Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Medicine suffers from a culture of silence

Anonymous
Physician
May 8, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share

I am a resident in a fancy hospital in New York. We focus a lot on value-based care, and technological innovations, and high reliability. This year, we are opening a multimillion-dollar new facility for specialty medical services. Our outdoor spaces have stone lions and grassy promenades. Our cafe serves world-class food.

Today, during a beautiful new spring morning, I watched my colleagues sit, in disbelief and despair, crying with each other or amongst themselves, in our beautiful courtyards. Someone we knew died today, potentially by her own hand.

Our leadership talks about wellness, and burnout, and resiliency in residency. But our hospital does not talk about physician suicide until it happens. Our handbook has no real policies for sick days (every shift must be covered, and those without a doctor’s note are required to pay back days), or parental leave (organized on a case by case basis, using paid vacation time as the foundation, and clinic time for the remainder). Our disability insurance is vague on the details of compensation for mental health illnesses, an occupational hazard. Our retirement investments are not matched by our hospital group, despite being one of the wealthiest hospitals in the country. This year, they rolled back the 80-hour workweek limitations, allowing interns to once again work 27+ hour shifts.

Medicine suffers from a culture of silence. We work to the bone, forget to take care of ourselves, get sick, go insane. We kill ourselves at a higher rate than almost any other profession. And when that happens, our leadership sends out emails with condolences, and a link to a corporate psychiatric referral.

We can do better. Our leadership can do better. As residents, it’s time we remind them how valuable we truly are, not only in our work, but in our personhood as well. Our lives matter, too.

The author is an anonymous physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Addressing the health care system flaws that feed the opioid crisis

May 8, 2018 Kevin 21
…
Next

Is this a medical miracle or a medical error in documentation?

May 8, 2018 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Addressing the health care system flaws that feed the opioid crisis
Next Post >
Is this a medical miracle or a medical error in documentation?

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Anonymous

  • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

    Anonymous
  • Why young doctors in South Korea feel broken before they even begin

    Anonymous
  • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

    Anonymous

Related Posts

  • The culture of permission in medicine

    Lauren Joseph
  • The culture of perfection in medicine is a disease

    Andy Cruz, MD
  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • The culture of silence in Canada’s medical institutions is in desperate need of reform

    Iris Kulbatski, PhD
  • Why academic medicine needs to value physician contributions to online platforms

    Ariela L. Marshall, MD
  • The difference between learning medicine and doing medicine

    Steven Zhang, MD

More in Physician

  • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

    Howard Smith, MD
  • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

    Kara Pepper, MD
  • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

    Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD
  • How art and science fueled one woman’s path to medicine

    Amy Avakian, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions
    • How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

      Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 34 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions
    • How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

      Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Medicine suffers from a culture of silence
34 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...