Department of Family Medicine, Nellis Air Force Base, NV.
Department of Mental Health, Travis Air Force Base, CA.
Fam Med. 2024 Sep;56(8):509-511. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2024.215649. Epub 2024 Jul 12.
Assessing suicide risk in primary care settings has become standard practice; however, the emotional toll on medical providers remains understudied. This qualitative study examines the emotional impact of suicide assessments among family medicine residents.
We conducted one-on-one, semistructured, in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of residents enrolled in a family medicine residency program at a US military installation. Employing an exploratory, qualitative research approach, we iteratively coded transcribed interviews for content and themes.
For this study, we interviewed 15 family medicine residents spanning all three postgraduate year groups. The primary objective of the comprehensive study was to evaluate the confidence levels of family medicine residents in suicide risk screening, with the intent to identify educational gaps for improvement. However, unexpectedly, participants revealed their profound negative emotional responses during these assessments. The emotional impact of suicide risk assessment was the most frequently coded theme in the study, with participants noting six main emotional reactions to assessing suicide risk among their patients: fear, weariness, anxiety, shock, overwhelm, and inadequacy.
Despite claims of emotional detachment, participants often expressed surprise and vulnerability when faced with suicidal patients. With suicide screening becoming increasingly vital in primary care, understanding and mitigating the emotional impact on physicians is essential. Future research should explore strategies to support medical providers in navigating these challenging interactions effectively for both the patients and themselves.
在初级保健环境中评估自杀风险已成为标准做法；然而，医疗服务提供者所承受的情感压力仍研究不足。本 qualitative 研究调查了家庭医学住院医师进行自杀评估所带来的情感影响。
我们对美国军事设施中一家家庭医学住院医师项目中的住院医师进行了方便抽样，进行了一对一的半结构化深入访谈。采用探索性 qualitative 研究方法，我们对转录的访谈进行了内容和主题的迭代编码。
在这项研究中，我们采访了 15 名家庭医学住院医师，涵盖了所有三个研究生年级。该综合研究的主要目的是评估家庭医学住院医师进行自杀风险筛查的信心水平，旨在确定需要改进的教育差距。然而，出乎意料的是，参与者在这些评估中透露了他们深刻的负面情绪反应。在这项研究中，自杀风险评估的情感影响是最常被编码的主题，参与者指出了他们在评估患者自杀风险时的六种主要情绪反应：恐惧、疲惫、焦虑、震惊、不知所措和不称职。
尽管有情感超脱的说法，但当面对自杀患者时，参与者往往会感到惊讶和脆弱。随着自杀筛查在初级保健中变得越来越重要，了解并减轻医生的情感影响至关重要。未来的研究应探索支持医疗服务提供者有效应对这些具有挑战性的互动的策略，以造福患者和他们自己。
