing, and the hundreds of #doctors whose lives were also lost to #suicide, to ignite the change that allows us do better. 
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