Resource Tag: MEDICAL PERSONNEL

Medical doctors have a high rate of suicide. Professional regulatory investigation is a risk-factor for suicide. Coroners should identify deaths and report them to prevent further deaths. The General Medical Council has a demonstrable duty of care towards doctors. Modification of existing operational practices is needed.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of a web-based cognitive behavioral therapy (wCBT) program delivered prior to the start of internship year in the prevention of suicidal ideation in medical interns. This study demonstrates that a free, easily accessible, brief wCBT program is associated with reduced likelihood of suicidal ideation among medical interns. Prevention programs with […]

Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Prof. Onja T. Grad offers guidelines to assist clinical staff after the suicide of a patient. See Requirements and Objectives of Help Measures or Key Recommendations. Contact us for a copy of this article, or view online at https://www.iasp.info/pdf/postvention/guidelines_to_assist_clinical_staff_after_suicide_patient_grad.pdf

Although intervention with suicidal patients is one of the hardest tasks in clinical practice, little is known about health professionals’ perceptions about the difficulties of working with suicidal patients. The aims of this study were to: (1) describe the difficulties of professionals facing a suicidal patient; (2) analyze the differences in difficulties according to the […]

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This study indicates that opportunities for suicide preventino exist in primary care and medical settings, where most individuals receive services prior to death. Efforts may target improved identification of mental illness and suicidal ideation, as a large proportion may remain undiagnosed at death. Contact us for a copy of this article, or view online at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-014-2767-3

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Assessing risk of harm to self and others is an important component of psychological assessment, although methods for risk assessment vary considerably. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is frequently administered to evaluate general psychological functioning, as well as to provide information about suicide and violence risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the […]

Internationally, suicide represents a major health issue. Inpatient suicide is the second most common sentinel event reported to The Joint Commission, which has identified suicide prevention as a National Patient Safety Goal. Suicide prevention is influenced by nursesÕ ability to accurately assess a patientÕs suicide risk. Evidence suggests that lack of knowledge and unfavorable attitudes […]

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An understanding of self-harm among various occupational groups who may be involved in caring for and supporting people who self-harm was investigated. A questionnaire was constructed to assess understanding of self-harm. It was completed by a number of occupational groups including psychiatrists, psychologists, medical workers (general practitioners and nurses) and social/community care workers. It was […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the ÒCALMÓ (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means) training, in which community-based mental health care providers were trained to work with at-risk clients and their families to assess and reduce access to lethal means of suicide, including firearms. In 2006, CALM trainers conducted workshops in 7 community-based […]

The objective of this study was to improve health professionalsÕ knowledge and attitudes toward suicide prevention. A suicide prevention training of 18 hours duration was conducted with 270 health professionals, mainly primary care workers, who were routinely involved with patients at high risk for suicide. Questionnaires were used to assess changes in attitudes and knowledge. […]

This book is divided into 2 parts: assessment & management. Part 1 includes chapters on: suicide risk assessment, enhancing suicide risk assessment through evidence-based psychiatry, assessing & enhancing protective factors against suicide risk, behavioral risk assessment of the guarded suicidal patient, psychiatric disorders & suicide risk, & sudden improvement in patients at high risk of […]

This manual describes a brief clinical intervention, safety planning, that can serve as a valuable adjunct to risk assessment & may be used with veterans who have attempted suicide, have suicide ideation, have psychiatric disorders that increase suicide risk, or who are otherwise determined to be at high risk for suicide. The purpose of the […]

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This Toolkit contains resources to help staff in senior living communities promote mental health & prevent suicide among their residents. A comprehensive framework incorporating three essential approaches is used. The approaches are: 1) whole population approach – activities & programs that benefit the mental well-being of all residents; 2) at-risk approach – strategies ensuring that […]

Since suicide is a complex, multicausal behaviour, its prevention should also be complex. The prediction of suicide is very difficult in the general population but much easier among patients with certain mental disorders. This article reviews the most important biological & non-biological suicide prevention strategies. (26 refs.)

This chapter describes the development, implementation, & evaluation of an educational program for New York City police psychologists, counsellors, & other employee assistance personnel. The goal of the program was to prevent suicides by improving the counselling skills & psychological knowledge of those who evaluate officers at risk for suicidal behaviour. The program consisted of […]

Examples are provided in this article of reactions to patient suicide among professionals in outpatient practice, hospital & clinical practice, residents/interns/trainee status, & therapists in a survivor group setting. Recommendations for helping the clinician-survivor include provision of information & education for beginning clinicians about the possibility of such an event, procedures to follow, obligations & […]

In this interview, Dr. Fawcett answered the following questions: How common is suicide among patients seen by health care professionals? In what settings are patients most at risk? What can physicians do in cases where the patient is chronically suicidal? What are the indicators that most predict a suicide attempt? Have the demographics of suicide […]

This study examined the association between a trend of decline in age-specific suicide rates in the elderly in England & Wales & changes in various health & social factors for the period, 1985-1998. Changes in the number of general practitioners & hospital medical staff, the hospital psychiatric services, the number of local authority staff, & […]