Secondary Traumatic Stress in Nursing: A Walker and Avant Concept Analysis

Nurses on the front lines of health care are impacted psychologically by their work and may experience secondary traumatic stress. The literature contains several different terms to explore concepts that describe the impact of traumatic patient experiences on the nurse, making it difficult to differentiate the concepts. Using the Walker and Avant method of analysis, the author reviewed nursing-specific publications within the last 10 years and seminal works to develop a purer meaning of secondary traumatic stress and distinguish it from other related terms. A more precise definition of secondary traumatic stress will allow for the advancement of research related to awareness and prevention in nursing.