Speaking out on Suicide

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Does no one discuss these posts anymore since the comment sections have been moved to the forums? It's rather saddening. But back on topic. I'm startled to hear about the numbers. I never thought it would be so high. I'm glad that the article goes beyond stating that there's a problem, listing some of the warning signs.
 
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These numbers really are startlingly high? I wonder if this is true in any other healthcare professions, or if it is a "physician-isolated" problem, so to speak.
 

We lose over 400 physicians yearly to suicide. This is equivalent to an ENTIRE medical school of students (not just one or two classes which minimizes the loss). The average medical school has 126 students per class. The average medical school therefore with approximately 500 students. Death certificates are often miscoded as accidents (falls, MVAs, or my favorite "accidental overdose") and there's often a code of secrecy around medical student and physician suicides which are not being tracked by any agency.

I'll be speaking on physician suicide in Washington DC October 24th if anyone wants to meet up at the convention center for the AAFP conference. Love to see you there!