| ■ Campaign Seeks to Prevent Doctor Suicides | 2008.05.14 |
| An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors commit suicide each year, which has prompted the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to launch an educational campaign designed to encourage troubled doctors to seek help. The campaign includes a documentary called "Struggling in Silence," which will begin appearing on public television stations this week, the Associated Press reported. The issue of doctor suicide "has really been swept under the carpet," said Dr. Paula Clayton, the suicide foundation's medical director. The stigma of mental illness is heightened in a profession that values stoicism and bravado, some experts suggest. Many doctors worry that admitting they have psychiatric problems could ruin their careers, so they suffer in silence, the AP reported. And when they feel they can't go on, doctors have easy access to prescription drugs and the knowledge to use them to commit suicide. |