Building a Program of Expanded Peer Support for the Entire Health Care Team: No One Left Behind

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Medical errors and other distressing events can lead to second victim syndrome (SVS) in healthcare providers.
• Existing literature on effective peer support programs for SVS is limited.
• This study details the implementation of a comprehensive peer support program across a healthcare system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of a healthcare system-wide peer support program.
• To assess the effectiveness of training for peer supporters.
• To evaluate the program's impact on healthcare providers experiencing SVS.

Main Methods:

• Trained 149 supporters from diverse clinical areas within an urban academic quaternary care campus.
• Expanded triggers for peer support to include medical errors, patient outcomes, colleague emergencies, and COVID-19 events.
• Assessed program effectiveness using the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST) at 3 and 9 months post-implementation.

Main Results:

• The peer support program engaged 149 supporters, providing assistance to both medical college and hospital personnel.
• The most frequent event requiring support was the inability to halt medical condition progression (24.5%).
• Training enhanced SVS knowledge and supporter comfort; nonwork and supervisor support were rated highest, while institutional support was rated lowest.

Conclusions:

• A scalable peer support program was successfully implemented, involving multidisciplinary staff.
• The program effectively supported caregivers experiencing a range of distressing events, not limited to medical errors.
• Findings highlight the importance of supervisor and non-workplace support in mitigating SVS.