In Case You Haven't Heard

Abstract

Leading advocates and researchers in the mental health field published new data in JAMA showing that state medical board license applications do not follow national recommendations to protect the mental health of physicians, The Emotional PPE Project reported May 18. Physicians have high rates of burnout and consistently report they do not have adequate support for their emotional wellness. Despite this context, physicians infrequently seek mental health care, often fearing that it will result in loss of their medical license. In 2018, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) published recommendations to limit medical license application questions regarding mental health to only what is necessary and relevant, and to provide language supportive of mental health treatment seeking. The findings in JAMA show that as of July 2020, these recommendations have not been widely adopted. Only 1 of 54 US state and territory medical licensing applications evaluated in the study fully adopted the FSMB recommendations (North Carolina), and five states were not consistent with any of the recommendations. This latest paper is one in a series of publications over the past year that have brought awareness to the multitude of barriers that physicians face when seeking mental health care. Advocacy organizations such as The Emotional PPE Project and the National Alliance on Mental Illness have emerged as some of the leaders in the effort to lift these barriers.