Suicide is a serious public health problem, and rose by 33% in the United States from 1999-2017. Effective suicide risk assessment is a necessary skill for psychiatrists, no matter the practice setting. In some practices, these assessments may be quite formal; in others, assessments may be less formal and incorporated into the mental status examination. In the emergency setting, emergency psychiatrists make life-changing decisions around treatment, including involuntarily hospitalization, for patients who are unknown to them, experiencing acute crisis, and perhaps even declining to be interviewed. Emergency department patients are among the groups at highest risk for suicide. In short, suicide risk assessments are what these psychiatrists do most. In this course, internationally-known emergency psychiatry faculty delve into engagement of the suicidal crisis patient and components of the psychiatric evaluation that are important in determining risk. Emphasis is placed on skills and processes that can be immediately applied to busy and high-risk clinical settings. Covered topics include: Engaging the suicidal patient Faculty will discuss how to effectively and efficiently engage patients in crisis and the standard of care for managing suicide risk. Getting past “check lists” and understanding the role of risk and protective factors, especially those that are dynamic, is key for managing and mitigating risk. Emphasis is placed on working with chronic suicide risk, substance use disorders, and complex pathology. Assessment tools A faculty member well known for research in assessment tools will discuss the use of these tools and the practicalities of their use and documentation. Assessment tools may be of particular value for multidisciplinary and integrated care teams.

This highly interactive course contains a self-paced learning experience and live learning experiences. Participants are expected to attend all live sessions to be eligible to claim CME or participation credit for the course.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate techniques in engaging patients in crisis.
• Demonstrate proper suicide assessment: beyond check lists to understanding the role of dynamic and static risk factors.
• Understand why some settings promote use of screening and risk assessment tools in determining risk.
• Understand key pieces of the medical evaluation and expectations of a directed work up, to include evaluation of toxidromes.
• Understand key legal protections and cases that may inform behavior, especially in documentation.

Target Audience

Psychiatrists, Residents/Fellows

Estimated Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 4 hours 
Begin Date: June 10, 2022
End Date: November 1, 2022

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ or a certificate of participation may do so by completing all sections of the course including the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians) or certificate of participation (non-physicians) showing the completion date and hours earned. 

Continuing Education Credit

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

The APA designates this enduring CME activity for a maximum of 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Faculty and Planner Disclosures

The American Psychiatric Association adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity — including faculty, planners, reviewers or others — are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

Program Presenters

• Kimberly Nordstrom, Emergency Psychiatrist at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus & Medical Director at Colorado Access has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Scott Simpson, M.D., Medical Director, Psychiatric Emergency Services, Denver Health Medical Center has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Michael Allen, M.D., Professor, Psychiatry-Adult Psychiatry at University of Colorado Medicine has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Tony Thrasher, DO, DFAPA, Medical Director - Crisis Service at Milwaukee County BHD; President - Amer. Assoc. of Emergency Psychiatry (AAEP) has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Program Planners

• Kimberly Nordstrom, Emergency Psychiatrist at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus & Medical Director at Colorado Access. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Lama Bazzi, M.D., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Carlyle Chan, M.D., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Helen Lavretsky, M.D., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Ronald Winchel, M.D., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Abhisek Chandan Khandai, M.D., M.S., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• John Luo, M.D., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Michael F. Myers, M.D., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Philip Muskin, M.D., M.A., Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Xiaoduo Fan, M.D., M.P.H, Course Subcommittee, APA Scientific Program Committee, has the following financial relationships to disclose - Grant Research: Avanir Corporation, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Roche.
• Ally Brown, M.S., Former Associate Director, Online Learning, American Psychiatric Association has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Benjamin Buchholz, MPH, Instructional Designer, Online Learning, American Psychiatric Association has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance