Teaching psychiatry residents about suicide loss: impact of an educational program.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this report is to study the impact of a pilot educational event on psychiatry residents' attitudes towards suicidal patients, understanding of their family members' experience, and intended management of patients who died by suicide.

METHODS

A panel of suicide loss survivors spoke to psychiatry residents during an educational event. Psychiatry residents who attended the event were asked to complete a survey after the event.

RESULTS

About a third of residents (29.4 %) reported encountering a patient suicide during training. Overall, psychiatry residents subjectively felt the program had a positive impact on their understanding of suicide loss and on their attitudes towards suicide and towards engagement with family members of patients who died by suicide.

CONCLUSIONS

The data collected in this study suggest that educational programs focused on patient suicide from the surviving families' perspective may have a positive impact on the attitudes and future practice of residents.