A recent study suggests that an alarming 6% of American surgeons reported suicidal ideation in the last year. (Suicidal ideation is medical term used when an individual has contemplated suicide but has made no present plans of actually committing suicide). The rate of suicidal ideation is only 3% in the general population!

The more shocking finding is that only about 26% of those surgeons that have thought of suicide have sought psychiatric or psychological help. Other studies show that the rate of seeking mental health among people with suicidal ideation is 44% in the general population.

The main reason for surgeon's reluctance to seek this type of health is the fear of losing their jobs. According to the study author, "Surgeons reported a great deal of concern about potential repercussions for their license to practice medicine," and therefore many of them self-medicated with antidepressant drugs.

While the study did not address the specific reasons behind surgeon's contemplation of suicide, depression, burnout and medical errors seem to be the major contributing factors. According to the study, suicidal ideation had a

"statistically significant adverse relationship with all 3 domains of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment) and symptoms of depression."

Moreover, thoughts of suicide were more likely among surgeons who have recently committed a medical error. Other factors associated with contemplating suicide also include being unmarried, being divorced, and having no children.

In previous studies published from the same survey (that I have commented on in the past), 9% of surgeons said they have recently committed a medical error, 40% said that they felt burned out, and 30% reported symptoms of depression.

In a commentary on the article, two doctors wrote:

"We applaud this exemplary and timely contribution on a subject too often ignored and for which the findings sadly resonate with experience. Surgeons work hard — in this study, 92% worked 40 hours a week or longer — and their irregular hours and ultimate accountability for immediate life-and-death situations compound job stress. Surgeons care deeply about their patients.Surgeons also exist in a culture that, like it or not, honors self-denial, prizes impervious resilience, and tends to interpret imperfection as failure. [The authors] show for the first time that surgeons with a recent perceived medical failure may react by ideating about taking their own life."