Honoring the Moment: Exploring the How and Why of Defusing Emotions After a Patient's Death (Wellness Committee, and Palliative Medicine Interest Group Sponsored)

In emergency medicine (EM), certain patient deaths resonate long after the event. Whether it's a pediatric death, a sudden decline, an unexpected or violent death, or the loss of a colleague, these cases leave lasting impacts on both personal and professional levels. The effects are often classified as vicarious trauma or second-victim syndrome, where the emotional toll of caring for a patient can influence clinical performance, personal well-being, and patient safety. Acknowledging this trauma through a systematic approach called defusion can help mitigate these impacts. Unlike traditional debriefing, defusion focuses specifically on processing emotions associated with adverse events. This session will explore the importance of defusion, how it helps manage vicarious trauma, and offer strategies for implementing it effectively within EDs to promote emotional resilience and overall well-being.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Discuss the importance of acknowledging the emotional response faced after an adverse event.
  • Demonstrate how to initiate defusing after an adverse event.
  • Develop their own systematic approach to defusing in their ED.
  • Incorporate the practice of defusing in their ED after an adverse event.

Presenters:

  • Daniel Boron-Brenner, DO
  • Eisha Chopra, MD
  • Casey Morrone, MD
  • Amanda J. Deutsch, MD
  • Suzanne (Suzi) Bentley, MD, MPH
  • Andrew C. Wong, MD, MBA
  • Rita A. Manfredi, MD
  • Amanda M. Ritchie, MD (she/her/hers)
  • Katren R. Tyler, MD, MBBS
Authors

  • Daniel Boron-Brenner, DO

    Thomas Jefferson University

    Dual-trained emergency medicine and palliative care physician practicing at a large, urban, academic medical center in the heart of Philadelphia. I love all aspects of my work, and truly believe that in-depth training in both fields has only strengthened me as a clinician across the domains of care in which I practice. When I'm not working, I'm chasing after two kids, a geriatric poodle and my own sense of adventure.

    I received a bachelors degree in History from Colorado College, a post-baccalaureate, pre-medical certificate from Columbia University in the City of New York, and a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from AT Still University - Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. I trained in emergency medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, as well as completing a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

  • Eisha Chopra, MD

    Thomas Jefferson University

    Dr. Chopra is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. She was previously a faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), where she served as the assistant Director of Simulation Education. She is originally from New Jersey, where she completed both her undergraduate and medical education at Rutgers University. She completed her emergency medicine residency at JHUSOM. As part of her PGY4 Focused Advanced Specialized Training (FAST) fellowship, she developed her interests in resident medical education and simulation education under the guidance of Dr. Linda Regan and Dr. Julie Rice. She was the inaugural recipient of the department’s Chaz N. Schoenfeld, M.D. Educational Scholars Award for her FAST program. She has also completed the Academic College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Teaching Fellowship and the Healthcare Simulation Essentials course through the Center for Medical Simulation.

  • Casey Morrone, MD

    Thomas Jefferson University

    Casey Morrone is a second year medical education fellow and clinical instructor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She finds her academic interests often exist at the intersection of education and wellness with a focus on mentoring, career transition points, and evaluation and feedback, and emotional intelligence in the workplace.

  • Amanda J. Deutsch, MD

    Thomas Jefferson University

    Dr. Amanda J. Deutsch, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Well-Being for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Deutsch earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University. She subsequently completed her post-baccalaureate and did quality improvement research at Boston Children’s Hospital before starting her career as a medical student at the University of Iowa, where she is from. She completed an Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed a track in Healthcare Leadership and Quality Improvement. She most recently completed a fellowship in Physician Wellness at Stanford Emergency Medicine. In her inaugural role as Director of Well-Being at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University she combines her interests in clinical operations, process improvements and well-being.

    Dr. Deutsch chairs the #StopTheStigmaEM subcommittee and hopes to normalize conversations around mental health for emergency medicine physicians, address barriers, and foster better mental health care for emergency medicine. Her interests include focusing on gratitude and appreciation to develop a sense of community and a team that can excel for their patients without the cost of their interests, self, and career. Dr. Deutsch loves to tweak process improvements to help foster well-being.

  • Suzanne (Suzi) Bentley, MD, MPH

    Chief Wellness Officer

    NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

    Suzanne (Suzi) Bentley, MD, MPH, is the Chief Wellness Officer, Director of Simulation Innovation & Research, and an Emergency Medicine physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. She is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Education at the Icahn SOM at Mount Sinai. Dr. Bentley completed the Mount Sinai Emergency Medicine residency, Masters of Public Health at Mount Sinai, and a fellowship in Simulation Education at the Institute for Medical Simulation and Advanced Learning of Health + Hospitals. Dr. Bentley stayed on as faculty at Elmhurst after training and served as residency Site Director before transitioning to Medical Director of Simulation and collaborating on opening the hospital-wide Simulation Center. She credits her passion for and expertise in debriefing as the unifier in her professional roles. She led the initiation of Helping Healers Heal at Elmhurst and became the first Health + Hospitals site Chief Wellness Officer in 2021. Dr. Bentley is a clinician, educator, and researcher with focused interests in debriefing, psychological safety, Insitu simulation, simulation for systems testing, teamwork maximization, patient and workforce safety, Safety II principles, and overall workforce well-being and advocacy. She advocates for workforce well-being improvements through focus on the integral connection between quality, patient safety, and workforce well-being.

  • Andrew C. Wong, MD, MBA

    UC Davis Medical Center

    Andrew Wong is a Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Health. He did his residency training at the University of Michigan. He was a fellow in the UC Davis/UC Irvine Clinical Health and Wellbeing Fellowship in 2020 and currently serves as a member of the UC Davis Health's Department Wellness Champion Committee and is a peer responder in the UC Davis Support U Peer Responder Program. In addition to the roles above, he serves as the Medical Director of UC Davis Health Managed Care.

  • Rita A. Manfredi, MD

    Professor, Clinical Emergency Medicine

    George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

    Rita A. Manfredi, MD, is a Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She started her career as a US Navy Flight Surgeon and completed an Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts. She previously completed a fellowship in Health and Spirituality at the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, recently became board-certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine and is interested in integrating Palliative Medicine concepts into the care of patients in the ED. Dr. Manfredi is an active member of the SAEM Wellness Committee and has introduced a Storytelling in EM event at national SAEM conferences for the past 3 years. In 2021, Dr. Manfredi received ACEP’s Lifetime Achievement Award: The Pamela Benson Trailblazer Award for seminal contributions over time to the growth of the College and to the specialty of emergency medicine. Dr. Manfredi’s work in Wellbeing focuses on how the system or organization impacts the wellness of the individual health care provider.

  • Amanda M. Ritchie, MD

    Louisiana State University

    Dr. Amanda Michelle Ritchie is a 4th year resident in the Internal Medicine / Emergency Medicine program at Louisiana State University in New Orleans. Dr. Ritchie initially trained as a registered nurse in Canada before pursuing her degree in medicine.
  • 2025 Tyler Katren

    Katren Tyler, MD

    Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine

    University of California Davis

    Katren Tyler, MD, is a clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of California Davis. Dr. Tyler also acts as the Medical Director of Physician Well-being, the Chair of Medical Staff Wellbeing, and the Vice Chair of Geriatric Emergency Medicine and Wellness in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis.

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