2018 National Physician Suicide Awareness Day

National Physician Suicide Awareness Day
Shine a Light. Speak its name.
September 17, 2018

In order to address the issue of physician suicide, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD), in collaboration with AAEM, ACEP, ACOEP, EMRA, RSA, RSO and SAEM have come together to annually dedicate September 17th as National Physician Suicide Awareness (NPSA) Day.

Vision Zero
Estimates are that up to 400 physicians per year take their own lives with the relative risk for suicide being 2.27 among women and 1.41 among men higher than the general population. Each physician suicide is a devastating loss affecting everyone - family, friends, colleagues and up to 1 million patients per year. It is both a very personal loss and a public health crisis. Vision Zero calls on individuals, residency programs, health care organizations and national groups to make a commitment to break down stigma, increase, open the conversation, decrease the fear of consequences, reach out to colleagues, recognize warning signs and learn to approach our colleagues who may be at risk.  Let us challenge each other as individual, community, institutional and organizational to make changes to reach zero physician suicides.

Suicide can be prevented. Be the one to be there. 
Shed light on this issue and change the culture of medicine to save lives. NPSA lapel pins will available for purchase in late August. Proceeds of sales will be donated to foundations who support this initiative.

Visit the CORD website for more information and to download the NPSA Day logo.

 

Learn more about other AAEM Wellness activities and suicide awareness campaigns.