20.3 IMPROVING PEDIATRIC PROVIDERS’ ATTITUDES IN CARING FOR YOUTH AT RISK FOR SUICIDE BY TRAINING USING STANDARDIZED PATIENTS AND ZERO SUICIDE CONCEPTS

Abstract

Suicide is the second leading cause of death starting at age 10 years. Pediatric trainees and graduates report feeling less prepared to care for children with mental health problems compared to other conditions. Furthermore, national survey data collected from pediatric program directors (PDs) and chief residents (CRs) in 2017 suggest that standardized training resources specific to suicide prevention are lacking. Our overall goals are: 1) to describe our curriculum on suicide prevention that combines a didactic with standardized patients; and 2) to describe results from pilot testing this curriculum among pediatric residents and faculty for feasibility, acceptability, and improved self-efficacy. The presentation will review how the Zero Suicide Institute’s Workforce Survey was incorporated into developing a pre-/postsurvey to explore the impact that educational interventions will have on pediatric residents’ attitudes and self-efficacy around suicide prevention. The survey will be given before the educational session, immediately after, and 6 months later. Then there will be an introduction to the evidence around using standardized patients combined with didactics as an effective educational modality that leads to behavior change. Content of the case-based didactic portion will include a discussion of suicide risk and protective factors, screening using validated tools, stratifying the level of risk for suicide using a new clinical pathway, and what steps to take given the level of risk. Trainees will also learn how to perform a safety plan and counsel on lethal means restriction. They will then practice these skills using standardized patients on a virtual platform. Participants will be able to understand the importance of improving suicide risk assessment and management training among pediatric residents in order to broadly enhance suicide prevention efforts. Data will be presented on the feasibility and acceptability of this educational intervention and whether there were changes in self-efficacy around suicide prevention between the pre- and postintervention surveys. These data will inform how feasible this curriculum can be in a pediatric training program and how effective it can be on pediatric trainees’ attitudes and self-efficacy.