Working With Chronically Suicidal Patients

Vint Blackburn, M.D. lays out the reasons to get less restrictive in the care of suicidal individuals

Vint Blackburn, M.D. didn’t start his professional life intending to be a physician. His first line of work was as a school teacher. We were introduced by a mutual friend and mentor, Jack Rozel, M.D. I needed a guest for a chat-show on gun violence on the clubhouse app, and Jack assured me Vint would be a hit. Jack was correct.

Today, I’m thrilled to share Vint’s video addressing the tension inherent in the care of suicidal patients. In oncology, we accept that some patients will die, as both a society and as physicians. In psychiatry, we assume the psychiatric care was at fault when a patient dies by suicide, no matter how sick the individual is before their death. Vint is having none of this double standard, and makes the case for an understanding of this work that makes endless sense to me.