Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40121495›Full record

ArticleBMC nursing2025

Second victim syndrome among nursing professionals as a result of COVID-19: qualitative research.

Inmaculada Corral-Liria, Marta Losa-Iglesias, Ricardo Becerro-De-Bengoa-Vallejo, Elena Herraiz-Soria, César Calvo-Lobo, Marta San-Antolín-Gil, Sara González-Martín, Raquel Jimenez-Fernández

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Article in BMC nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Inmaculada Corral-LiriaKing Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
Marta Losa-IglesiasKing Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
Ricardo Becerro-De-Bengoa-VallejoUniversity Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Elena Herraiz-SoriaKing Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
César Calvo-LoboUniversity Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. cescalvo@ucm.es.
Marta San-Antolín-GilUniversity of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.
Sara González-MartínKing Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
Raquel Jimenez-FernándezKing Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe infection caused by the COVID-19 virus, with its high capacity for spread and transmission, reached the level of an international pandemic, affecting many people and resulting in a large number of deaths.

aimTo analyse the experiences of nursing professionals caring for patients with COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic and the skills or coping strategies that they employed.

methodsA qualitative study was carried out with an interpretative phenological design. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 nursing professionals working in emergency and critical care units, which were adapted to care for patients with symptoms of the disease, in public hospitals in Madrid, Spain. The data were analysed following, the Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of Smith et al.

findingsFive themes were identified: "emotional brain training (EBT) to cope with great emotional stress", "material and sequential difficulties"; "an experience similar to a war that can cause burnout"; "Second Victim Syndrome (SVS), the emotional impact of witnessing trauma"; and "Surviving COVID-19 with overloads of energy and positivity".

conclusionNursing professionals who cared for patients with Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic lived an experience in which they experienced a brain training of feelings, including sadness, impotence, fear, anger, pain and much worry. They also experienced a great feeling of suffering and guilt as in Second Victim Syndrome, in a situation similar to a war, due to the number of deaths caused by the virus, with all this resulting in a great overload of work. It is essential that these situations do not affect the mental health of these professionals in the dimensions that they did, and it is necessary to regain enthusiasm and motivation to provide comprehensive care for patients with COVID-19. Nursing professionals are not alone and need to be taken care of to respond to the chaos that can cause a pandemic, without ignoring the risks that it entails. They require specific training, which is necessary to provide them with proper security, and it is necessary to develop health and welfare policies, which will not be possible without first understanding their experiences.

Indexed as

Coping skillsCOVID-19Lived experiencesNursingPandemicQualitative research

Identifiers

PMID40121495
PMCPMC11929328

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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