"As a mother, a physician, and an educator, I refuse to accept this as normal. It is not! What should we tell the parents of these young physicians? How do we explain to them that their dream of being a doctor became a nightmare with a tragic ending? What do we tell their children when they ask for daddy’s good night kiss, or for mommy’s caring hugs? Where are the leaders? How did nobody notice their sadness, lack of hope, and deep desperation?

Sadly, this tragedy is not isolated. These types of events are happening around the country and in different institutions. The hopes of young physicians are transforming on fears, the excitement on stress, the smiles on tears. Where are the leaders? How did nobody know that something wrong was happening?"

Miriam Zylberglait Lisigurski is an internal medicine physician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Physician suicide: Where are the leaders?" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/08/physician-suicide-where-are-the-leaders.html)