Table 1 Domains and items of the SeViD questionnaire

General experience with the second victim phenomenon

knowledge of the term “second victim”

lifetime prevalence of second victim experience

12-month prevalence of second victim experience

type of key incident

seeking support after key incident

types of groups that supported the victim after the key incident

self-perceived time to full recovery after key incident

Second victim symptoms^a

fear of social isolation from colleagues

fear of losing the job

lethargy

depressed mood

concentration problems

Recall of the situation outside the workplace

Recall of the situation at the workplace

aggressive, risky behaviour

defensive, overprotective behaviour

psychosomatic reactions (headaches, back pain)

difficulties sleeping or excessive need to sleep

use of substances (alcohol/drugs) due to this event

feeling of shame

feeling of guilt

lower self-confidence

social isolation

anger against others

anger against oneself

desire to get support from others

desire to work through the incident for deeper understanding

Second victim support strategies

immediate time-out to recover

access to counselling including psychological/psychiatric services

opportunity to discuss emotional and ethical issues

obtaining clear information about processes (e.g. root cause analysis, incident reporting)

formal peer to peer support

informal emotional support

prompt debriefing/crisis intervention

obtaining guidance for continuing clinical duties

help communicating with patients

clear guidance about the roles to be expected after the incident

help to actively participate to work through this incident

safe opportunity to contribute insights to prevent similar events in future

opportunity to seek for legal advice after an incident