We Must Do Something About Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide

In the past four months, the Twin Cities physician community has lost several of our own to suicide. Tragically, we are not alone—about 300-400 physicians in the U.S. die each year from suicide, with physicians facing a suicide risk nearly 2-3 times higher than the general population.

Now more than ever, it’s critical for health care clinics/hospitals/systems, payers, physicians and more to come together to address burnout and the increase in physician suicide. Not only do we need to normalize physicians seeking help for mental health concerns and remove stigma and punishments, but we also need to recognize that our healers are human too and they need support like everyone else.

WE NEED A BETTER SOLUTION FOR THE TERRIBLE DISEASE OF BURNOUT

Family physician and certified life coach Michelle Wenner Chestovich, MD, shares about the increased risk of physician suicide and how the culture of medicine must change to address the epidemic of physician and provider burnout.

See One. Do One. Teach One.

This message from MAFP President Andrew Slattengren, DO, FAAFP, about using “see one, do one, teach one” to support each other through these unprecedented times, originally appeared in the fall 2020 publication of the Minnesota Family Physician magazine.