Physician Suicide: Cases and Commentaries

Employing a series of realistic, though fictional, cases, Physician Suicide explores the culture of medical training and practice and how this interacts with the stressors and illnesses that impact physicians over the course of their professional lives. The book examines how the related disorders of burnout, anxiety, depression, and addiction, can lead to suicide and explores the influence of gender, culture, aging, and personal resilience on outcomes. In addition, it investigates ways to mitigate the impact of these factors to improve physician health and well-being and thereby reduce the number of physicians who kill themselves. The case studies are detailed and compelling, allowing the reader entry to the lives and thought processes of the fictional subjects. In addition, concise literature reviews accompany each case, and more detailed references are supplied for readers who wish to explore further.

The author has undertaken his study of suicide among physicians in hopes that the current culture and organization of medical education, organization, and practice will change, offering future practitioners a healthier, more supportive professional environment. Physician Suicide should be required reading not just for psychiatrists and all other physicians, but also for psychiatry and other residency trainees, other mental health clinicians and medical students, as well as for all who wish to more fully understand the culture of medicine and the lives of physicians.