ROLES OF NURSING ADMINISTRATORS IN PREVENTING AND ASSISTING NURSES AS SECOND VICTIM IN MEDICAL ERRORS

Abstract

         When a medical error occurs, a patient is the first victim of the events who may experience serious harm or death. However, there are many victims of medical error event. One of the victims is healthcare personals (HCPs) who are traumatized by involving in the event that could cause negative feelings and suffering from medical errors and adverse patient outcomes. We call those HCPs the “second victim” of the event. All HCPs potentially become second victims, but nurses are more likely to be second victims due to the close taking care of patients around the clock. Actually, the nurse who is a second victim will develop their own coping way with six stages of recovery: 1) chaos and accident responses, 2) intrusive reflections, 3) restoring personal integrity, 4) enduring the inquisition, 5) obtaining emotional first aid, and 6) moving on-dropping out, surviving or thriving. However, the nurse as a second victim still needs supports from nursing administrators. The role of nursing administrators is the most important by providing empathy and emotional support for the nurse. There is also a need for proactive approaches to prevent the reoccurrence of medical errors.