Hyper acute stroke: the specialist nursing impact. Exploring feelings of secondary traumatic stress. A qualitative enquiry

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) has been defined as the natural consequent behaviours and emotions resulting from knowing about a traumatizing event experienced by a significant other- the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person (Figley, 1995). STS significantly impacts on nursing practice and performance, patient satisfaction and has organizational negative implications. Stroke specialist nurses are at risk of developing STS due to patients presenting with acute and often unpredictable illness. However, the emotional impact on their practice has not been investigated. This study aimed to perform a qualitative exploration of stroke specialist nurses’ feelings of STS encountered in caring for patients with hyper acute presentations. Design: Narrative Methodology. Methods: Following university study ethical approval, stroke specialist nurses from across the UK were asked to participate and were asked to provide stories of their traumatic or stressful experiences related to hyper acute stroke. Data was collected electronically where participants contributed their narratives by email (n=10) and by audiotaped semi structured interviews (n=14). Results: Narrative analysis resulted in the emergence of four core themes: trigger situations, stress reactions, factors which exacerbate STS reactions and coping strategies. Conclusions: The data suggests that stroke specialist nurses are exposed to traumatic events occasioned during the hyper acute care episode. This subjection led to them describing feelings commensurate with STS. The physical and psychosocial effects have implications for nurses, patients and acute stroke services