Psychological Resilience and Secondary Traumatic Stress in Nurses Working With Terminally Ill Patients-The Mediating Role of Job Burnout

Working with terminally ill patients is regarded as a stressful or traumatic event and may lead to negative outcomes, including job burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS). Psychological resilience might protect employees from the negative consequences of stress. The aim of this study was to determine the mediating role of job burnout in the relationship between psychological resilience and STS. The study included 72 nurses aged from 22 to 72 years old (M = 46.01, SD = 10.69), working with terminally ill patients. The recipients completed 3 questionnaires: the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Resilience Measurement. The results reveal negative associations between resilience, job burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, and a positive correlation between secondary traumatic stress and job burnout. Mediation analysis showed that job burnout plays a mediating role in the relationship between psychological resilience and secondary traumatic stress. Our findings highlight the role played by job burnout in the manifestation of STS. Professional and nonprofessional interventions for individuals experiencing work-related traumatic stress would benefit from interventions that build personal resources.