title: Coping with a patient's suicide: a curriculum for psychiatry residency training programs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The suicide of a patient is often experienced as a traumatic event by the clinician involved. Many articles have identified the need for education to guide clinicians through the aftermath of patient suicide; however, little has been published on development of such a curriculum, particularly for residents. This article describes one residency training program's development of an organized curriculum on coping with patient suicide and evaluates the impact of a core aspect of the training on clinicians' knowledge about and confidence with coping with patient suicide.
  
  
  METHODS
  The training includes a biennial half-day workshop for all trainees plus an "as-needed curriculum" used after a completed suicide. A total of 42 clinicians (39 psychiatry residents and 3 psychiatry faculty) participated in a workshop on coping with patient suicide. Their attitudes and knowledge about the topic were assessed before and after the training.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participation in the workshop was associated with large and statistically significant increases in knowledge and self-perceptions of competence in coping with patient suicide.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The addition of a curriculum on coping with patient suicide has the potential to significantly enhance psychiatric residency training.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Uma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Dale E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: McNiel
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haller
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States