According to a study published in 1996, physicians are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as non-physicians—and female physicians are three times more likely than males. A separate 2005 project found similar metrics. It isn’t a new phenomenon, but the rise of social media and changing social mores are making some health care professionals more comfortable talking about it.
In the TEDMED talk, she blamed two different phenomenons for a high suicide rate among doctors: A medical school culture of "hazing, bullying, and name-calling" that continues into residency and results in poor medical care for patients and occupational-induced depression for both students and residents, and a professional culture for practicing doctors that dissuades them from seeking mental health treatment.
Wible believes the suicide rate among physicians is even higher than the National Institutes of Health’s cited rate. She says that she believes many death certificates for physicians are miscoded, and that many practicing physicians and residents commit suicide through ambiguous methods such as car crashes.