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Today’s episode is a wrap-up of May’s Mental Health Month on our Suicide Prevention series and will feature a clinician who is using the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit in real life. 

Dustin Bogan is a Board Certified Pediatric Physician Assistant and a Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, The Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants, and The Society for Physician Assistants in Pediatrics.

After growing up in rural Virginia, he attended Shenandoah University for his bachelor's degree in Biology. He minored in Psychology and then got his master’s degree as a Physician’s assistant. After graduation, he began working immediately in primary care pediatrics. 

He is at Pediatric & Adolescent Health Partners and strives to combine his personal background, medical knowledge, and passion for mental health in his career. He serves as a care coordinator and facilitates the trauma-informed leadership team in his practice. He is also an adjunct professor at South University, educating students on pediatrics and topics related to mental health.    

The Hotline for Suicide Prevention is 1-800-273-8255. Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741   

[02:31] Dustin Bogan Shares His Background    

• Growing up in a rural area in Virginia, Dustin didn’t have access to a pediatrician
• Seeing so much needed around him inspired Dustin to go into a helping profession 
• At Pediatric & Adolescent Health Partners Dustin met Dr. Abernathy     
• There are only 8000+ Child Physiatrists in the whole country  

[07:02] The Impact Dustin Sees on Mental Health in His Practice  

• The uptick of suicidality due to COVID-19   

[09:28]  Why Dustin’s Practice Decided to Start Generalized Screening for Mental Health    

• Dr. Abernathy and Dr. Horowitz opting to do a research study which led to findings of 12% of patients with suicidal ideations 
• Barriers to implementation
• Are parents upset about it? 
• workforce issue in terms of flow  
• How are nurses and staff able to get involved
• Dustin shares a story of how the ASQ Toolkit identified a patient in his practice with suicidal ideations and help save his life 
• Being able to convince the staff to adopt general screening when they saw its necessity firsthand 
• Parents reactions to the general screening 
• The ages that Dustin’s practice screens 
• How to screen kids that come in with chronic headaches, tummy aches 
• Research has proven that kids that come in with chronic abdominal pain, chronic headaches, etc., are likely to have a history of trauma or an underlying mental health disorder  
• How to handle positive screening results
• Building a smooth process for handling patients that screen positive 
• Zero Suicide Framework
• Lead, Train, Identify, Treat, Engage, Improve, and transition
• Creative ways practitioners can partner up with experts   
• Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
• Tools and resources (Links below) 
• Creating a Trauma-Informed Leadership Team 

[41:53]   Closing Segment 

• What advice would you give your younger self? 
• Embrace the moment, learn from the present and not take opportunities for granted.  
• Final Takeaways: 
• Dustin’s group started screening for suicide risk intentionally after Dr. Abernathy attended a conference teaching on using the ASQ Toolkit  
• The group committed to routine screening for well-child visits and then frequent use for chronics, frequent injuries, and any time there was a concern; It's not about the kids who would say but about the kids who would not say
• Parents embraced the screening after a trial run
• In order to prepare for the implementation, partners attended conferences and accessed other educational materials on suicide prevention, and educated the other staff 
• A nurse who had a hunch something was wrong with a patient, asked to use the ASQ on him and discovered he was planning on taking his life later that day; The practice was changed forever
• The practice created a leadership team  
• Because the practice is committed to not losing a single patient to suicide, partners step up to help when needed
• Please see the links listed in the resources mentioned section  

Tweetable Quotes:

“I was unfortunate for and fortunate because I grew up around so much need and so much adversity and so I think it really highlighted the struggles that families go through.”  - Mr. Dustin Bogan, PA-C

“No matter where you practice, no matter what specialty, you’re going to see mental health.” - Mr. Dustin Bogan, PA-C

“One physician, one provider who has an idea and a passion can make something happen.” - Lia Gaggino

“I’d tell myself to really embrace the moment, learn from the present and not take opportunities or experiences for granted because I feel like all of the things I've been through have helped me to get to where I am today.” - Mr. Dustin Bogan, PA-C 

Resources Mentioned:

NIMH ASQ toolkit 

Parent Engagement Video 

Dr. Abernathy ASQ  Ted Talk – “Screening is a Must”

Counseling Access to Lethal Means Restriction 

Zero Suicide Framework 

Clinically Integrated Network: Trauma-Informed Care

Suicide Prevention Resource Center 

Connect with my Guest: 

Reach Dustin Bogan on LinkedIn or  Facebook 

If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me at LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter or email me at [email protected]. To learn more about me visit https://www.medicalbhs.com/

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