Unexpected death or suicide by a child or adolescent: improving responses and preparedness of child and adolescent psychiatry trainees.

The death of a young patient is a difficult but universal experience in the field of medicine. It is less common in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. However, when a child or adolescent patient commits suicide, a child and adolescent psychiatry trainee's response could include shock, denial, disbelief, sadness, sleep difficulties, rumination about patient's death, fears of litigation, social withdrawal, and a sense of failure. Trainees generally find themselves dealing with the academic, personal, administrative, and legal consequences of this unfortunate but unavoidable event. This article attempts to review the literature on the experience of patients' unexpected death, including suicide, on child and adolescent psychiatry trainees.