Professional grief Suggestions for coping with death in oncology

Background Patients' deaths bear the potential of emotional burden for health care providers. Objectives Frequency and characteristics of professional grief and options for coping. Methods Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative research, expert recommendations. Results About 50% of oncologist feel burdened by patients' death. Professional grief is characterized by sadness, emptiness, sympathy with the bereaved, intrusions, unease, self-doubts and search for meaning. Suggestions for coping with professional grief include the following: maintaining a doctor-patient relationship which balances professional distance and closeness, accepting one's own emotional reaction and establishing openness for grief in one's own institution. Conclusions Professional grief is a natural reaction to the loss of a particular relationship. Though suppressing grief can help functioning professionally and privately, it can lead to emotional blunting. Flexible coping is hampered by lack of time and the appraisal of grief as being nonprofessional. Nevertheless, there is a wide range of options for an adaptive coping with professional grief.