Suicide----by Physician Assistants &/or Nurse practitioners......

[Cideous]

Has anyone ever seen a study or statistics on suicide among PA's or NP's?  Not including or at least not specific to docs.

 

Thanks.

[Lexapro]

I imagine it's elevated compared with the typical population, as it is with physicians and RNs.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

I agree with Lex, though I'd be more interested in seeing the method breakdown.  Anesthesiologists I recently read at Medscape use pharmaceutical agents primarily (what a shock).

[Cideous]

I've known two PA's that committed suicide and I started to think, I've never seen actual statistics.  Are we at more or less risk then docs I wonder.

[rpackelly]

I have known three over a long career.  I do not think there is any organized database.  Now, I have lost track of lots of folks, and frequently it is not public knowledge, so I am sure there is vast under-reporting.

 

[sas5814]

It would be interesting to see the breakout on such data. Are we less prone than physicians because we aren't the "top of the food chain" or are we more prone because we can easily be everyone's whipping boy in a high stress field? Maybe our numbers would be very low so not much data would be available. Most PAs I know are pretty happy in general. Most physicians I know suffer a lot of stress from many different quarters. So many questions....

[thinkertdm]

On 9/30/2018 at 7:43 AM, sas5814 said:

It would be interesting to see the breakout on such data. Are we less prone than physicians because we aren't the "top of the food chain" or are we more prone because we can easily be everyone's whipping boy in a high stress field? Maybe our numbers would be very low so not much data would be available. Most PAs I know are pretty happy in general. Most physicians I know suffer a lot of stress from many different quarters. So many questions....

We see the same blood in the same mud as our MD brethren, but there are less resources dedicated to debriefing and stress relief.  In most administrators eyes, we are simply employees who make money without mental consequences.  There are fewer societies, groups, etc.  Many times time off is hard to get.  More importantly, we miss out on the years of dealing with stress that mds get.  

Also, appearing happy and being suicidal are not mutually exclusive.  You could be working with a PA who has everything going for him- job, family, low debt, job prospects, but be suffering terribly on the inside.  The industry putting so much weight on "customer happiness" leads to unsatisfied providers- then a scathing review...a mere pat on the head by a bean counter doesn't help.  

 

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

Recent story on same (Medscape again?) noted that once the decision was made there was approximately 15" till it was acted upon.

[sas5814]

and I wonder if the evolution of corporate medicine and megalopolies taking over health care has increased the numbers.

I never felt suicidal but homicide? That may be a different discussion....

[thinkertdm]

Personally, if there is at least another PA in your facility, form a safe place to decompress- not to bitch about patients, but to talk about the stressors in a nonjudgemental way.  We've all been there.  These are your peers, colleagues, and friends.