Acute Stress at Work

Critical incidents among intensive care unit nurses and their need for support: explorative interviews

“…The immediate reactions after nurses' most critical incident were largely in line with those mentioned in earlier studies, including the professional response at the time of the incident and the onset of physical and emotional responses only after the situation has calmed down (Caine and Ter‐Bagdasarian, ; Kleber and Van der Velden, ).…”

“…They learn to live with what has happened and finally regain control and security (Olff et al ., ). The intensity and frequency of resulting stress symptoms will usually decline over time (Kleber and Van der Velden, ). Because this recovery process sometimes takes weeks or months, those nurses who frequently encounter critical incidents have an increased risk to develop symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when stress accumulates (Michael and Jenkins, ; Jonsson and Segesten, ; de Boer et al ., ).…”

Work-related critical incidents in hospital-based health care providers and the risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and depression: A meta-analysis

“…The studies included were relatively recent, all having been published between 2002 and 2009. A plausible explanation for this finding is that earlier research focused on the relationship between chronic stressors and burnout (Bakker, Schaufeli, Sixma, Bosveld, & Van Dierendonck, 2000); researchers only recently began to investigate the impact of critical incidents on post-traumatic stress symptoms (Kleber & Van der Velden, 2003).…”

“…For the present study, a critical incident is defined as: 'a sudden unexpected event that has an emotional impact sufficient to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of an individual and cause significant psychological stress' (see Caine & Ter-Bagdasarian, 2003, p. 59); this is not necessarily an extreme event (Kleber & Van der Velden, 2003). The subjective nature of critical incidents has been demonstrated before in intensive care nurses; among their most critical incidents were not primarily the extreme events but incidents like the dying of a patient they identified with, or miscommunication with serious consequences for patients (De Boer, Van Rikxoort, Bakker, & Smit, submitted for publication).…”

Effect of acute and chronic job demands on effective individual teamwork behaviour in medical emergencies

“…Driskell and Salas (1996) referred to acute job demands as ‘that which is sudden, novel, intense, and of relatively short duration, disrupts goals‐oriented behaviour, and requires a quick response’ (p. 6). Although quite often the case, the term ‘acute’ does not imply that the demand should necessarily be an extreme event (Kleber & Van der Velden 2003). Consider a brief argument that is quickly forgotten unless it is part of a long‐slumbering conflict.…”