Introduction: The ‘second victim’ phenomenon, (SVP) refers to a health professional who was involved in an adverse event (AE) and continues to suffer from the event to the detriment of personal and professional functioning. The second victims’ natural history of recovery model predicts stages of the phenomenon from AE occurrence until the ‘moving on’ stage and serves as a suitable structure for many organizational support programs worldwide. Purpose: Using the second victims’ natural history of recovery model to examine the impact of the SVP on Israeli nurses, with a specific focus on the organizational support they felt they required compared with the support they felt that they had received from their organizations. Methods: Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted, using a semi-structured questionnaire, among nurses who had experienced the SVP. The interviews were recorded subject to the interviewees’ consent, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings: Throughout all six stages of recovery, all interviewees reported physical and emotional manifestations following exposure to an AE, regardless of the type of event or severity. They also reported difficulty in emotion regulation, as well as damage to functioning and overall quality of life. Most of the nurse interviewees reported a need to share the events with someone, but, despite this desire to receive appropriate support, almost none of them proactively requested help from a professional source, nor did their organizational management initiate proactive support. This lack of referral for further assistance is possibly explained through limited awareness of the SVP as a valid response to an AE, a perceived lack of legitimacy to receive organizational support, and personal barriers that accompany the phenomenon. Conclusions: Appropriate organizational support, offered proximal to an AE as well as over time, is essential for the nurse, the patient, and the organization. Personal barriers, together with limited awareness, may challenge the identification and provision of appropriate assistance. Hence, it is important to address the phenomenon as part of the general organizational policy to improve the quality of care and patient safety.

Background: The ‘second victim’ phenomenon (SVP) refers to practitioners who experience a negative physical or emotional response, as well as a professional decline, after participating or witnessing an adverse event. Despite the Israeli Ministry of Health’s implementation of specific protocols regarding the overall management of adverse events in health organizations over the past decade, there is limited knowledge regarding healthcare managers’ perceptions of the ‘second victim’ occurrence. Methods: A phenomenological qualitative approach was used to identify an accurate view of policy. Fifteen senior risk manager/and policy makers were interviewed about their knowledge and perceptions of the ‘second victim’. Topics addressed included reporting mechanisms of an adverse event, the degree of organizational awareness of ‘second victim’, and identifying components of possible intervention programs and challenges to implementing those programs. Results: Examining current procedures reveals that there is limited knowledge about uniform guidance for health care organizations on how to identify, treat, or prevent SVP among providers. The employee support programs that were offered were sporadic in nature and depended on the initiative of a direct manager or the risk manager. Conclusions: Currently, there is little information or organizational discussion about the possible negative effects of AE on healthcare practitioners. To provide overall medical care that is safe and effective for patients, the health system must also provide a suitable response to the needs of the medical provider. This could be achieved by establishing a national policy for all healthcare organizations to follow, raising awareness of the possible occurrence of SVP, and creating a standard for the subsequent identification, treatment and future prevention for providers who may be suffering.

Introduction: The "second victim" phenomenon, (SVP) refers to a health professional who was involved in an adverse event (AE) and continues to suffer from the event to the detriment of personal and professional functioning. The Second Victims Natural History of Recovery Model predicts stages of the phenomenon from AE occurrence until the ‘moving on’ stage and serves as a suitable structure for many organizational support programs worldwide. Purpose: Using the Second Victims Natural History of Recovery Model to examine the impact of SVP on Israeli nurses, with a specific focus on the organizational support they felt they required as compared to the support they felt that they had received from their organizations. Methods: Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted, using a semi-structured questionnaire, among nurses who had experienced SVP. The interviews were recorded subject to the interviewee's consent, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings: Throughout all six stages of recovery, all interviewees reported physical and emotional manifestations following exposure to an AE, regardless of type of event or severity. They also reported difficulty in emotion regulation, as well as damage to functioning and overall quality of life. Most of the nurse interviewees reported a need to share the events with someone, but despite this desire to receive appropriate support, almost none of them proactively requested help from a professional source, nor did their organizational management initiate proactive support. This lack of referral for further assistance is possibly explained through limited awareness of SVP as a valid response to an AE, perceived lack of legitimacy to receive organizational support and personal barriers that accompany the phenomenon. Conclusions: Appropriate organizational support, offered proximal to an AE as well as over time, is essential for the nurse, the patient and the organization. Personal barriers, together with limited awareness, may challenge the identification and provision of appropriate assistance. Hence, it is important to address the phenomenon as part of general organizational policy to improve quality of care and patient safety.

