Second Victim Syndrome (SVS) was defined originally by Albert Wu in 2000, describing the impact of medical error on Health Care Providers (HCPs), especially when there has been an error or the HCP feels responsibility for the outcome. "Although patients are the first and obvious victims of medical mistakes, doctors are wounded by the same errors: they are the second victims," wrote Wu in the BMJ. Susan D. Scott, PhD, RN, CPPS described a predictable phenomenological pattern that second victims experience after an adverse event: 1) chaos and accident response, (2) intrusive reflections, (3) restoring personal integrity, (4) enduring the inquisition, (5) obtaining emotional first aid and (6) moving on. SVS has been compared to PTSD affecting second victims and others further describe tertiary victims as hospital reputation and other patients due to subsequent medical errors.
