Virtual patient may help future doctors prevent suicide
Thu, 2013-01-03 08:33
Georgia Health Sciences University
A virtual patient named Denise may help future physicians feel more comfortable and capable assessing suicide risk.
Denise, a mother and wife, is seeking psychiatric care for insomnia and a mood disorder.
“Primary care doctors tend to be the frontline providers for people with mental illness so we need to put the same kind of educational effort into suicide risk assessment that we put into recognizing a heart attack,” said Dr. Adriana Foster, psychiatrist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University. “Suicide risk assessment should be one of the ‘must haves.’”
Suicide is occurring earlier and more often in the United States than ever before. Rates are up 25 percent in the last decade to 12.4 per 100,000 individuals annually. It’s the second-leading cause of death for college students and third for all 15-24 year olds, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Twenty percent of high school students report having seriously considered suicide during the previous 12 months.
The MCG study of second-year medical students is helping determine if the opportunity to ask tough questions about suicide risk to a virtual (computer-simulated) patient can help real families avoid this tragedy.
“We hope this approach will help future practitioners deal with really difficult issues such as suicide, psychosis, anxiety and depression,” Foster said. Mood disorders, such as depression, are the most common mental health disorders coming to physician attention that carry a high risk of disability and suicide, she said. Click here to read more.
Denise, a mother and wife, is seeking psychiatric care for insomnia and a mood disorder.
“Primary care doctors tend to be the frontline providers for people with mental illness so we need to put the same kind of educational effort into suicide risk assessment that we put into recognizing a heart attack,” said Dr. Adriana Foster, psychiatrist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University. “Suicide risk assessment should be one of the ‘must haves.’”
Suicide is occurring earlier and more often in the United States than ever before. Rates are up 25 percent in the last decade to 12.4 per 100,000 individuals annually. It’s the second-leading cause of death for college students and third for all 15-24 year olds, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Twenty percent of high school students report having seriously considered suicide during the previous 12 months.
The MCG study of second-year medical students is helping determine if the opportunity to ask tough questions about suicide risk to a virtual (computer-simulated) patient can help real families avoid this tragedy.
“We hope this approach will help future practitioners deal with really difficult issues such as suicide, psychosis, anxiety and depression,” Foster said. Mood disorders, such as depression, are the most common mental health disorders coming to physician attention that carry a high risk of disability and suicide, she said. Click here to read more.
