Dr. Christine Moutier Offers Solutions at Virtual Suicide Prevention Event

In observation of National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, residents, fellows, and program directors gathered on September 16 for a virtual presentation featuring Dr. Christine Moutier, CMO for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, followed by a panel discussion with residents from both the Columbia and Cornell campuses. The panel was co-moderated by Elise Desperito, MD, program director of the radiology residency, and Manish Garg, MD, program director for the NewYork-Presbyterian emergency medicine residency.

Dr. Moutier addressed the conditions that contribute to increased rates of suicide among health care professionals and answered questions from residents about mental health stigma reduction, building resilience and preventing burnout, and how to help a colleague who might be at risk for suicide.  

"There is so much positive change going on in terms of opening up of attitutes towards mental health in the larger culture," she said. "As physicians and healers of the public and leaders in healthcare, I feel that it's imperitive we shed our own stigma so that we can be leaders and do our job."

This event was held in conjunction with several campus-wide initiatives and events centered around this year's theme, "One of Us," which highlighted the legacy of emergency medicine faculty member Dr. Lorna Breen and the ongoing fight to curb physician suicide.