Doctors have the highest suicide rate of any profession. Male doctors are 40% more likely to die by suicide compared to other men. Compared to other women, female doctors are more than twice as likely to die by suicide. Female physicians are at higher risk of attempting suicide than male doctors. You may be wondering why so many people who want to help others end up killing themselves ? Doctors who choose suicide often have untreated or under treated mental illness and depression is on top of them. High jobs demands, low resources, stress ,competitiveness, sleep deprivation, high workload, low salaries and all the responsibilities eventually lead to a physical/mental collapse known as burnout. Feeling depressed or/and burnout affects the relationship with patients and may lead to medical error and can pose a threat to patient safety, that's why doctors suicide is a public concern , it mustn't remain the medicines's dirty secret but it's something that must be talked about and not neglected. It's time to give this issue the importance that it should have . A study showed that poisoning and hanging are among the most common means of doctor suicide. Substance misuse is also common, the findings suggest that having knowledge and access to potentially lethal substances account for the higher rate of suicide completion in doctors that's why the rates are higher among anasthesiologist compared with other specialists The rates of doctors suicide is increasing year by year, however there is no official count and the statistics remain hidden from the population. People expect doctors to be always strong and have the answer to all the questions so whenever they hear about any doctor or even a medical student who committed suicide they think that they were weak and not enough qualified for this profession but we must not forget that Doctors are humans before everything and they should not have to sacrifice their lives for their profession . Doctors are promoting health but sometimes they can't give care that they didn't receive, they have been educated for many years on how to prevent all types of disasters and accidents however they have never been educated about what to do if and when it happens to them . The stigma about mental illness in medicine is so strong, physicians accept that their patient have it, but they think they are different compared to others when it comes to these sicknesses. This stigma is a major obstacle to seeking medical treatment. Some states in the US asks doctors about their mental health when applying for a medical licence and if the doctor have any kind of mental health issue they require him to do additional steps in order to protect the public from people who should not be practicing medicine. A lot of doctors choose not to admit the fact that they had/have mental illness issue because of fear that their licence will be restricted as a result. That's why many non-profit organizations and healthcare systems have begun developing tools and resources for physicians and other healthcare professionals to seek help and support as well as to address systemic barriers to treatment with fewer professional penalties. If you beleive you are burned out, depressed or suicidal you must seek help from professionals to get through this in order to re-give sense to your life and serve the community that needs you.
