A perfect storm: towards reducing the risk of suicide in the medical profession

aving successive generations of doctors in one family— a “medical pedigree” — was once a H source of great pride. As the daughter of a doctor and now a mother, I am surprised to find myself hoping myown children do not follow inmy footsteps. This is not because ofmyown career dissatisfaction. In fact,mywork is immensely rewarding, but recently, I have been reflecting on the hardships a medical career entails: the gruelling training pathway, the complex medical culture and the constant battle to achieve a workelife balance. I have now witnessed the devastating personal consequences when the rocky road seems impossible to navigate. Over a matter of months, two female junior doctors committed suicide at our hospital, and more recently, suicide entered my inner circle with the death of onemyclosemale colleagues. Such stories are notunusual in our profession. I do not claim any expertise in this field, but what seems clear to me is that inherent traits in the individuals who choose a career in medicine, and often create excellent doctors, also set them up for high rates of distress. We have a medical workforce that has gone through rapid evolutionary change, and if we combine these factors with exposure to dysfunctional aspects of our medical culture or personal stressors, we have ingredients for a perfect storm. itted suicide, and m re recently, suicide ent red my inner circle with th death of one my close male colleagues. Such stories are not unusual in our profession. I do not claim any expertise in this field, but what seems clear to me is that inherent traits in the individuals who choose a career in medicine, and often create excellent doctors, also set them up for high rates of distress. We have a medical workforce that has gone through rapid evolutionary change, and if we combine these factors with exposure to dysfunctio al aspects of l r or personal stre sors, we have i i t f r a perfect storm.