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

Breaking the silence on physician burnout and suicide

Anonymous
Conditions
December 25, 2024
Share
Tweet
Share

KevinMD has been publishing multiple reports about the current widespread, deeply worrisome physician burnout and suicide phenomena. As a card-carrying epidemiologist, I have sought to categorize these reports into the three overarching factors we might see in any epidemic, namely: agent, host, and environment. If we were to use this conceptual framework for research, we could gain a better understanding of how much each of its various facets contributes to this epidemic. Then we should become able to devise improved intervention strategies.

Agent factors are the professional mediating causes that have been identified so far. They include (but are not necessarily limited to): standing and walking for rounds until ready to drop; sleep deprivation, which might lead to medical mistakes, unsafe driving, and other hazards; food deprivation and improper diet; schedule irregularities that often cause circadian rhythm disruptions and menstrual cycle disturbances; the elimination of exercise routines; being unable to go to the bathroom when needed; being on-call via electronic paging systems; and even emotional abuse, public humiliation, and misogyny.

Host factors in this epidemic are those intrinsic to physicians and doctors-in-training. These may well include: perfectionism and compulsivity; a sense of inadequacy or failure; ineffective, self-damaging attempted coping mechanisms like alcohol and/or other possible substance abuse or dependence; both supports and demands from family (including significant others, spouses, children, and/or child care); the risks of physical and mental illness (including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression); and high levels of educational loan debt.

Environmental factors may also foment the burnout epidemic. These may involve the work environment itself and other externalities that affect daily life (both those that are controllable by the individual and those that are not). Environmental impacts may include: requirements for electronic health records; corporate buyouts of medical and surgical practices, which result in loss of physician autonomy; the threat of malpractice lawsuits; unmet needs for personal support in maintenance activities such as car care, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.; a sudden or huge reduction in social supports and/or quality time for self, family, and friends; external constraints that dictate individuals’ personal values or limit their pursuit of these; and multiple barriers to obtaining access to mental health care and drug abuse treatment (including nowhere to turn safely when that kind of help is needed).

Every medical trainee and physician has his or her own individual story. The host factors loom large, but differently, in each person’s life. Institutional issues that influence the burnout epidemic are comprised not only of the environmental factors listed above, but also by the agent factors impacting hosts. It is clear from these lists that multifactorial intervention techniques will be necessary. They are being developed, but mostly still in a limited way. Years or decades of an unhealthy, oppressed lifestyle cannot be undone quickly or easily.

This epidemiologic perspective suggests to me that there is one fundamental underlying problem causing burnout: medical training and practice models often drain hosts’ time and emotional reserves to cope with agent and environmental stressors. This may exacerbate the hosts’ situations greatly and potentially lead to the drastic outcome of doctor suicide.

I have conceptualized a full academic approach to studying physician burnout. However, the promotion of necessary changes in our medical school and work environments might be galvanized into action much faster by case studies of doctor suicides that the press then publicizes—regardless of privacy considerations.

We can and must continue to figure out how to do better. Physicians deserve a lifetime of balance and resilience, not burnout! Prevention of suicide and recovery from burnout are possible.

The author is an anonymous physician.

Prev

Extracorporeal CPR: the next evolution of cardiac arrest care [PODCAST]

December 24, 2024 Kevin 0
…
Next

Rethinking shift work: Why "job sharing" is the key to happier, healthier doctors

December 25, 2024 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Extracorporeal CPR: the next evolution of cardiac arrest care [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Rethinking shift work: Why "job sharing" is the key to happier, healthier doctors

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Anonymous

  • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

    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

Related Posts

  • Social media: Striking a balance for physicians and parents

    Dawn Baker, MD
  • Combating physician burnout: the case for subsidized vacations

    Angel Garcia Otano, MD
  • Start with the students: Addressing the future of physician suicide

    Anonymous
  • Female physician burnout and its impact on patient care

    Raya Iqbal
  • Physician suicide: We need safe spaces to talk about it

    Ton La, Jr., MD, JD
  • Breaking the silence within the medical profession

    M. Asad Khalid, MD

More in Conditions

  • Finding healing in narrative medicine: When words replace silence

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

    Maire Daugharty, MD
  • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

    Jenny Shields, PhD
  • Why gambling addiction is America’s next health crisis

    Safina Adatia, MD
  • How robotics are reshaping the future of vascular procedures

    David Fischel
  • How the shingles vaccine could help prevent dementia

    Marc Arginteanu, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
  • 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
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Finding healing in narrative medicine: When words replace silence

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

      Steven Lane, MD | Tech

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 1 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

    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How doctors took back control from hospital executives

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
  • 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
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Finding healing in narrative medicine: When words replace silence

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

      Steven Lane, MD | Tech

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

Breaking the silence on physician burnout and suicide
1 comments

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

Loading Comments...