Imagine being out for a walk in January. Maybe it’s recently snowed, and you’re enjoying the winter wonderland that doesn’t often come to Alabama. Snow is in the trees, and the sun is passing through a bright blue sky, shining brightly on the snow on the ground. It’s bitterly cold, as often happens when these winter storms pass through—a bit windy, even. Snow is on your shoes and you’re chilled, your gloves aren’t warm enough, and you’re ready to go back in where it’s warm. What do you do?
A quick solution is to go inside and stand in the corner. Why? Because it’s always 90 degrees there!
Wait. That’s not going to work because bad dad jokes don’t solve real-world problems that people face every day (corner, 90 degrees… get it?).
Nonetheless, warming up from a walk in the cold isn’t very difficult. It only takes minutes.
The challenge of warming up from the cold is quite unlike the challenge healthcare professionals face in maintaining their mental health. Being cold generally ends when you remove yourself from the frigid environment. Yet, healthcare workers face unique, unrelenting workplace challenges that are stubbornly clingy, making them difficult to shrug off before coming home.
Healthcare professional workplace stressors can include heavy workload, life-and-death situations and decisions, unrealistic productivity expectations, challenging clinical situations, difficult or non-compliant patients, administrative burdens, difficult co-workers, and more. Physical stressors may include their own injury and illness, hunger, sleep deprivation, poor lighting, and unpleasant odors. Life stressors, such as dealing with challenging family issues, an unexpected car repair, or lease termination, also come and go because healthcare workers are not immune to the stress of life solely because they face increased stress at work. When these stressors combine with other risk factors—such as increased access to lethal means, exposure to secondary trauma, sleep deprivation—they can open the door for suicidal ideation.
In 2023, 864 people in Alabama died by suicide. In fact, suicide is the third leading cause of death for Alabamians aged 15-34. Among those dying by suicide, men are 3.8 times more likely to die by suicide than women.
When you consider the healthcare profession, these numbers unfortunately become more stark. Nationally, approximately 400 physicians die by suicide each year. Among physicians aged 25-39, the death-by-suicide rate is more than double the general population, and female physicians have 250-400% more suicide deaths than women in other professions.
While the weight of the work and the hope of saving a life every single time will always be present in healthcare, there are steps that can be taken to promote and provide a safer workplace culture that reduces the burden of stress healthcare workers face.
Zero Suicide is an evidence-based framework that healthcare organizations can implement to reduce suicide-related stigma across a healthcare organization. We know stigma can prevent people from speaking up for fear of being judged, misunderstood, or dismissed, leading to greater isolation, thus exacerbating symptoms of mental illness and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Zero Suicide changes the culture in a healthcare organization–not just for patients, but for healthcare professionals as well. Not only does the Zero Suicide model of care save patients through universal suicide screening (as more than half of people who die by suicide see a medical provider within 30 days of their death); but it also replaces stigmatized cultures of blame with a culture of systemic, supportive mental health.
Further, Zero Suicide ensures providers and medical staff get the training they need to have confidence in identifying patients at risk of suicide and intervening to provide them with appropriate care. A suicide-safer organization is guided by policies that promote a just culture, reduce stigma, and promote well-being for all persons. At Zero Suicide organizations, all staff are fully trained for their role in suicide prevention and improvement focuses on system solutions, not finding fault in individual service providers.
Ultimately, Zero Suicide creates a culture where suicide prevention is not the responsibility of one provider or department, but a shared responsibility across the organization. By replacing blame with support and uncertainty with training and clear systems, organizations can create safer environments where both patients and healthcare professionals are safe to speak up, seek help, and intervene.
Fill out the Project Zero Suicide Engagement Form to contact the Project Zero Suicide staff and learn more about reducing stigma, improving organizational culture, and enhancing the mental health of healthcare professionals in your organization.
Sources:
The Hidden Cost of Silence: Balancing Mental & Physical Health in Medicine