Second victims in health care: current perspectives

Figures & data

Table 1 Second victim recovery trajectory^3,19

	Stages of second victim syndrome
Stage 1	Chaos and accident response	“How and why did this happen?”
Stage 2	Intrusive reflections	“How did I miss this and could this have been prevented?”
Stage 3	Restoring personal integrity	“What will others think?” ”Will I ever be trusted again?”
Stage 4	Enduring the inquisition	“I might get fired,” “the double fear”
Stage 5	Obtaining emotional first aid	Peer supporters
Stage 6	Moving on
(a)	By dropping out	“Every day is like eternity,”
(b)	By surviving
(c)	By thriving	“Following the event I learned my lessons.”

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