*It was an early Friday evening, and two dozen doctors were standing outside a 33-story residential building across the street from the hospital where they spend most of their days. They were used to working evening hours ? feeling exhausted and empty, fueled mostly by the knowledge that they were there to save lives. But this time, the lives were their own.
In the middle of a pile of bouquets, cards, and electric tea lights on the sidewalk in front of them was a photo of Dr. Deelshad Joomun*. Just nine days earlier, on her third day as a nephrology attending physician at Mount Sinai St. Luke?s, Dr. Joomun leapt from the 33-story building to her death. Many of her colleagues were standing at the windows of the building across the street from her, horrified at the sight of a falling person who was wearing the same white coat they were in.
As one friend and former med-school classmate put it, Dr. Joomun was the last person anyone would expect to end her life. She was at the top of her class, a pioneer in her field, and outwardly confident in her abilities.
But at the same time, Dr. Joomun was the third Mount Sinai hospital employee in two years to die by suicide while at Mount Sinai. First-year internal medicine resident Esha Baichoo died in March of 2016 and fourth-year medical student Kathryn Stascavage died in August of that same year.
Doctors follow a precise methodology to figure out what went wrong after losing a patient, but the same wasn?t being done for Dr. Joomun. Worse yet, their superiors didn?t even acknowledge that there was something amiss. According to at least 14 doctors who spoke to Refinery29 under the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional retribution, Mount Sinai St. Luke?s ? an institution Dr. Joomun dedicated her life to ? was treating her death like a dirty secret, one that many feel they actively worked to sweep under the rug.
This article was written by Ashley Alese Edwards. Read more of the article here
