Any death by suicide is a tragedy, and whatever the rate is for surgeons it's too high. This is especially true because there are some protective factors for su

Any death by suicide is a tragedy, and whatever the rate is for surgeons it's too high. This is especially true because there are some protective factors for surgeons - high pay, stable employment, and close connections to health care. But it's simply incorrect to say that surgeons, or doctors in general, have high rates of death by suicide. Whenever anyone presents information about suicide it's important to ask what's being counted, how is it being counted, and who is doing the analysis. Here's CDC suicide rates by industry: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6903a1.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6903a1.htm And Male and female suicide rates per 100,000 civilian, noninstitutionalized working persons aged 16-64 years for major industry groups meeting reporting criteria: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/84274 https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/84274 The rate for healthcare is 7.5 per 100,000 population, but that's driven by female nurses (who have a higher rate of death by suicide than doctors). > Compared with rates in the total study population, suicide rates were significantly higher in five major industry groups: 1) Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction (males); 2) Construction (males); 3) Other Services (e.g., automotive repair) (males); 4) Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting (males); and 5) Transportation and Warehousing (males and females). Rates were also significantly higher in six major occupational groups: 1) Construction and Extraction (males and females); 2) Installation, Maintenance, and Repair (males); 3) Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media (males); 4) Transportation and Material Moving (males and females); 5) Protective Service (females); and 6) Healthcare Support (females).