The excellent Morning Report presentation by Dr. Bauer today raised two main issues: 1) the nuts and bolts of detailed suicide assessment, and 2) how do we as psychiatrists cope when despite our best efforts, a patient succumbs to their disease. Most of you have seen the DVD "Collateral Damage", discussing the impact of this event on psychiatrists at all levels of their careers. I also want to upload a very good, wrenchingly personal article from Michael Gitlin, A Psychiatrist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide. I found it quite helpful in working through my first experience with this unfortunate outcome as a senior resident.
Let me also take this opportunity to encourage you all to continue to talk with one another and with your supervisors about how things are really going with your patients. This, especially the supervision time, is a time and place in which it should be safe to express doubts and fears, and OK to be wrong.
Please don't hesitate to approach me or another faculty member with your concerns.
Michael Gitlin, A Psychiatrist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide.
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