Patients' suicides: frequency and impact on psychiatrists.
Results of a national survey of randomly selected psychiatrists revealed that 51% (N = 131) of the 259 respondents had had a patient who committed suicide. This event had an impact on both their personal and their professional lives. Sixty-five psychiatrists reported stress levels in the weeks following the suicide that were comparable to levels reported in studies of people seeking treatment after the death of a parent. Younger, less-experienced clinicians were more affected by a patient's suicide than older clinicians with more experience. Implications of these results for the training and practice of psychiatrists are discussed.
Chemtob
C M
CM
University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
Hamada
R S
RS
Bauer
G
G
Kinney
B
B
Torigoe
R Y
RY
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education; D013405:Suicide / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires