ArticlePloS one2022
Second victim experiences and moral injury as predictors of hospitalist burnout before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Severity and associated factors of moral injury in healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic: a comprehensive meta-analysis.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence of occupational moral injury and post-traumatic embitterment disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- The Association of Moral Injury and Healthcare Clinicians' Wellbeing: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Moral injury and mental health among health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: meta-analysis.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of a Multi-site Peer-led, Storytelling-based Workshop to Teach Resident Physicians About Healing After Medical Errors.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Registered nurses' emotional responses to medication errors and perceived need for support: A qualitative descriptive analysis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Prevalence of burnout and impact of workload on physician wellness: A cross-sectional survey of hospitalists in British Columbia, Canada.Journal of hospital medicine · 2025Article
- The contribution of moral injury to Israeli teachers' mental health difficulties: the mediating role of shame and guilt.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Second Victims among German Emergency Medical Services Physicians (SeViD-III-Study).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- When healers get wounded! Moral injury in healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Beyond Burnout: Nurses' Perspectives on Chronic Suffering During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe increasing number of physicians leaving practice, especially hospitalists, has been well-documented. The most commonly examined factor associated with this exodus has been burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a unique and unprecedented stress on hospitalists who have been at the front lines of patient care. Therefore, the investigation of burnout and its related factors in hospitalists is essential to preventing future physician shortages.
objectiveThis study examined the relationship between burnout, second victim, and moral injury experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among hospitalists.
methodsTwo anonymous cross-sectional surveys of hospitalists from a community hospital in the metropolitan Washington, DC area were conducted. One was conducted pre-COVID-19 (September-November 2019) and one was conducted during COVID-19 (July-August 2020). The surveys were sent to all full-time hospitalists via an online survey platform. A variety of areas were assessed including demographic (e.g., age, gender), work information (e.g., hours per week, years of experience), burnout, second victim experiences, well-being, and moral injury.
resultsBurnout rates among providers during these two time periods were similar. Second victim experiences remained prevalent in those who experienced burnout both pre and during COVID-19, but interestingly the prevalence increased in those without burnout during COVID-19. Moral injury was predictive of burnout during COVID-19.
conclusionWhile there were some factors that predicted burnout that were similar both pre- and during-pandemic, moral injury was unique to predicting burnout during COVID-19. With burnout as a contributing factor to future physician shortages, it is imperative that predictive factors in a variety of different environments are well understood to prevent future shortages. Hospitalists may be an excellent barometer of these factors given their presence on the front line during the pandemic, and their experiences need to be further explored so that targeted interventions aimed at addressing those factors may be created.
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