The second victim phenomenon: A qualitative study among bachelor’s degree nursing students within the clinical learning environment

Aim: This study explores and describes the second victim phenomenon in nursing students in association with the characteristics of the clinical learning environment and the clinical supervision process. Design: Qualitative design using conventional content analysis and summative content analysis approaches. Methods: From September 2022 to July 2023, in-depth semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 undergraduate nursing students. Results: Six main themes were developed: ‘defining the physical and psychological responses after the most significant patient safety incident’, ‘analyzing the characteristics of patient safety incidents’, ‘creating a safe learning environment to provide the best care for patients’, ‘developing mentorship capabilities and qualities for an ideal follow up of students as a second victim’, ‘providing resources and integrating support structures to second victim nursing students during their clinical learning’, and ‘considering the cooperation and coordination between the health institution and the higher education institutions.’ Conclusion: Nursing students become second victims during their clinical placement. The clinical learning environment and mentoring characteristics influence the second victim experience. ; The authors thank the University of Alicante for the provision of financial support to this research.