Reflective team supervision after a frightening event on a psychiatric crisis service

The authors demonstrate the value of reflective team supervision as part of the informal curriculum in an emergency psychiatry setting after a potentially traumatizing adverse event.

The article gives a case presentation of a violent adolescent who eloped from his hospital Emergency Department and provides a description of team supervision sessions that facilitated informal learning for residents and medical students after this event.

Reflective team supervision sessions after this event resulted both in improved resident well-being and learning opportunities, as well as hospital quality improvement designed to prevent future elopements.

Reflective team supervision can be an essential component of trainee education to enhance residents' well-being and to promote both systems-based practice and practice-based learning. This can be an excellent forum to explore themes of humility, self-reflection, and professional growth.