Resolution 3-F18. Developing ACP Policy Calling for Transparency and Community Learning Towards Physician Suicide Prevention
(Sponsor: Council of Early Career Physicians; Co-Sponsors: Council of Resident/Fellow Members and Council of Student Members)
WHEREAS, suicide among physicians occurs globally[1–8], at a higher rate than in the general population, and at a higher rate among women physicians than male physicians compared to their counterparts in the general population [9,10] (in this resolution, physicians refers to all in the life cycle, including medical students, resident and fellow physicians, and practicing, non-practicing or retired physicians); and
WHEREAS,those bereaved by the suicide of a physician, as defined above, include patients, who lose their physician; physician colleagues, who bear both emotional and practical strain due to the tragic loss of a colleague; and friends and families, who include partners, spouses, parents, children, relatives, and other companions [11]; and
WHEREAS,there is a well-established gap in the collection of reliable, detailed data in the wake of a physician’s suicide beyond solely cause of death statistics and registers [12], especially for medical students [13], where more detailed insights are needed to better inform prevention efforts and increase awareness and open dialogue across the entire medical community; and
WHEREAS, there is also a wide implementation gap with respect to guidelines on postvention [14] after physician suicides, including the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention’s published postvention toolkit tailored for residency and fellowship programs, which is endorsed by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education [15]; and
WHEREAS,social or institutional stigma and a culture or code of silence are significant barriers in understanding and intervening upon the complex phenomenon of physician suicide [16,17], leaving mainly grassroots efforts to stimulate public dialogue, offer postvention services to those survivors who speak up and seek help after physician suicides, and otherwise address the social consequences of physician suicide [18,19]; and
WHEREAS, the American College of Physicians (ACP) is one of many professional organizations developing and participating in Wellness and Physician Satisfaction initiatives, including, for example, the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative of Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, which are intended to promote physician or clinician well-being but do not yet fully address the disturbing issue of physician suicide [20–22]; and
WHEREAS,no independent organization or institution exists to require mandatory reporting of physician suicide; to perform rigorous, systematic investigation of root causes for physician suicide as a public health issue, such as the investigations performed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into adolescent suicide clusters [23]; or to measure the quality of physicians’ health and physician suicide as a quality imperative, a paradigm that is widely accepted in the analogous context of measuring quality of patient care; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of Regents develops a policy statement, independent of, but in alignment with the existing ACP Physician Well-being and Professional Satisfaction initiative, that calls on institutions to embrace transparency, accountability, and collaboration as core features of a comprehensive response to an individual physician suicide (including medical students, resident and fellow physicians, and practicing
