Dr. Moben Mirza, a urologic oncologist at the University of Kansas Health System, has taken to telling the medical residents he works with that he loves them.
He hasn’t always. And the people who trained him never did. But then Mirza lost three people to suicide — a student, a resident and a colleague.
Takeaways
- Kansas City’s medical community is trying to raise awareness about physician suicides.
- They hope to erase the stigma that has long kept some doctors from seeking mental health care.
- Medical schools and hospitals are adding support services and education resources.
He learned very personally that doctors need room to be human. And they need permission to ask for help without shame. Mirza hopes his small gesture relieves some of the pressure on his students, pressure that is tightly woven into the medical profession.
“I tell them what my expectations are and what I am going to teach them,” Mirza said. “But I start from a place of care and love.”…