Background: Adverse medical events not only harm patients and families, but also have a significant negative impact on healthcare providers, with the potential to compromise future professional functioning. These “second victims” may need organizational support and rehabilitation to return to functionality. Objectives: We analyzed the validity of an adapted tool, the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST), on a population in Israel, H-SVEST. Methods: The H-SVEST was completed by 172 nurse participants working in a variety of patient care settings. All of the participants reported experiencing SVP. The H-SVEST was assessed for content validity, internal consistency, and construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The CFA, when run on the initial model with 9 factors and 29 items, did not meet criteria for suitability of fit. After removing three items based on their low-factor loadings and the correlation, the model fit significantly improved with acceptable CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR. The final version included 26 items and 9 factors with Cronbach α values ranging from 0.66 to 0.94. Conclusion: The H-SVEST demonstrates robust psychometric properties and valuable insights into the second victim experience in the Israeli context. Comparative analysis with other versions highlights potential cultural influences and areas for further investigation. Implementing this tool and developing evidence-based interventions based on its results can significantly improve the well-being and resilience of healthcare providers in Israel and other countries with diverse cultural populations.

Background: The “second victim” phenomenon (SVP) refers to healthcare providers who experience profound emotional and physical distress following adverse patient events. This phenomenon is a significant driver of burnout and can severely compromise both professional functioning and patient safety. Objective: This study aims to investigate the specific disparities in perceptions between policymakers and frontline nurses regarding the SVP within the Israeli healthcare system. Methods: Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted: 15 with policymakers and 15 with nurses who had firsthand experience as second victims. A convenience sampling method was used for both groups. Data were synthesized and analyzed using comparative thematic synthesis. Results: The findings revealed profound and pervasive perceptual gaps across several key domains. First, policymakers often restricted the definition of SVP to critical medical errors, whereas nurses perceived it broadly, irrespective of actual outcomes. Second, while policymakers viewed the phenomenon as rare and transient, nurses consistently reported it as an enduring occupational challenge with deep personal impact. Third, organizations predominantly offered reactive support, which stood in stark contrast to the nurses' preference for proactive and routine assistance. Conclusion: Significant perceptual gaps exist between Israeli policymakers and nurses regarding SVP. Addressing these disparities is crucial for developing proactive support policies, ultimately fostering provider well-being and enhancing the overall quality of patient care.

Background: The global healthcare system is grappling with a severe shortage of nursing staff, a deficit exacerbated by the prevalent Second Victim Phenomenon (SVP), where nurses experience significant emotional, physical, and professional distress after involvement in adverse events (AEs). Research consistently links SVP to nurse absenteeism and turnover, underscoring the critical need for effective support systems. Unlike many countries with established SVP support, Israel lacks systemic national and organizational level strategies, leading to potential underreporting of AEs and a hidden burden of distress among caregivers. This study examined the association between SVP and absenteeism and turnover intentions among Israeli nurses, specifically investigating the roles of direct managers and the organization. Methods: A culturally diverse sample of 174 postgraduate nurses who reported experiencing an adverse event the Hebrew-validated Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (H-SVEST), assessing psychosocial factors and employment outcomes (turnover intentions, absenteeism). Results: Over 90% of nurses reported psychological and physical distress following AEs. Physical distress emerged as a primary driver for both turnover intentions and absenteeism. In contrast, professional self-efficacy and various forms of organizational support (from colleagues, supervisors, and the institution) acted as critical protective factors, significantly reducing these negative outcomes. The path analysis model explained 52.7% of the variance in turnover intentions and 39.2% in absenteeism. Notably, supervisor support significantly and negatively predicted absenteeism (B = -0.243, p < .01). Conclusions: This study provides the first quantitative examination of SVP among Israeli nurses, affirming its profound impact on workforce stability. Our findings highlight the significant role of physical distress in predicting turnover and absenteeism in the Israeli context. The crucial role of various forms of organizational support and professional self-efficacy as mitigating factors underscores the urgent need for structured, systematic support systems within Israeli healthcare