title: Coping with serious events at work: a study of traumatic stress among nurses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nurses often encounter serious events during their work, which can lead to traumatic stress.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine how serious events, demographic variables, and coping strategies are associated with traumatic stress in a sample of nurses working in the medical department of a university teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data for this survey were collected in 2003. Two questionnaires were completed by nurses: the Utrecht Coping List (UCL) and the List of Serious Events and Traumatic Stress in Nursing (Nursing LIST).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 69 nurses who participated in the study had experienced a mean of 8 serious events in the past 5 years. In all, 98% of all nurses reported traumatic stress. Active coping, social support, and comforting cognitions were independently associated with traumatic stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The participating nurses had experienced multiple serious events, and many felt traumatized. Active coping decreased the risk of experiencing traumatic stress, whereas comforting cognitions and social support increased the likelihood of appraising a serious event as traumatic. More research needs to be conducted to support these findings and to develop strategies to support nurses after serious events.
authors.affiliation: Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. b.m.vanes@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: Bianca M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Buurman
authors.forename: Arno P M
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Mank
authors.forename: Hein J M
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Beijer
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olff
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D009790:Occupations; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires