Nearly 1 in 5 clinicians said a physician they know or knew very well has attempted or committed suicide, according to a Medscape report.
Medscape gathered responses from 661 physicians, 136 nurses/advanced practice registered nurses and 61 medical students.
Three poll findings:
1. When asked if they have known a physician who attempted suicide or died by suicide, 18 percent of respondents said yes, someone they knew/know well; 11 percent said yes, someone they knew/know fairly well; 13 percent said yes, someone they knew/know somewhat; and 15 percent said someone they knew/know slightly.
2. When asked how concerned they were about the high rate of physician suicide, 40 percent of respondents said they were "extremely concerned."
3. Most respondents ranked depression (29 percent) and stress (29 percent) as the main reasons for physician suicide, followed by burnout (31 percent).
This story was updated July 2 at 9:56 am CST. An earlier version of this story did not include the finding that 15 percent of clinicians said someone they knew slightly had tried/committed suicide. The story was revised to include this percent of clinicians. Becker's regrets the error.