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We are writing to express our great concern over the coverage in the July 17 issue of our workshop, "When a Medical Student Commits Suicide," presented at this year's APA annual meeting. While we appreciate the newspaper's interest in our topic and willingness to dedicate resources to it, nonetheless we feel strongly that the tone and emphasis in the article were inaccurate and misplaced.
Most disturbing is the implication, attributed to us, that "the Administration" of the Medical College of Georgia mishandled the institutional response to the suicide of a medical student and that, even more damning, "the Administration" did not care. As we noted throughout the workshop, and as we emphatically repeat now, the four deans involved in this incident are as caring, as concerned, as empathic, and as dedicated an administrative group as any we know. We underscore this point based on each of our personal experiences, over long periods of time, with the administrative officials involved.
Enormous institutional efforts and resources were applied in the effort to help, and save the life of, the young man involved. Not the least of these efforts were those of individual administrative officials who personally involved themselves in the attempt to help this particular medical student. In addition, these institutional efforts were extended to the medical student's friends, classmates, family, and those who had been involved in his treatment. Time and again Medical College of Georgia officials made themselves available to any and all who wanted or needed assistance in dealing with the suicide, and great effort was directed toward providing formal and informal mechanisms for discussion and personal assistance. We challenge anyone who has full knowledge of the events both before and after the suicide to question the integrity, concern, compassion, and efforts of the administrative officials involved.
Indeed, in our view, Medical College of Georgia administrative officials have demonstrated, again, their concern, honesty, and integrity through their willingness to take the great risk of sharing this experience with others. In point of fact, the dean of the School of Medicine fully supported and helped fund the very study of the school's response to the suicide, which was the basis of our workshop. An uncaring administration would hardly be likely to support an examination of its own actions when such actions might be found wanting.
The focus and tone of the article unfortunately underscores exactly that which prevents further discussion of this painful subject-the fear that the medical school or its administration will be criticized for its failure to have found a perfect solution to the impossible task of meeting the needs and preferences of each person affected by the suicide of a medical student.
Those of us involved in the APA workshop are proud of the efforts of Medical College of Georgia officials to help the involved medical student and to respond to his suicide as well as their courage to raise publicly the question as to whether they might have handled the situation better. Indeed, is this not the essence of a good physician-the willingness to review honestly one's actions to learn how to do better the next time?
There is no simple or easy response when a medical student commits suicide. An appropriate institutional intervention from one student's perspective may be inappropriate from another student's point of view. Moreover, all such actions are further influenced by a host of legal and ethical obligations. The objective of our workshop was not personal or institutional blame but an open discussion of how medical school administrative officials can best respond to such an event.
We do hope, however, that our workshop will serve as a stimulus to further exploration of these difficult, painful, and important issues; and we appreciate Psychiatric News's interest in the subject of our presentation.
Donald A. Misch, M.D.
Cheryl Anderson, B.S.
Jennifer Prichard, B.S.
Joel Tieder, M.S.
Augusta, Ga.