Increasing Awareness of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Nursing through Education Intervention

Abstract

Background: Nurses are at high risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress (STS) due to frequent exposure to their patient’s life-threatening scenarios. The negative emotional and mental effects can worsen burnout and decrease quality and safety of patient care. Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to implement and evaluate a direct educational intervention on secondary traumatic stress among nurses and nursing students to increase awareness of symptoms and resources to mitigate the impact on professional quality of life. Methods: A pre–post design was used to evaluate a standardized education session for working nurses and nursing students. Participants completed a survey on secondary traumatic stress causes, symptoms, and resources before and after attending an education session. Results: Mean Likert scores on a 5-point scale increased from an overall pretest mean of 3.10 to 4.44 post-intervention reflecting substantial improvement in both theoretical understanding and practical coping strategies for STS. Conclusions: A brief STS-focused education session produced more than a one-point mean increase in self-reported STS awareness, representing a meaningful educational effect on both student nurses and practicing nurses. These findings support incorporating concise, targeted STS education into nursing curricula and staff development as a feasible strategy to strengthen resilience in nursing.