Preventing suicide and promoting wellness
Last year, one of our former residents committed suicide. Once the shock, sadness, and incomprehension subsided, I did a little research on physician suicide, and discovered that it was much more common than I thought.
An article in the September 2008 Annals of Internal Medicine says suicide rates among male physicians 40% higher than general population. Rates among female physicians are 130% higher than in the general population.
I believe now, more firmly than I did before this tragedy, that residency program coordinators can play an active and useful role in addressing this problem. Here’s what we do at my institution:
- Discuss physician wellness in intern orientation.
- Assign a refresher module to upper levels each year.
- Share the Physician Wellness Program resources with residents as often as is appropriate (we also keep their literature in our office).
- Have intern support groups that begin meeting in July and continue through the rest of the year.
- If I suspect someone is having an issue, I refer them for help.
- I take things that I hear in passing seriously. Residents view it as a sign of weakness to ask for help. Unfortunately, they sometimes need it. “Making” them go to counseling can be a blessing in disguise. They may have been looking for a way to get the help without having to admit to themselves they’re in need of it.
For me, the fine line I might cross in offending someone as I offer help is worth the price we all pay when someone doesn’t get the help they need.
What do you do to promote wellness in your programs?
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Diane Farineau
Diane W. Farineau is the director of administration for graduate medical educational and faculty affairs at the University of Virginia Health System in the Department of Medicine.
Diane has written 35 posts.
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