Standing on the edge of his hotel balcony, a doctor describes the rolling hills. He tells me, “It’s a beautiful place to die.” Ten minutes later, he agrees not to injure himself—for now.
I’m not running a physician suicide hotline. But doctors keep calling me.
…
A friend just got back from a big medical conference at a fancy hotel. The cleaning ladies actually pulled her aside to ask, “What’s with all the grim faces and sad eyes?”
Do doctors realize medical conferences look like funerals? That’s what the cleaning ladies think.
…
Most heart-wrenching e-mail I have ever received. From a true hero, Dr. Varun.
November 18, 2014
Dear Pamela,
Hi, der. I don’t know how thankful I am to you for writing that article on physician’s suicide. I really wanted to hug you after reading it.
…
This summer I did the [ALS] ice bucket challenge. But I’m challenged by another disease. A disease so scary people won’t say it out loud. A disease so frightening that doctors are afraid to talk about it. A disease so feared that physicians falsify death certificates, families deny the cause of death,
…
I delivered this presentation on August, 28, 2014, to medical students at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest and received my first standing ovation. Transcript and videos below.
Introduction: Pamela Wible, M.D., is a family physician born into a family of physicians.
…
Attention all doctors: The first three are mine. The rest are from miserable colleagues. All true. And common. If you’re a doctor and you recognize anything on this list, please quit your job.
10. You feel nauseated when you see your clinic logo; you alter your commute to avoid streets with your clinic’s billboard.
…
While I struggle to prevent physician suicide. I discover a man who didn’t seem to struggle at all. With no training in suicide prevention, no training in mental heath, and no medical background, one man saved hundreds of souls from suicide.
Meet Don Ritchie.
He lived beside a popular suicide spot.
…
I’ve never been a small-talk doc. My therapist calls me “the Dr. Kevorkian of medical taboos.” I’m most comfortable discussing the uncomfortable—topics that scare most physicians. In my TED talk, I bust through three taboos: human sexuality, physician-patient intimacy, and doctor suicides.
Taboo #1: Sexuality. Americans are oversexualized and sexually repressed.
…
Johnny’s disabled. He can’t get to my office anymore. So I drive 100 miles up the Oregon coast to check in on him. I get lost, but finally discover his little white house on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
“Last time a doctor come to my house,
…
Edited version of article reprinted by the Washington Post July 14, 2014
An obstetrician is found dead in his bathtub. Gunshot wound to the head. An anesthesiologist dies of an overdose in a hospital closet. A family doctor is hit by a train. He’s decapitated.
…
I asked why physicians were dying by suicide. Here’s what they told me:
“I definitely graduated from med school with PTSD. It has changed me forever. My mom’s friend that I have known since I was born saw me for the first time since I went to med school and she [told my mom],
…
A psychiatrist in Seattle had picked out the bridge. At 3 a.m. he would swerve across his lane and plunge into the water. Everyone would assume he fell asleep.
A surgeon in Oregon was lying on the floor of her office with a scalpel. Nobody would find her until it was too late.
…
Turn off your cell phone. Get off the grid. Take a deep breath and say, “Ah . . .” You are invited to Live Your Dream: Revolutionize Your Medical Practice, a healing retreat for physicians at Breitenbush Hot Springs.
Take refuge with like-minded colleagues who realize that healing health care begins within.
…
Dear Gregg,
I’m thinking of you tonight. Five years ago your wife told me you died. You were at a medical conference. They found you in a hotel room with pain pills. You were just 44.
You gave your life to medicine. We all did. We just wanted to help people.
…
Doctor revived after suicide. Here's what he says.
