Healthcare Students and Medical Residents as Second Victims: A Cross-Sectional Study

Carmela Rinaldi, Matteo Ratti (), Sophia Russotto, Deborah Seys, Kris Vanhaecht and Massimiliano Panella
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Carmela Rinaldi: Department of Translational Medicine (DiMeT), Università del Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy
Matteo Ratti: Department of Translational Medicine (DiMeT), Università del Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy
Sophia Russotto: Department of Translational Medicine (DiMeT), Università del Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy
Deborah Seys: KU Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Kris Vanhaecht: KU Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Massimiliano Panella: Department of Translational Medicine (DiMeT), Università del Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-11

Abstract: Background: The term second victim (SV) describes healthcare professionals who remain traumatized after being involved in a patient safety incident (PSI). They can experience various emotional, psychological, and physical symptoms. The phenomenon is quite common; it has been estimated that half of hospital workers will be an SV at least once in their career. Because recent literature has reported high prevalence (>30%) among nursing students, we studied the phenomenon among the whole population of healthcare students. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with an online questionnaire among nursing students, medical students, and resident physicians at the teaching hospital of the University of the Piemonte Orientale located in Novara, Italy. The study included 387 individuals: 128 nursing students, 174 medical students, and 85 residents. Results: We observed an overall PSI prevalence rate of 25.58% (lowest in medical students, 14.37%; highest in residents, 43.53%). Of these, 62.63% experienced symptoms typical of an SV. The most common temporary symptom was the feeling of working badly (51.52%), whereas the most common lasting symptom was hypervigilance (51.52%). Notably, none of the resident physicians involved in a PSI spoke to the patient or the patient’s relatives. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the risk incurred by healthcare students of becoming an SV, with a possible significant impact on their future professional and personal lives. Therefore, we suggest that academic institutions should play a more proactive role in providing support to those involved in a PSI.

Keywords: second victim (SV); healthcare students; patient safety incident (PSI); healthcare worker mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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