Colleague killed himself
Started by Apollyon
That sucks. I had a friend off himself a few years ago. It was pretty unexpected.
Damn. Sorry to hear that.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Sorry, man.
Sorry to hear that.
D*mn, sorry.
Well, that's just life. Hope ur okay.
If no signs were there, then it was a serious attempt and there was nothing you could have done. He was at peace with it.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Very sorry to hear it. Thoughts and prayers to you and his family.
How terrible. So sorry to hear it.
You are a medical student. You should know better. People are not at peace with their own suicide. Unless it is a cultural japanese thing or pre-emptive death with dignity in WA, OR, MT. People don't just wake up and look around and say today is so beautiful... this truly would be a good day to die. In fact I'll pencil it in after yoga.
Wake up, he needed help.
You are looking at it through the medical/biological prism. Once you have experience with suicidal patients, you begin to realize the pattern of behaviours and states of mind. This is not a place to argue this. Let's try to have some respect for the OPs sentiment.
I'm sorry to hear it.
Physicians are a high-risk group for suicide completion, especially women. I am dismayed by some of the ignorant comments made in this thread. The literature is clear that suicide can be prevented, and most people who complete suicide do show some signs of it. Not everyone does, of course.
Of course, if you're not close to someone, it's probably impossible to tell what's going on with him. It's a good thing to be mindful of though.
Physicians are a high-risk group for suicide completion, especially women. I am dismayed by some of the ignorant comments made in this thread. The literature is clear that suicide can be prevented, and most people who complete suicide do show some signs of it. Not everyone does, of course.
Of course, if you're not close to someone, it's probably impossible to tell what's going on with him. It's a good thing to be mindful of though.
dang bro -- he was just trying to be nice.
Sorry to hear. Best wishes and prayers with his family and loved ones.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Whoa - easy there. Let's not state your beliefs as fact.
"You should no better." Are you kidding me?
👎thumbdown👎
HH
D
deleted59964
A colleague of mine used propofol and vec in the ED toilets a few years ago. Like you it was not someone I knew well, but I respected him as a colleague and didnt see any warning signs. Despite not knowing him well, it was a disturbing experience. I still think about it sometimes.
I think it shows that we don't really know what personal battles our colleagues are going through. I accepted that their was nothing I could've done differently with him ... but I now make an effort with colleagues to be supportive beyond work.
People today at work were talking about it (of course) - one guy who used to work here in HI even called from the UK. One person said that one of the nurses that only works nights (and every Saturday night) helped him buy his gun, and that that nurse was now feeling really guilty. However, others told me that the doc had several/many guns.
People are talking about "I didn't notice anything" and that "he seemed normal", and one person said he'd talked just recently about retiring, and selling a property on the big island, and just leading the good retired life.
Ironic/creepy things were the remarkable number of patients that came in today that he'd seen before, and also a patient calling and asking if he was working; the clerk just said "we can't give out schedules", although she could have flatly said "he doesn't work here anymore". He had worked a shift on Moloka'i and flown back to HNL, and shot himself in his car while at the airport. Again, creepy, the hospital on Moloka'i called and asked if we knew where he was, since he was scheduled to work again (I believe this evening); they had not been told.
People are talking about "I didn't notice anything" and that "he seemed normal", and one person said he'd talked just recently about retiring, and selling a property on the big island, and just leading the good retired life.
Ironic/creepy things were the remarkable number of patients that came in today that he'd seen before, and also a patient calling and asking if he was working; the clerk just said "we can't give out schedules", although she could have flatly said "he doesn't work here anymore". He had worked a shift on Moloka'i and flown back to HNL, and shot himself in his car while at the airport. Again, creepy, the hospital on Moloka'i called and asked if we knew where he was, since he was scheduled to work again (I believe this evening); they had not been told.
No, I don't. He's the first of which I've known. I know there's more, but I haven't encountered them.
Yeah, "the literature" is also clear that most people who show some signs that could point to suicide, do NOT commit suicide, and even a small %age of false-positives, translates into an ENORMOUS total amount of physicians with a high-sensitivity score, like Beck's hopelessness-something.
What i find disgusting about this, is that the guy blew his brains out. People can survive gunshots to the cranium, so what if you are nigh on, and slowly bleed to death? Medical students need to be taught the propofol and vecuronium trick, and how much propofol to shove in, to ensure that they won't wake up, and agonizingly realize that they can't breathe. If you wanna go, better do it right and comfortable.
Out of respect to the OP who lost a colleague in this incident let's try to limit some of the more controversial comments. In this thread it seems more appropriate to offer supportive comments or commiseration. If anyone wishes to open a separate thread to discuss suicide and its particular issues in regard to Emergency Physicians feel free to do so.
Thanks,
docB
Thanks,
docB
Agree with DocB's comments. Thanks for keeping it respectful.....
BTW, I also lost a friend (ER doc) to the Vec/sedative cocktail. No hints as well....Sad indeed. Hard worker, great guy, well liked.......
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Similar threads
