Dr Michael Myers
Michael was born in Canada and grew up always wanting to be a doctor. Only a few months into medical school, in the fall of 1962, his life was jarred by the suicide death of one of his 3 medical student room-mates. Bill's tragic death not only propelled him into psychiatry but also into becoming a specialist in physician health and a "doctors' doctor." He treated his first physician-patient on Christmas day 1970 and since then has cared for close to 1000 medical students and physicians. Now retired from private practice, he continues to teach medical students and residents about the many psychological and sociocultural aspects of medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Writing is his passion - some would say "addiction." Most of his books and scholarly works are for and about physicians and their families. He is very committed to recapturing and embracing the humanism of medicine. He can be reached via his website: www.michaelfmyers.com.
Harnessing Grief Into Action: A Tribute to a Remarkable Woman
Dr. Sangeeta Mahajan is a remarkable woman. She is a consultant anesthetist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, England. She lost her 20-year-old son, Saagar...
National Physician Suicide Awareness Day: We Refuse to Forget
September 17, 2019 was the second annual National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. As I wrote here last year, it is a day to commemorate colleagues lost to suicide and...
The Key to Orienting Incoming Residents and Fellows
I recently had a chance to speak to State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate’s incoming residents and fellows about well-being and self-care.
These women and men join our complement...
The Magnitude of Lived Experience
This is a dispatch from Down Under. I’ve been here lecturing for the past couple of weeks on physician health and suicide prevention. On May 31, I was a...
When the “S” Word Is Unspoken
Note: this is a highly disguised story for reasons that will be immediately obvious.
I got an invitation a few months ago to give a Grand Rounds at a medical...
Courage in the Face of Heartbreaking Loss
After my plenary lecture at the International Practitioner Health Summit “The Wounded Healer” in London last October, I was invited to sit in on a bereavement group which was...
A Touching New York Story
This piece is a departure from my usual missives on physician health and suicide. I want to share an experience I’m sure many readers have had, perhaps in a...
Kindness Is in the Air
The title of this piece is a take on the airy and buoyant song of 1977, “Love Is in the Air.” Over the last few weeks, despite so much...
Pearls of Wisdom From Four Women Who Have Lost a Physician...
Enjoy this lovely article by Dr Michael Myers, a psychiatrist who specializes in physicians' health and has cared for doctors for many decades now. He brings his wealth of...
