The emotional impact of patient deaths on physicians.

In recent years, more importance has begun to be attached to emotional life, especially in the case of doctors dealing with the death of patients. The care and death of seriously ill patients has a strong emotional impact on doctors. The grief caused by the death of patients affects not only the personal life of physicians but also their professional life and, if left unaddressed, can lead to burnout and impact both patient care and the doctor-patient relationship. Aim: The aim of the study was to identify the emotional experiences of physicians coping with the death of patients and to understand how it affects them. The overall objective of the study was to reduce the emotional impact of patients' death on physicians by normalizing the loss and using coping methods. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between March and June 2023, which consisted of a 21-question questionnaire distributed online and addressed to physicians who had experienced at least once in their lifetime the death of a patient. The research questions focused mainly on the impact of patient death on the personal and professional lives of doctors. A total of 124 physician respondents were included in the study. Results: The frequency with which physicians experience patient death differs by specialty and professional experience. The medical specialties where physicians face the most patients who die are oncology, internal medicine, cardiology, anesthesiology and intensive care. The most common emotions that physicians encounter after the death of a patient are: acceptance, anxiety, depression, disappointment, exhaustion, frustration, anger, helplessness, stress, sadness, guilt. Conclusions: The death of a patient can have a significant emotional impact on physicians and varies from physician to physician. The emotions generated by the death of a patient can influence physicians' personal and professional lives to varying degrees. In order to prevent burnout, doctors should be more aware of their own emotional experiences related to the death of a patient and seek help from colleagues or a psychologist to keep themselves in the best possible physical and emotional state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]