Wellness Wednesday: Standing in Solidarity to Prevent Physician Suicide

“The United States loses the equivalent of one small medical school or a large medical school class to suicide each year.”¹

Fellow medical and pre-medical students, this is a call to action to stand together to help change the culture of education in our schools and that of our future workplace environments, to remove the pressures that make our colleagues succumb to ending their lives. Physician and medical student suicide is a serious epidemic in the United States, and is one that is being addressed by several organizations and individuals, including AMSA.

Saturday August 20th is the National Day of Solidarity for the Prevention of Physician Suicide and an organization called Care2 is hosting events in 11 major cities across the country that day. If you are interested in standing in solidarity with physicians and medical students at an event near you, visit Care2’s website for more information: http://www.care2.com/care2blog/prevent-physician-suicide

Please sign this petition to demand that the AAMC and ACGME take action to prevent suicide in our community: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/869/066/029/demand-aamc-and-acgme-put-an-end-to-medical-student-and-resident-suicide/

If you are seeking educational resources for learning and teaching about this topic, visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website as a good starting point: https://afsp.org/our-work/education/physician-medical-student-depression-suicide-prevention/

If you are interested in taking action to make changes in the culture of medical education at your institution or expanding the influence of legislation regarding these topics, and would like AMSA’s backing, send an e-mail to wsl.advocacy@amsa.org. We are comprised of students like you and are here to make sure your voice is heard.

Thanks,
Elisa Vengalil
AMSA Wellness & Student Life Committee, Advocacy Coordinator
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, M.D. Candidate

Sources:
1. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/806779-overview