title: Patients' suicides: frequency and impact on psychiatrists.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chemtob
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kinney
authors.forename: R Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Torigoe
mesh_terms: 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