Iran News: Rising Physician Suicide Rates in Iran Amid Expert Exodus
Written by
Farid Mahoutchi
Iranian regime now claims to have released 100,000 prisoners amid the coronavirus pandemic. But nothing that the theocratic regime says about the current situation should be taken at face value.
Doctors in Iran trying to help a coronavirus patient
Tejarat News, a state-affiliated outlet, recently highlighted a concerning trend regarding physician suicides in Iran. According to the website, the interval between such tragic events has now shortened to a shocking 10 days since the onset of this year. Should this distressing pattern persist, the year’s end will bear witness to an alarming statistic.
Drawing from official data documenting the suicides of five physicians within the last 47 days, the report underscores the grim reality that unfolds in Iran, where a physician takes their own life approximately every 10 days.
In recent months, various publications have shed light on the plight of medical residents and the tragic outcomes they face. On May 1, the state-run Rokna News Agency reported the heartbreaking story of Zahra Maleki Ghorbani, a physician, driven to end her life due to the pressures emanating from her work and living circumstances. Maleki, a graduate of Tehran University of Medical Sciences from the class of 2015, was in the final stages of her residency in Hormozgan province.
#Iran News in Brief
Hamid Peyravi, Vice President of the regime's #Suicide Prevention Scientific Society: “Last year, for every 100,000 individuals, 7.4 suicides resulted in death, totaling over 6,000 fatalities. Approximately 120,000 suicide attempts were officially recorded in… pic.twitter.com/AGK3QPbI4K— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 27, 2023
Homayoun Sameyeh Najafabadi, a member of the Health and Treatment Commission of the regime’s parliament, shared insights with Tejarat News regarding the conspicuous absence of acknowledgment from the Minister of Health regarding the challenges faced by physicians. He lamented, “Regrettably, this pervasive issue seems to have become normalized among most ministers, who prioritize the presentation of achievements, which may not always be entirely accurate, over acknowledging and remedying the genuine challenges faced.”
The gravity of this situation cannot be overstated. As discussions around the state of healthcare in Iran continue, it becomes increasingly imperative to confront the root causes contributing to the distressing rise in physician suicides.
Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, the Secretary-General of the Nursing House, said, “While such incidents have been happening in previous years, nowadays, news spreads rapidly through social media. However, some of these occurrences aren’t even shared online. As a result, we cannot accurately assess the available statistics.”
Expressing concern over the Ministry of Health’s persistent neglect of young physicians and residents, Sharifi-Moghadam noted the lack of progress despite their protests. He observed that some individuals, despite their extensive education and dedication, reach a juncture where death seems preferable to continuing their lives.
In January, Nima Shahriarpour, an emergency medicine specialist, revealed alarming research findings indicating a surge in the suicide rate among medical professionals, ranging from 1.3 to 5 times higher. He cited staggering statistics, such as an average of 13 suicides annually among the country’s 14,000 medical residents.
The Secretary-General of the Nursing House attributed the occurrence of these tragic events to financial strains and the disrespectful treatment of physicians by hospital administrators. He highlighted the debilitating workload faced by these professionals, compounded by external pressures, culminating in such shocking actions.
Mohammad Mirkhani, a social advisor to the Medical Organization, attributed the significant rise in physician suicide rates in Iran to the challenging working conditions. Speaking to the state-run Donyaye Eqtesad on April 28, he highlighted, “Medical residents sometimes go without sleep for up to 72 hours, which poses severe risks to their well-being. These conditions often lead to depression among them.”
He characterized the hospital work environment for physicians as “barracks-like,” emphasizing the heightened challenges faced by medical residents within such settings.
#Iran News in Brief
The head of the regime's Nursing Organization announced that 10,000 nurses who were working in hospitals during the #COVID19 pandemic have been laid off. "This number of nurses are unemployed, young, and married," Mirzabeygi said.https://t.co/nlmazrBx8u pic.twitter.com/yMyPHBo4LL— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 15, 2022
Meanwhile, Iraj Fazel, the President of the Iranian Surgeons Association, warned of an impending shortage of physicians over the next decade. He said, “If the conditions continue like this, we must import specialists in these fields from abroad for the next 10 years, and send patients abroad again for specialized surgeries.”
Fazel highlighted a concerning decline in interest among candidates for medical fields, citing recent exams where not a single applicant pursued vascular surgery, echoing similar shortages across other specialized domains. He identified widespread physician migration out of Iran as a primary contributing factor to this scenario, with job migration statistics surpassing those of emigration abroad.
Moreover, Hossein-Ali Shahriari, head of the Health and Treatment Commission of Iran’s parliament underscored the magnitude of the crisis, revealing that approximately 10,000 Iranian specialists and subspecialists had obtained work migration certificates in the past two years alone. He pointed to Arab countries as the primary destination for Iranian physician migration, signaling a significant brain drain within Iran’s healthcare sector.
Iran News: Rising Physician Suicide Rates in Iran Amid Expert Exodus