Physician Suicide Awareness: Breaking the Silence to Save Lives

Each September, during National Physician Suicide Awareness Day (observed on September 17), the healthcare community takes time to reflect on a sobering truth: physicians, the very people entrusted with saving lives, are at significantly higher risk for suicide than the general population. It is estimated that we lose the equivalent of an entire medical school class of physicians each year to suicide. In the U.S., approximately 300 to 400 physicians die by suicide each year, translating to about one doctor per day. Behind every statistic is a colleague, a mentor, a parent, or a friend whose absence leaves an unfillable void.

In a recent conversation I had with Dr. Stephanie Simmons, chief medical officer of the Lorna Breen Foundation, an organization created after Dr. Breen died by suicide on April 26, 2020 and dedicated to making sure no other healthcare professional is lost to the same pressures.

I learned even more about the barriers physicians face when seeking help, including the medical culture, administrative burdens, and the annual license renewal question about mental health.

As a young physician, Dr. Simmons faced her own mental health challenges in training and chose not to seek treatment out of fear of the consequences for her career. That experience helped fuel her passion for making medicine safer for both patients and clinicians. She went on to pioneer clinician well-being efforts in the medical group where she practiced.

Why Are Physicians at Higher Risk?

Being a physician carries immense responsibility. Long hours, life-or-death decision-making, and constant exposure to human suffering can take a severe toll. Add to that the pressure of student debt, electronic health record burdens, and the cultural expectation to appear resilient at all costs, and it becomes clear why so many physicians silently struggle.

It is no secret, stigma often prevents physicians from seeking help, particularly when licensing boards or hospital credentialing processes ask intrusive questions about mental health. Many doctors fear that acknowledging vulnerability could jeopardize their careers.

Physician Suicide: Tracking the Symptoms

Physicians, like anyone else, may show subtle signs of distress. These can include:

• Withdrawal from colleagues, friends, and family

• Increased irritability or fatigue

• Declining performance at work or feelings of ineffectiveness

• Expressions of hopelessness or feeling like a burden

• Misuse of alcohol or substances

But not all physicians may show these symptoms. There are times when the most gregarious and well-liked physician may also experience suicidality. Another possible resource to uncover symptoms is the Well-Being Index. The Well-Being Index is an online self-assessment tool invented by Mayo Clinic that measures 6 dimensions of distress and well-being in just 9 questions.

Breaking the Silence

The Lorna Breen Foundation focuses on advocacy, advancing collaboration, and accelerating the pace of change.

“We worked with a bipartisan group, bicameral group, to get the Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act passed, which provided funding for professional well-being programs across the country, and the creation of the Impact Well-Being Guide, a CDC resource for healthcare leaders on how to improve the environment of care,” says Dr. Simmons.

Physician suicide not only impacts the physicians’ immediate family and friends, but the devastating act also impacts colleagues, patients, and healthcare at large. Losing a colleague or your beloved physician to suicide will trigger its own set of emotions within the individuals who are living through the loss.

A Call to Action

“Suicidality, it can feel like everything is stacked against you and there is no way forward but there is always a way forward having partners to help you along that way is critical whether that's mental health support and a therapist or counselor or a thinking partner in a coach or experienced concern peer who can help you or all of the above, depending on what's going on,” says Dr. Simmons. “It can feel like the barrier to reach your hand out to that first person, that first time is insurmountable, but it isn't. And it makes all the difference to have people alongside you.”

Physician suicide awareness is not just about prevention—it’s about transforming the culture of medicine into one that values the healer as much as the healing. By fostering

open conversations, eliminating stigma, and creating supportive structures, we can protect the lives of those who dedicate theirs to caring for others.

Research is important. It is essential to find and discover new ways to make things better for people. The action is accelerating the implementation gap between what are known best practices and professional well-being for healthcare workers and what is actually happening

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If you or someone you know is struggling, please remember that help is available. In the U.S., dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For healthcare professionals, organizations like the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation are advocating for systemic change and offering resources tailored to physicians. There is also a Physician Support Line which can be accessed by dialing 1-888-409-0141. This line is free, confidential, and anonymous.