Doctor Burnout
I was skimming my friend Kendra’s blog and she just posted a very interesting article on physician depression, burnout and suicide.
I read through the entire thing and it seems that there has been a shift away from, “Is it really happening?” to “Why is it happening?” It seems pretty obvious that those in the medical profession are more likely to burnout and commit suicide. As the article states there’s a 40% increase in suicide rates for male doctors and a whopping 130% increase in that same rate for female doctors.
Of course, this takes place in the veterinary profession as well. The article hits close to home because I know a few people who are going through depression and burnout right now. I do all I can to help them because it’s not easy with all the studying, clinics and whatnot… I mean I certainly get depressed too every now and then. But I guess we just have to help each other through things and always remind others that suicide is not the answer. There are plenty of resources that people can utilize to get help.
It’s funny you know? Doctors are trained to help other people but sometimes they find it hard to help themselves. We gotta keep a look out for each other in this crazy medical/veterinary profession. It’s definitely not easy, but a helping hand to a person in trouble is sometimes exactly what they need.
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