Скачать или смотреть Stop The Stigma: standing up for physician mental health

Rebroadcast of 3/28/21 Live Town Hall conversation featuring Dr. Brian Dixon and special guests Dr. Kim Templeton (of AMWA) and Corey Feist (of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation). Moderated by Dr. Emily Silverman.

Medicine Forward is a grassroots physicians' organization that was created in response to Eric Topol’s 2019 New Yorker article that was a call for us to stand together as doctors for the interest of our patients. It was a call to unite around the values that we deeply share together, especially the sacredness of the patient-physician relationship.

A healthy and supported physician workforce is an essential part of this equation. It has become clear that doing something proactive about physician mental health is of critical importance to our mission. Consider the analogy of flying on an airplane. We are taught that we must first put on our own oxygen mask if we are going to be able to help someone else. Better support for the mental health of all physicians is our oxygen mask, and we are starving for air. The tragic loss of Dr. Lorna Breen has shown us that we can no longer afford to wait to take action. Doctor’s should not have to choose between their life and their job of caring for others. The trauma of COVID-19 has elevated this problem to a whole other level.

We understand some of the barriers to physicians seeking mental health support. One of the most glaring is the questions we are asked when applying for a medical license. Multiple studies (Dr. Katherine Gold, Dr. Liselotte N. Dyrbye) have shown that this specific issue of licensing questions gets in the way of us taking care of our physicians when they need it most. We’ve heard stories of doctors driving to another state and using an alias to just to get therapy. Answering yes to any of the screening questions is like a “black box” where you have no idea what will happen to you next, and the consequences could be quite serious and negative.

There is good news. The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) has been leading the charge in a national effort to change the conversation on these licensing questions. Their “Humans Before Heroes” project is a collaboration between top leaders who are passionate about taking on this massively important challenge. The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides protections that can help. The newly proposed Dr. Lorna Breen Act would designate national resources to the problem. And, the Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation has been working tirelessly to advocate.

Please join us for a very special event where we discuss how we can all be empowered to make the world better for physician mental health. We and our patients desperately need it.

Help #StopTheStigma.