Towards a model of suicidal behavior among physicians

Sher, Leo

doi:10.1590/s1516-44462011000200002

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…12,14 Medical institutions (medical schools, professional regulatory agencies, and professional and specialty associations) have an important role to play in providing knowledge about physician health and developing strategies to improve the prevention and early detection of mental disorders and occupational stress, which increase the risk of suicide in the medical population. 12,15 Despite the obvious need, there is a notable lack of both an effective strategy and a national policy for suicide prevention in Brazil. 12 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide among physicians in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, across one decade

Palhares-Alves

Palhares

Laranjeira

et al. 2015

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

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Objective: To describe mortality by suicide among physicians in the state of Sã o Paulo, Brazil, between 2000 and2009. Methods: Secondary analysis of government mortality data. The variable of interest was ''underlying cause of death'', specifically deaths classified by the ICD-10 as intentional self-harm (X60 to X84). Results: The analyses examined 2,297 declarations of death, among which suicide accounted for 50 cases, i.e., 1.7% of all causes of death. Women comprised 13.2% of the total sample and represented 24% of the death-by-suicide group, indicating an overrepresentation of women in the latter (p = 0.02). Deaths by suicide occurred on average 20 years earlier than deaths by other causes (46.8614.2 years and 68.1615.8 years, respectively; p = 0.001). There was a significant association between single and/or divorced status and suicide (p o 0.001). The average mortality rate during the study period was 4.2 deaths per 100,000 physicians registered with the Regional Board of Medicine of the State of São Paulo. Conclusion: Deaths by suicide occurred 20 years earlier than deaths by other causes. Medical institutions should develop strategies for the prevention and early detection of mental disorders and occupational stressors that elevate the risk of suicide among physicians.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide among physicians in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, across one decade

Palhares-Alves

Palhares

Laranjeira

et al. 2015

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

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“…There is some truth to that position. Physicians work hard and make inappropriate self-sacrifices (41). We work long and irregular hours, are frequently on-call, do night and emergency work, do not sleep enough, treat very ill and dying patients, deal with their tense and distraught family members and friends.…”

Section: The Importance Of Documentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide medical malpractice: an educational overview

Sher

2015

International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health

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A malpractice lawsuit is in the legal category of an action in tort, which is a demand for compensation for the damages that have occurred. For a physician to be found liable to a patient for malpractice, four essential elements must be proved to sustain an assertion of malpractice: duty, negligence, harm, and causation. The incidence of malpractice litigation in the field of psychiatry is increasing. The most common malpractice claim related to psychiatric practice is the failure to provide reasonable protection to patients from killing themselves. A psychiatrist should be able to evaluate suicide risk on the basis of all available information, including patient responses to direct and indirect questions, known risk factors, information on how the patient behaved under similar circumstances in the past, and collateral information. Reasonable care necessitates that a patient who is either thought of being or established to be suicidal must be the subject of some precautions. A failure either to soundly assess a patient's suicide risk or to employ an appropriate safety plan after the suicide potential becomes foreseeable is likely to make a physician liable if the patient is harmed because of a suicide event. It is imperative for a psychiatric office or facility to have a good documentation. Careful documentation of evaluations and treatment interventions with a description of changes related to the patient's clinical condition indicates clinically and legally appropriate psychiatric care.

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“…7 Healthcare professionals are also at increased suicide risk. 8 A career in medicine comes with a huge strain in the best of times. Death by suicide is about 70% more likely among male physicians in the USA than among other professionals, and 250-400% higher among female physicians.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Death by suicide is about 70% more likely among male physicians in the USA than among other professionals, and 250-400% higher among female physicians. 8 The coronavirus pandemic may significantly increase mental health issues and suicides among healthcare professionals. Economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will probably contribute to an increase in suicides.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%