Physicians have one of the highest rates of suicide of any profession: nearly twice the rate of the general population. 400 physicians commit suicide each year in the United States. The stress of being a doctor is constant and unrelenting. The majority of us are perfectionists with a strong work ethic: your classic Type A personality. Maybe we set ourselves up for failure and then cannot accept when it inevitably occurs. Failure is a part of medicine because it is a part of life.
I was 12 years old in 1987 when the first physician I knew committed suicide. My father was the seventh physician to join a large group practice in 1971. I was raised attending summertime backyard picnics at other physicians’ homes and remember most of their families and children. It was a close-knit community of medical providers back then; something that may have prevented more tragic events like this from occurring.
He was an excellent internal medicine physician, revered by many in our county. His wife was beautiful, kind, and could sew the best Halloween costumes in town. I still have a picture of the Snow White costume I borrowed one year; it was as beautifully made as my wedding gown. He had two darling daughters, one my age and another two years older than me. They had horses out in front of their house. I remember being in awe of them.
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