A cross‐sectional survey on nurses’ second victim experience and quality of support resources in Singapore

Abstract

Aim The study aimed to investigate nurses’ second victim experience and quality of support resources in Singapore. Background The second victim phenomenon, broadly described as the suffering of providers including nurses in the face of a clinical error, is often overlooked. Methods A cross‐sectional questionnaire survey was adopted. A total of 1,163 nurses from an acute public hospital in Singapore took part in the study. The Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST) was employed to assess experience of second victims and the quality of support resources. Results The study results showed that nurses experienced second victim‐related physical, psychological and professional distress. About 31.8% of the participants had turnover intentions, while 9.3% had absenteeism following an error. Nurses who are younger and less experienced were more likely to experience greater second victim response. Among the support options, peer support was rated as the most desirable. Conclusion Nurses, being at the forefront of care delivery, are especially susceptible to being a casualty of the second victim phenomenon. Implications for Nursing Management Acknowledging the second victim phenomenon, together with a strong organizational support, is essential in alleviating the trauma and assisting nurses with reconciliation in the aftermath of an unanticipated error.

Relationship between patient safety culture and job burnout in Iranian nurses: Assessing the mediating role of second victim experience using structural equation modelling

“…This is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Brunelli, Estrada, & Celano, 2018;Kim, Kim, Lee, Burlison, & Oh, 2018). Moreover, in a recent report from Singapore (Mok, Chin, Yap, & Wang, 2019), mean of psychological distress was higher than physical distress. Taken together, these findings suggest that psychological distress is the most influential aspect of the SVE on health care professionals.…”

“…About 29% of participants perceived their organisations' support as inadequate. This finding significantly differs from previous results reported in the literature (Brunelli et al, 2018;Burlison et al, 2017;Chen, Yang, Zhao, Zheng, & Xiao, 2019;Kim et al, 2018;Mok et al, 2019). Considering that the SVE is a new concept for Iranian health care administrators, organisations have not yet planned to provide resources for the second victims to help them recover from the effects of involvement with patient safety events.…”

Experiences and responses of nursing students as second victims of patient safety incidents in a clinical setting: A mixed‐methods study

“…This finding aligns with similar research showing that negative emotions, such as worry, embarrassment, regret and pain, emerge after second victim experiences (Han et al, 2017; Robertson & Long, 2018; Schelbred & Nord, 2007). The psychological distress certainly merits attention, with a score of 3.65 ± 0.88, which was even more notable than nurses (Mok et al, 2019). However, the reasons for psychological distress among nursing students were more complex, perhaps related to development, consequences for patients and the reputation of superiors, possibly because they are sometimes regarded in clinical practice as both students and workers, exposing them to complex social and psychological pressure (Galletta et al, 2017).…”

“…In addition, while some scholars believe that the negative effects of PSIs are more severe among women, people with higher academic credentials and caregivers who are younger and less experienced (Mok et al, 2019; Villeneuve et al, 2018). In our study, these general factors, as well as PSIs and the type, did not affect the final scores, which may have been due to the limited number of subjects we surveyed.…”

“…Therefore, nursing students might also be severely affected second victims. At present, interest in the second victim phenomenon continues to grow, and awareness of its consequences for doctors (Bohnen et al, 2019; Martos et al, 2019), nurses (Mok et al, 2019) and anaesthesiologists (Pratt & Jachna, 2015; Vinson & Randel, 2018). However, there have been few studies exploring the impact of PSIs on nursing students in clinical practice, and the topic merits further discussion.…”