Advertisement
A peer-to-peer program helps caregivers distressed by an adverse clinical event
Following an adverse or unanticipated clinical event, nurses and other caregivers may experience distress known as the second-victim phenomenon. Some have trouble sleeping, eating, concentrating or finding joy in their favorite activities.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
“When I talk to nurses about second victim phenomenon, a lot of them pull me aside afterward and say, ‘I’ve experienced this.’ Three in four nurses have. They just didn’t know it had a name,” says Dianna Copley, DNP, APRN-CNS, ACCNS-AG, CCRN, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Cleveland Clinic and Associate Director of the Nursing Ethics Program.
In this episode of Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, Copley discusses second victim phenomenon and Emerge Stronger, a peer support program the healthcare system launched in 2020 to address it. She shares insight on:
Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short, edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast host Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC: So, somebody's really inspired by our discussion today and they'd like to start something in their own hospital, in their own health system. What are some of the first things they should do?
Copley: Find a team who is passionate about this topic who will come along beside you. We had a very slow roll out initially. We actually started at a couple hospitals because our big goal was that whenever somebody reached out to have peer support, we could say, "We have a peer supporter for you."
Advertisement
One of the things we recognize is that sometimes peer supporters are busy. Peer supporters might have things going on in their own life. And so, we wanted to be able to create a space for our peer supporters that if we reached out and said, "We have somebody to connect you to," they could also say, "I'm busy right now" or "I have a lot going on in my own life." So, we wanted to have a pool of people really trained and ready before we launched this system wide. So first, find your team.
Second, find people who are passionate about supporting other caregivers and start training. There are some fantastic examples in literature of different training programs. Our program's a four-hour course with ongoing quarterly connections where we talk about additional training. And then they, of course, can always reach out for additional support.
And I think listening to what people are saying and listening for feedback. Our first year that we launched, I think we were really hoping – especially during the pandemic – for a lot of people to reach for peer support. But what we ended up hearing – and I think this is a true measure of success that's really hard to actually measure – is that I didn't have any formal consults this year, but I helped a lot of nurses on my unit. And that's really the goal.
We're hoping to create a culture where we have a peer support program if you need help but that you feel comfortable enough turning to your colleague and saying, "Hey, can we talk about this?" Or your colleague reaches out to you and says, "I want to have a chat with you. I'm worried about you, and I care about you."
Advertisement
Advertisement
Nursing leader highlights the interplay between provider transparency and better patient care
How nurses can effect change through professional writing
How advanced practice nurses shape patient care
Wellness initiative helps nurses connect and recharge
New process streamlines medication administration to reduce risks, avoid waste and save valuable caregiver time
Nurses who embrace innovation can solve problems and improve healthcare for patients and caregivers
This technical solution expedites the patient’s ED to admissions process
Nurses leader addresses the importance of DEI in the nursing workforce and at the patient bedside