Doctors' suicide rate: access to drugs, stigma of mental illness contributes

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own.

An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year-a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.

Some doctors believe the stigma of mental illness is magnified in a profession that prides itself on stoicism and bravado. Many fear admitting psychiatric problems could be fatal to their careers, so they suffer in silence.

For the entire article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24526645#storyContinued

[Atheos]

Wow the stigma is still here. I better stop telling people about my BP then...

There is that old phrase "Doctor, Heal Thy Self." I think many people forget that it is far easier to help others than oneself. Which is one of the reasons I think many of us get into this line of work.

I do think it is time to get this skeleton out of the closet however. People shouldn't be afraid to let others know what's going on with them.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

Yes, the stigma...alive and well....and becomes that additional barrier that prevents many health care providers from seeking help.

Attempting to locate a similar article on Nurses and their suicide rate as compared to the general population. Having difficulty locating a good one. I would bet Nurses are also very high risk due to similar factors. If anyone is able to locate a nurse's suicide rate article, please post it. Thanks.

[Atheos]

Can't seem to find anything about nurses per se but I did find this fact sheet.

Fact Sheet on Suicide - American Association of Suicidology

From this there are 3.8 male suicides for every 1 female and suicide accounts for ~11% of deaths I am guessing the number isn't that high for nursing as nursing is mainly female. Females do commit suicide but at a drastically lower rate than us men.

Now stress is aggravates depression a lot so one can assume nursing falls into the high-risk category however there are many of these. I am thinking the number of suicides would be due to other things and that nursing itself as an occupation would be incidental but I can't find anything online anywhere other than a UK study that asserts that female nurses are 4 times more likely to commit suicide. That is however a different country and their stats don't fall in line with ours and the study is getting clobbered by other scientists.

I think the number also may be skewed by the number of people predisposed to suicide that enter the occupation. I believe that high risk occupations attract high risk people and may not actually have any actual effect on suicide outcomes.

I am only guessing though. Apparently no one cares about us enough to do a study or my internet researching skills are horrible.