Physician grief with patient death.

The genuine prevalence and intensity of grief reactions among physicians in response to patient death is unknown. However, a number of authorities and studies indicate that such experiences are fairly commonplace among physicians practicing in the clinical arena. In addition, it appears that the grief response of physicians may be tempered by a number of personal and environmental/contextual factors. A number of authors have proffered various approaches to resolving grief responses in these unique circumstances and many emphasize the importance of doing so in an effort to stave off burnout.