Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

11-8-2024

Comments

Presented at the Learn Serve Lead 2024: The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Annual Meeting.

Abstract

- Crises of all kinds can affect the learning environment in undergraduate and graduate medical education, including illnesses, assaults, and deaths that affect learners, faculty, and staff.

- Postvention plans have been deployed by college counseling centers to offer psychological support and crisis intervention to those affected by suicide.

- The term postvention has come to refer to, "an organized response in the aftermath of suicide, to facilitate healing of individuals who are experiencing grief, mitigate potential effects of exposure to suicide, and prevent suicide among those who may be high-risk in the population.”

- It is important for those involved in undergraduate or graduate medical education to be equipped to respond to crises, and interdisciplinary planning and collaboration is crucial to increase preparedness.

- The goals of a comprehensive crisis response plan are to:

  • Facilitate the grieving process.
  • Stabilize the community.
  • Lower psychological distress.
  • Reduce the risk of negative behaviors.

- Proactive planning allows for a streamlined approach and helps team members to feel more prepared in a crisis.

- Our team has expanded the postvention plan to increase preparedness for any crisis affecting the medical education community.

- The plan provides guidance to help serve community members to navigate coping post-crisis and develop new skills for dealing with challenges.

- Components of a crisis response plan include identifying stakeholders, outreach procedures, safe messaging/tips on communication, how to facilitate groups, and guidance for staying well for leaders of the institution.

- Any institution can adapt our template to create their own individualized crisis response plan to fit their needs.

Language

English

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