Back in February, I showcased the sobering results of the Medscape Physician Depression and Burnout Report 2024: Of those doctors surveyed, 53% reported burnout and 23% depression. And those disturbingly high statistics had increased from the previous year.
I recently listened to a Stanford Medcast Episode interview of Ariel Brown PhD called "Physician Distress Miniseries – Emotional Health Support for Health Care Workers." (You can get CME credit for listening to the podcast and completing the quiz afterward.) According to the session, each year in the United States, one in 10 physicians think about or attempt suicide and around 400 die by suicide.
At the start of the pandemic, Dr. Brown started a nonprofit with Massachusetts General Hospital Anesthesia Program Director Dr. Daniel Saddawi-Koefka, called The Emotional PPE Project. The organization provides free and confidential psychological counseling for healthcare workers. Here is the website.
