Examining the Lived Experience of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Emergency Department Nurses

Emergency department (ED) nurses care for patients during critical times: violence, trauma, death, etc. Continuous exposure increases risk for secondary traumatic stress (STS): negative reaction experienced by someone with an indirect exposure to trauma. This impairs their ability to cope, increases levels of anxiety/depression, and increases attrition. Using a phenomenological design, the researcher interviewed 23 bedside ED nurses in Missouri and/or Illinois, USA. Five themes emerged: patient care, relationships at work, life outside the hospital, impacting on a personal level, and residual stress. Three themes emerged related to coping strategies: positive, dysfunctional, and debriefing as a coping strategy. Nurses are impacted by STS in numerous areas of their lives and rely on both positive and negative coping strategies to help mitigate the negative effects. Hospitals should introduce the concept of STS during nursing orientation so nurses may be able to implement coping strategies before negative effects are experienced.