In order to address the issue of physician suicide, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD), in collaboration with AAEM, ACEP, ACOEP, EMRA, RSA, RSO and SAEM have come together to annually dedicate the 3rd Monday in September as National Physician Suicide Awareness (NPSA) Day, #NPSADay.

Physician suicide is a tremendous issue in healthcare today.  While estimates of the actual number of physician suicides vary, literature has shown that the relative risk for suicide being 2.27 times greater among women and 1.41 times higher among men versus the general population. Each physician suicide is a devastating loss affecting everyone - family, friends, colleagues and up to 1 million patients per year.  It is both a very personal loss and a public health crisis.  Vision Zero calls on individuals, residency programs, health care organizations and national groups to make a commitment to break down stigma, increase, open the conversation, decrease the fear of consequences, reach out to colleagues, recognize warning signs and learn to approach our colleagues who may be at risk.  Let us challenge each other as individual, community, institutional and organizational to make changes to reach zero physician suicides. 

Suicide can be prevented.  Be the one to be there. Shed light on this issue and change the culture of medicine to save lives. Learn more and receive updates and information as it is released.