Physician Suicide Prevention and the Ethics and Role of a Healing Community: An American College of Physicians Policy Paper
Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, and Mark Levine, MD, for the ACP Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee
Suicide is a major global public health issue, and, in recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the problem of physician suicide. Because suicide is a complex problem, actions aimed at preventing suicide must occur at the individual, interpersonal, community, and societal levels. The medical community has an obligation to foster a culture that supports education, screening, and access to mental health treatment, beginning at the earliest stages of medical training.
ACP Ethics case study focuses on role of physician colleagues in physician suicide prevention
Physician Suicide Prevention: The Ethics and Role of the Physician Colleague and the Healing Community
View here! (eligible for CME)
What to Do When Someone Is at Risk
This short guide from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention provides a framework for how to talk to someone about their mental health.
Learn more about health care professionals' mental health and suicide risk.
Team-Based Care Toolkit
ACP has developed this toolkit to share best practices and real-life examples of successful team-based clinical care models that include internal medicine physicians working with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other members of the clinical care team. This toolkit includes resources to help foster productive and purposeful internal medicine teams.
Implementing and Sustaining Change Efforts
Use these resources to implement and sustain change efforts in your organization and community. Curated tools include the Quality Improvement Curriculum and the general Team-Based Care Toolkit.
Self-Compassion Guided Practices and Exercises
Free and downloadable self-compassion guided meditations and exercises
Test how self-compassionate you are.
Watch a short video on how to apply compassion.
Nine Recommended Practices for Workplace Suicide Prevention
In 2012, the Office of the Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention established a Workplace Task Force to assist with the implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The Nine Recommended Practices for Workplace Suicide Prevention include videos and other multimedia resources.
Back to the September 15, 2023 issue of ACP IM Thriving