Pamela Wible pioneered the community-designed ideal medical clinic and blogs at Ideal Medical Care. She is the author of Physician Suicide Letters — Answered and Pet Goats and Pap Smears. Watch her TEDx talk, How to Get Naked with Your Doctor. She hosts the physician retreat, Live Your Dream, to help her colleagues heal from grief and reclaim their lives and careers.
When I read The Guardian article, “US surgeons are killing themselves at an alarming rate. One decided to speak out,” I felt like throwing up.
I’m sickened so many surgeons are dying. I’m grateful Dr. Cunningham is speaking out. I’m relieved she is alive.
But I felt nauseated that Carrie Cunningham’s pain is being used to tout physician “health” programs (PHPs) as the solution to physician suicide while these programs have actually led …
I just got this email from a physician: “Hi, Pamela. I wonder if I could curb you on seeking mental health services as a physician. I am not suicidal or impaired but considering a consultation with a psychiatrist for medication. Any chance you would be able to chat with me for a short bit to discuss tips for seeking consultation while avoiding stigma and labeling?”
Sadly, most medical professionals fear seeking …
Here are the top 10 ways how and why doctors lie. See if you recognize any.
1. Doctors lie about work hours. When logging actual work hours exceeding the weekly “80-hour cap,” new docs are cited for duty-hour violations. Labeled as inefficient, overworked residents may be sent for a psych eval and prescribed stimulants to force compliance. “We were all taken into a room by the program director and told to …
An excerpt from Physician Betrayal: How Our Heroes Become Villains.
A mass casualty event begins with one act of betrayal. By one person. A person with power. In medicine the assault weapon—doctor’s orders.
One act of betrayal by one doctor may lead to an unstoppable cascade befalling all colleagues downstream in rapid succession.
Physician betrayal always begins with self-betrayal—the act of …
Whether you like her or not, Meghan is speaking openly about suicide. For that, I am thankful.
In her interview with Oprah, The Duchess of Sussex shared her suicidal thoughts—and how she was obstructed from mental health care, told to “tough it out” and keep smiling. The Duchess needed a doctor. Yet doctors are reported to have the Read more…
If you are a doctor (or med student/health professional) and are human, you’ve probably made a medical mistake. You’ve probably not received emotional support for the mistake. Maybe you’ve never told anyone about a mistake that still haunts you today.
The truth is that almost all physicians have admitted to medical mistakes sometime in their careers. Depending on the patient outcome, many doctors carry the distress of medical errors for months, …
An excerpt from Human Rights Violations in Medicine: A-to-Z Action Guide.
From sex trafficking to censorship, the range of human rights violations is immense, some more heinous than others. Abuse may be perpetrated by dictators in war-torn countries and administrators in first-world hospitals. Inside this action guide are the top …
A commencement speech to the graduating class of 2019, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, May 10, 2019.
In less than 30 minutes, you will all finally be physicians! (cheering) And this summer you’ll be set loose on your very own patients. (laughter) How exciting is that? Maybe a little nerve-racking.
During your career (depending on specialty and work ethic) you may care …
America in 2018: 307 mass shootings in 311 days.
Recently, a veteran with presumed PTSD shot up Borderline Bar & Grill. His Facebook declaration:
I hope people call me insane… (laughing emojis).. wouldn’t that just be a big ball of irony? Yeah.. I’m insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is ‘hopes and prayers’.. or ‘keep you in my thoughts’… every time… …
He was the go-to sports guy in Washington, DC. A masterful surgeon with countless academic publications, he trained orthopaedic surgeons across the world and was the top physician for professional sports teams and Olympians.
Dr. Benjamin Shaffer had it all.
Yet Ben was more than a stellar surgeon. He was a kind, sweet, brilliant, and sensitive soul who could relate to anyone—from inner-city children …
Today a physician told me she lost three colleagues to suicide in the last two months.
Loma Linda Hospital just lost three young doctors to suicide in 6 months.
Mount Sinai had 3 docs jump in less than 2 years — from the same building.
An anesthesiologist recently told me he lost 8 of his colleagues to suicide.
Each suicide should be fully investigated, …
Another young doctor recently jumped to her death in New York City. She landed at the entrance of the building where she lived.
Within less than an hour, I received the following emails about her. All published with permission.
Hello Pamela, I am not a doctor, but a mother of 3 and a wife of a resident physician. Tonight I watched AGAIN the police …
Pamela Wible: Today I’m sitting here with Sydney Ashland, an expert in physician mental health, who has worked with doctors for decades helping them overcome negative thinking patterns. And we’re going to dive into the top 10 lies that physician’s tell themselves. The number one thing that I hear over and over again from doctors is, “I’m stuck in assembly line medicine.”
Sydney Ashland: Yes. I …
I just got off the phone with Paul, a highly-sought-after plastic surgeon in New York.
“I don’t want to be a doctor anymore,” Paul says. “What else can I do? I have lots of restaurant experience. I’ve worked in 15 restaurants during my life. It’s not easy, but I could do it. I did research on chains and franchises, and I chose Chick-fil-A. …
Sometimes there are no words. Not even a eulogy.
Then one courageous family writes this obituary. (This obituary was written by Rachel Dawson, his wife, with the blessing of his parents.) In it, they share how their son lost his battle with severe depression. How he adored his children. How he sacrificed fun, free time, and relaxation to receive his medical …
Five years ago today I was at a memorial. Another suicide. Our third doctor in 18 months.
Everyone kept whispering, “Why?”
I was determined to find out.
So I started counting dead doctors. I left the service with a list of 10. Now I have 547.
Immediately, I began writing and speaking about suicide. So many distressed doctors (and med students) wrote and phoned …
1. Lack of confidentiality. May have to turn over medical records to others who control your career.
2. State medical boards demand to know. May be excluded from practicing medicine in that state.
3. Hospitals demand to know. May be excluded from hospital staff privileges.
4. Insurance plans demand to know. May be excluded from insurance contracts.
5. Forced into costly, ineffective, and punitive physician health programs. May have to …
Hate your job? You may be in the right profession, but the wrong position for your personality. Want to love your life and career? Step one: discover whether you are an employee, a business owner or an entrepreneur.
Here’s how to figure it out:
Employees are risk averse and like to know the rules. They thrive on structure and predictability. They need clear instructions …
Dear Dr. Wible,
I lost my beautiful son Evan to suicide four weeks ago. He was a second year internal medicine resident — a very smart, loving and funny man! He left a lengthy letter and in it he stated, “I do not want any attention drawn to this.” I have been crying all day reading your book and blog and I’ve seen …
A transcript of the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine 2017 commencement speech, Saturday, May 20, 2017.
Angela Jiang: Good morning! As the class vice president, it is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Pamela Wible to our graduation. Dr. Wible is a family physician and a pioneer in the ideal medical care movement. After completing a family medicine residency and working in different family practices for over ten years, Dr. Wible …
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