JOHANNA SHAPIRO, Ph.D., KATHRYN LARSEN, M.D., DENNIS JACOKES, M.D.
This article argues that the emotional sequelae of physician trainees in response to unexpected patient death require systematic attention. The article proposes the concept of a Psychosocial Morbidity and Mortality Conference (PMMC) as a useful adjunct in physician education to the traditional morbidity and mortality conference. Understanding significantly unexpected and irrevocable patient outcomes often requires a shift in the analytic paradigm used, and it is suggested that a psychosocial perspective, emphasizing parallel process phenomena, is one such way to deepen the learning of physicians-in-training.