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FEATURE
‘COVID-19 HAS BLOWN THE LID OFF’ NEED FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT EXACERBATED BY PANDEMIC
By David A. Kostival, Contributing Writer
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s the United States exceeds 800,000 COVID-19 deaths, it’s important to recognize the number reflects only deaths resulting directly from complications caused by COVID-19.
It does not account for deaths resulting from drug overdoses or suicides as an indirect result of the pandemic. And while we look to medical caregivers to help us safely navigate through the ongoing effects of the pandemic, physicians are not exempt from the stress. The American Hospital Association says about 400 physicians die each year from suicide, and that hundreds more have serious thoughts of suicide. WebMD states that about one doctor a day commits suicide in the United Sates every day, which translates to the highest suicide rate of any profession. The suicide rate in the general population is 12.3 per 100,000 people, while the number of doctor suicides is between 28 to 40 per 100,000.
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Philadelphia Medicine : Winter 2022
