So many things in healthcare are disposable. Our doctors can’t be one of them. Some 400 doctors die from suicide every year in cases we rarely hear about. Doctors’ mental health struggles are often shrouded in shame and secrecy. Reaching out for help can have a dramatically unfair impact on their careers. When doctors are afraid to speak up about their mental health, it’s a societal failure, not personal vulnerability. We decided to change that.
The Disposables, a traveling art installation, is a memorial to those who have died and a wake-up call to those who can make a difference. Portraits of doctors lost to suicide were meticulously composed from donated medical materials sourced from their families, colleagues and communities. It is part of Disappearing Doctors, the initiative for fighting doctor burnout and suicide spearheaded by FCB Health New York.
The work continues to motivate critical policy change and spark life-saving conversations across the country at events attended by policymakers, healthcare leaders and of course, doctors.
