Physician Suicide Awareness

National Physician Suicide Awareness Day (#NPSADay), taking place on September 17, 2023, is a call to action to prevent physician suicide.

The rising rates of physician burnout, depression, and suicide have reached alarming trends that deserve public attention. Male doctors have suicide rates as much as 40% higher than the general population, and female doctors up to 130% higher.

Together we can work to prevent physician suicide. Here are resources and articles to help you get started.

Suicide Prevention Organizations

• Download the AMA’s list of suicide prevention organizations 
• Contact Physician Health Services (PHS), a nonprofit corporation founded by the Massachusetts Medical Society, offering confidential support to physicians, residents, and students.

Resources

• Observe these personality and behavioral changes: Signs of Concern (PHS)
• Read the AMA Sample Script for Approaching a Distressed Physician 
• Reach out to a colleague in distress: The Physicians Foundation Guide to Conversation 
• Attend an event sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Massachusetts Chapter

Articles

1. A Tragedy of the Profession: Medscape Physician Suicide Report 2022
2. Physician, Heal Thy Double Stigma — Doctors with Mental Illness and Structural Barriers to Disclosure (2021, NEJM)
3. Suicidal Ideation and Attitudes Regarding Help Seeking in US Physicians Relative to the US Working Population (2021, Mayo Clinic)
4. The Pandemic's Psychological Toll: An Emergency Physicians Suicide (2020, JAMA- Psychiatry)
5. 2021 Survey America’s Physicians COVID Impact – A Year Later Edition (The Physicians Foundation)

Videos

• Physician Suicide: What medical students need to know
• Making a Difference: Preventing Medical Trainee Suicide
• Unspoken: Doctor Depression and Suicide

Advocacy

• Learn more about the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act

This legislation will add support to the mental health infrastructure for physicians by establishing grants for evidence-based strategies to reduce burnout and mental health conditions from job stress and for employee education and support.