MSV Update

MSV White Coats on Call

By Clifford L. Deal, MD, FACS
MSV President

Clifford D. Deal, MD, FACS
MSV President

As a breast cancer surgeon, my key role on the patient’s care team is to excise the tumor and remove the key source of cancer in the body. However, as we all know, there are many more components to healing the patient than one surgical procedure. One aspect of care which drastically affects the physical health of our patients, especially those who have received life altering diagnosis, is caring for their mental health needs. Physicians' physical health is no different. To achieve peak physical health, we cannot ignore our mental health.

Physician burnout is a phrase which is constantly sprawled across healthcare magazines and online articles. We seem to be comfortable noting that our profession does have a crisis on our hands, sharing research data points such as:

Physician burnout is on the rise. Compared to other professions, physicians generally have higher rates of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.¹
- Rates of depression are higher in medical students and residents (15 to 30%) than in the general population.²
- Nearly one physician a day takes his or her life. Studies indicate physicians commit suicide at a rate of one to one and a half times higher for male physicians and two to four times higher for female physicians in comparison to general population.³

We can continue to share data points to prove physicians have been constantly bombarded with moral injury by the business of medicine. This hasn’t made an impact to slow down the rate of physician suicide – which is now up to nearly one of our physician colleagues across the nation takes their life each day.

When the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) researched the roots of our burnout problem it became clear the overarching problem was that there is no program available that provides ongoing, confidential physician wellness support. Currently, if a physician has disclosed personal mental health concerns, their employer is legally required to report the physician to the Board of Medicine. In a study evaluating physicians-in-training, the most frequently cited barriers to seeking treatment were time (91.5%), preference to manage problems on their own (75.1%), lack of convenient access (61.8%), and concerns about confidentiality (57.3%).⁴

I am honored to share that MSV has created life changing legislation to make a tangible difference in our burnout crisis in Virginia. During the 2020 General Assembly Session, HB 115 (Hope) and SB 120 (Barker) were passed and now will now be sent to the Governor for signature. The intent of these bills is to create a “safe haven” for physicians, outside of their employers, in order to get support they need. This added security of confidentiality removes the barriers of seeking treatment, reducing stigma and ends the fear of losing their job or their license.

When the legislation is codified, MSV will be launching a Physician Well-being Program. The program will provide confidential support services where physicians can receive 24/7 counseling from peers and behavioral health professionals.

The program is modeled after Lawyers Helping Lawyers. MSV worked with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association to ensure the bill does not jeopardize the state’s existing disciplinary process, but rather allows physicians to receive the support they need, when they need it.

MSV will be sharing more information about this resource this summer.

References:

Eckleberry-Hunt J., Kirkpatrick H., Hunt R.B. (2017) Physician Burnout and Wellness. In: Brower K., Riba M. (eds) Physician Mental Health and Well-Being. Integrating Psychiatry and Primary Care. Springer, Cham.
Bright, R. P., & Krahn, L. (2011). Depression and suicide among physicians. Current Psychiatry, 10(4), 16.
Eckleberry-Hunt, J., & Lick, D. (2015). Physician depression and suicide: a shared responsibility. Teaching and learning in medicine, 27(3), 341-345.
Utilization and Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Depressed Medical Interns: A Prospective Multisite Study
Constance Guille, Heather Speller, Rachel Laff, C. Neill Epperson, Srijan Sen J Grad Med Educ. 2010 Jun; 2(2): 210–214.