Stanford CME recognizes that physician burnout, depression, suicide, and other forms of occupational distress is a significant issue in modern medicine. Each year in the United States, 1 in 10 physicians think about or attempt suicide, around 400 die by suicide each year, and more than half of physicians know of a colleague who has either thought about, attempted or committed suicide. Suicidal ideation has been associated with high workload volume and medical errors. Physicians who experience suicidal ideation have been shown to be less likely to seek the help they need. 

Stanford CME in collaboration with other medical organizations supports the call to action for the National Physician Suicide Awareness Day | NPSA Day on September 17th. With a variety of educational formats and resources, we invite you to join in on the conversation and be an advocate for yourself and your colleagues.

“Our mission at Stanford Medicine is to improve human health globally. Ensuring the health and well-being of physicians is central to that mission, and we are committed to doing all we can to combat physician distress in our health system and far beyond."

Lloyd Minor, Dean, Stanford School of Medicine
David Entwistle, President and CEO, Stanford Health Care
Paul King, President and CEO, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
Recorded Webinar
Risk Factors and Prevention in Physician Suicide

This webinar aims to contribute to the efforts and initiatives to reduce physician suicide rates. Our expert panel will discuss what suicide looks like in the physician population with the numbers, facts, and research along with the dimensions of distress, causes and risk factors, colleague warning signs, barriers to physicians seeking help, and where to get help.

Release Date: September 15, 2022
Nikitha Krishna Menon, BA
Social Science Research Professional II
Stanford Medicine WellMD & WellPhD
Chwen-Yuen Angie Chen, MD, FACP, FASAM
Clinical Associate Professor Medical Director, Primary Care Chemical Dependency Clinics
Stanford University School of Medicine
Jessi Gold, MD, MS
Assistant Professor and Director of Wellness, Engagement, and Outreach
Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis
Jose R Maldonado, MD, FACLP, FACFE
John & Terry Levin Family Professor of Medicine Professor of Psychiatry and, by courtesy, of Internal Medicine,
Surgery, Emergency Medicine & Law Chief, Division of Medical Psychiatry Medical Director, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry & Psychosomatic Medicine Chief, Emergency Psychiatry Service & Disaster Psychiatry Chief, Critical Care Psychiatry Service Consultation–Liaison Psychiatry Training Program Director
Stanford University School of Medicine
Podcast Episodes
Episode 46: National Physician Suicide Awareness Day

Stanford Medcast host, Dr. Ruth Adewuya, sits down with Chief Medical Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, to discuss identifying signs of burnout, depression, and suicide risk factors for physicians.

Guest speaker: Christine Moutier, M.D.
Moderator: Nikitha Krishna Menon, BA

Release Date: September 20, 2022
Episode 48: Championing Legislation to Prevent Physician Suicide

Tune in to hear from J. Corey Feist, co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Hereos’ Foundation, about systemic changes across health systems and the policies/legislation that are needed to improve physician wellness and mitigate physician suicide rates.

Guest speaker: J. Corey Feist, JD, MBA

Release Date: October 18, 2022
Episode 51: Emotional Health Support for Healthcare Workers

In this episode, we discuss the types of help and support available to healthcare workers in distress with Ariel Brown, PhD, Board President & Founder of The Emotional PPE Project.

Guest speaker: Ariel Brown, PhD

Release Date: December 6, 2022
Resources