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Running head: Prevalence
of Secondary Traumatic Stress
Prevalence of Secondary
Traumatic Stress among Emergency Nurses
Elvira Dominguez-Gomez,
RN, BSN
Emergency Department Nurse,
Hemet Valley Medical Center, Hemet, California
Member of
Inland Empire
Chapter of Emergency Nurses Association
Dana N. Rutledge, RN, PhD
Associate Professor, Nursing
California State University
,
Fullerton
Corresponding Author: Elvira
Dominguez-Gomez
4520 Cloudywing Road, Hemet, CA 92545
(951)
658-0096 or
(951)
445-2260
e.dominguez-gomez@att.net
Abstract
Introduction: Emergency nurses often care for persons
exposed to traumatic events. In the presence of empathetic caring, nurses exposed
to such stressors over time can suffer from Secondary Traumatic Stress
(STS)
, or Compassion Fatigue
(CF)
.
STS
components
(intrusion, avoidance, arousal)
may lead to job dissatisfaction or burnout. The purpose of this study is to investigate
the prevalence of
STS
in emergency nurses.
Design and Methods: Exploratory comparative design, utilizing
67 emergency nurses from three general community hospitals in
California
. Survey instruments included a demographic tool and the
STS
Survey (STSS).
Results:
Nurses were most likely to have Arousal symptoms (irritability reported by 54% of
nurses), followed by Avoidance symptoms (avoidance of patients 52%), and Intrusion
symptoms (intrusive thoughts about patients 46%). The majority of nurses (85%) reported
at least one symptom in the past week. Utilizing Bride’s algorithm to identify STS,
15% of nurses met no criteria, while 33% met all. Nurse
participation in stress management activities was associated with less prevalence
of
STS
symptoms.
Discussion:
High prevalence of
STS
in our sample indicates that potentially large numbers of emergency nurses may be
experiencing the negative effects of
STS
. Symptoms may contribute to emotional exhaustion and job separation of emergency
nurses. Subsequent studies should be done to evaluate the association of CF/STS
on actual burnout and attrition among emergency nurses.
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