Ask Dr. Jill: What Can We Do to Prevent Physician Suicide?

Ask Dr. Jill: What Can We Do to Prevent Physician Suicide?

What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This episode of Strong Talk’s Ask Dr. Jill zooms in on a different kind of recovery: the emotional, systemic, and cultural work needed to protect physicians and healthcare workers from suicide. You’ll hear researcher Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman and co-host Chris Munden sit down with guest Corey Feist, co-founder and CEO of the Dr. Lorna Breen Foundation.

Corey shares the heartbreaking story of his sister-in-law, ER doctor Lorna Breen, whose death by suicide during the early Covid-19 surge exposed how dangerous it can feel for clinicians to seek mental health care. As Corey recalls, “we are now in a position where we have to act on this,” and that urgency runs through the whole conversation.

The episode looks closely at why physicians, nurses and other clinicians often fear losing their licence, credentials or career if they admit to depression, burnout or substance use. You’ll hear how licensing and credential forms quietly reinforce stigma, and why Dr. Jill argues that “forms communicate culture, policies communicate culture.” Rather than blaming individuals, they talk about fixing systems, questioning those intrusive mental health questions, and changing expectations of healthcare workers as “superhuman”. There’s practical hope too.

Corey explains the policy changes driven by the Lorna Breen Act and how removing penalising questions has already made it safer for millions of health workers to get support, with hospitals reporting lower depression, anxiety and turnover as a result. The conversation also stresses that asking directly about suicide doesn’t cause harm and can open the door to help, whether for clinicians or anyone else who is struggling.

If you’ve ever wondered how culture and paperwork can stand between people and lifesaving care, this episode offers a candid look at what’s broken in healthcare – and how collective action, policy change and honest conversations can start to mend it. What attitudes in your own life might be stopping someone from asking for help?