Physician Suicide

LITFL: Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL: Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog A friend of mine killed himself recently. I wouldn’t say he was a close friend, as such; the frequently discussed “beer after work” never quite materialised. This wasn’t through a lack of trying, though life always got in the way; but we had worked together over a number of years, published together and repeatedly put the world to rights over the course of long emergency department night shifts, and his death has hit me far, far harder than I would have expected. He was a classic Type A personality; energetic, motivated and passionate with a work ethic that puts most doctors (a cohort seldom described as work-shy) to shame. Unfortunately he also carried some of the more negative personality traits of a Type A, not least of which was being eternally self-critical. There was no celebration of that achieved, but a continuous drive to improve on near-perfection. This ceaseless self-improvement is, in part, what enabled him to have such an amazing impact on the many patients whose lives he touched, but I’m certain it will have also contributed to his own death. As an aspiring academic, I feel guilty; this is the bit where I should provide a carefully referenced, methodical review of the literature on physician suicide, but I just don’t have the energy. In any case, this is a drum that has been beaten to within an inch of i...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Work Life Balance Andrew Tabner physician suicide Type A personality Work-Life-Balance Source Type: blogs