Medicine's Dirty Secret | Physician Suicide

#StopPhysicianSilence

David Hindin: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp67C6fdzWb3s56SnZ_xUuw

Ethan Jose's video covering physician and med student wellness:
https://youtu.be/mjI9vgWdRg8

Dr. Armando Davila's post that I was inspired by and borrowed heavily from:
"This is long, but I think its important, so I'm just going to say it. Three residents have died in the last 7 months at Loma Linda University Health.

As it is with most of these types of deaths in the medical profession, they are shrouded in secrecy. Rumors fill hallways, ORs, conference rooms, facebook, and online forums. Generic form letters are sent out and "Physician Vitality" resources are provided, but the overall outcome is the same; one of silence. Be it for fear, embarrassment, helplessness, or any number of reasons, we continue with our daily struggle, most of us unable to turn to anyone who can truly understand what we feel.

You see, physicians choose to go into this profession for all numbers of reasons. Some altruistic, some less so. But regardless of why the journey was started, the path is one that is grueling and in many ways incomprehensible. Only those who have lived it can understand it. And while there have been scores of articles trying to explain it to patients, husbands, wives, parents, children, and the general public, it is truly something beyond the scope someone who has not put on a white coat can grasp. And the fact is, it does not have to be this way.
In recent years there have been a variety of movements for change: #blacklivesmatter, #metoo, #trevorproject, among others. And while this topic may not be exactly comparable, the themes ring true.

For many years, residents have been told to accept what is happening because that is just the way things are, that it is part of the sacrifice, that it makes you a stronger and better physician. Older physicians tell stories of how terrible things were in the past, how things are so much better now, how we should be grateful for the progress that has been made. I can't help but feel how it would sound, if instead of residents, that these doctors were talking to women, telling them they should be grateful that they can vote, or hold jobs, or if someone was told they should just be glad they aren't owned or trafficked like cattle. That we have come such a long way, and that somehow that should be enough.

But it’s not enough. People are dying. And not far away in some other country, or state, or other residency; right here in our very own. And when it happens, we don't mourn them, or honor them; we don't place flowers or memorials. We hide them, erase them from the hospital, gossip amongst ourselves, blame their program, secretly think they are weak and that we are stronger.

And all the while we stay quiet. We are told we can approach out seniors, our attendings, our program directors, our medical education office. But it’s a lie. The fact is, that the best resident is one who stays quiet, who doesn’t make waves, and keeps the status quo. All while sacrificing their entire life, their friends, their family, all their support, everything that makes us human, just so that we can save the lives of others.

But we can’t even save our own.

I can’t even count the amount of times I have been told that the best way I could succeed in medicine is to stay quiet. How many times I’ve been told directly, or through suggestive action that my voice is not important, that I’m too opinionated, that my desire to make things better is not team oriented. Even after writing this, I am afraid that it will lead to repercussions that will affect my career. And time and again this fear has made me feel so alone in this journey. And this loneliness in turn creates anger, creates spite, it turns you against your fellow residents, as you try and protect yourself in anyway from the malice that comes from above; In the end, many of us become exactly what we hated from our superiors all along continuing the cycle.

And I see all these posts about futility in trying to change a broken system, but just like with gun control the answer is not do nothing. Things must get better. And the only way to start is to speak out, force change, let people know that we will not be abused and threatened any more. Certainly medical training has come a long way, but until the systematic abuse and oppression of medical trainees is eliminated it will never be enough. So let your voice be heard. You are not alone."

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Disclaimer: Content of Med School Insiders is my opinion and does not constitute medical advice. The content and associated links provide general information for general educational purposes only.

Видео Medicine's Dirty Secret | Physician Suicide канала Kevin Jubbal, M.D.