Can the COVID-19 pandemic increase physician burnout, suicide?

September 17 MedPage Today, We are aware of the days of suicide awareness among US doctors.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255).

Doctors are one of the highest suicide rates of all other professions. about 65% of emergency doctors Experienced burnout during his career 74% of medical residents Meets burnout criteria.

Research also suggests that Approximately 6,000 emergency doctors With the intention of killing himself in 2018, nearly 400 people have attempted suicide.

The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly puts more stress on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals and is likely to exacerbate these problems, doctors and advocates who participated said. Masu Live stream discussion focused on clinician burnout, Sponsored by US News and World Report, on Tuesday.

Clinicians, advocates, and leaders in many hospitals and healthcare systems are calling for change.

“On April 9, my sister called me because she couldn’t get out of her chair,” said Jennifer Faitht JD, a lawyer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her sister, Dr. Lorna Breen, is a New York Presbyterian Allen Hospital, Died of suicide Feist talked about the need to deal with his sister’s death and mental health stigma.

According to Feen, Breen made his first “COVID-19 shift” on March 14th to quickly see how unprepared hospitals could respond to a pandemic.

For about three weeks, Breen treated a patient with COVID-19, became ill with the virus, recovered, and started working again. Feist recalls that after Feen had been absent for three days, Breen called the hospital and said he was ready to return to work.

Feist recalled that Breen and her colleagues worked hard and faced enormous stress, from limited personal protective equipment to lack of beds. “She told me that the patient was dying in the waiting room and hallway.”

Often, Breen and her colleagues worked 18 hours at a time “to try to help as many people as possible,” Feist said.

But she said of her sister, “The work didn’t stop, and it didn’t slow down, and she literally took her 12-hour shift until she couldn’t stand anymore. I went back every day for that. “

Faitht brought his sister back from New York City to Charlottesville, Virginia, where she was admitted to the University of Virginia.

Breen has no history of “known or suspected” mental health problems. The virus may have affected my sister’s brain.. (There have been multiple studies on the neurological effects of COVID-19.)

Whatever the cause of the mental illness, Feist said he was afraid to ask for help from Breen.

She was worried that she would lose her medical license or be banished by a colleague. Breen co-authored the survey in 2019 Clinician burnout in the emergency departmentWas aware of the phenomenon, but did not want her own colleagues to know that she was suffering from burnout, Feist said.

Jennifer’s husband, Dr. Corey Faitht, who also spoke during the webcast, said several doctors died of suicide every day.

He knows that his sister-in-law is one of many clinicians suffering from these challenges, and for fear of expert stigma and judgment from family and friends, others continue to “silence.” I’m worried that I may not be able to get the help I need. ..

Jennifer Fist said what he learned from his sister’s death was that stigmas were “learned” in medical school, “strengthened” by residents, and “consolidated” through the types of questions doctors were asked on license and qualification forms. It was.

“We believe that this whole culture needs to change,” she said.

“Our expectations that healthcare providers are superhuman, have no need or fear, no family, no need for rest need to change. These are humans before heroes,” Feist said. ..

Dr. Victor Sau, MD, of the National Academy of Medicine, who also participated in the webcast, reflected these feelings.

Dzau recently co-authored an editorial New England Journal of Medicine It emphasized the main steps of what he calls preventing a “parallel pandemic.”

In the editorial, Dzau and his two colleagues established an anonymous reporting system at the institutional level to ensure the “psychological safety” of clinicians, maintain penalties, and not be afraid to expand their health programs. Demanded to be able to address the concerns of themselves and others, and as long as the pandemic lasted, the Chief Wellness Officer, Leader, or Clinician’s well-being program at the COVID-19 Command Center or other Integrate into the decision-making body.

Dzau also proposed allocating federal funding to develop a “National Epidemiology Follow-up Program” to assess the health of clinicians and report the results of interventions to address the problem.

He also sought to allocate funds to help treat clinicians who suffer mentally or physically as a result of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has such a fund Compensation fund created to support victims and emergency responders after 9/11..

In July, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) saidLorna Breen Healthcare Provider Doctor of Protection Law “ It establishes a fund to help educate students, residents, or other health care providers in “evidence-based strategies to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, mental health conditions, and drug use disorders.” To do.

The bill also includes peer support programs, mental and behavioral health treatments, evidence-based awareness campaigns, health care workers’ mental and behavioral health, and burnout grants. health.