Abstract
Objective: To determine the frequency of medical errors committed by doctors and the prevalence of second
victim phenomenon in a tertiary care hospital, and to find out the effects of the error on the second victim's life.
Study Design: Cross sectional study
st
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of Islamabad from 1 February
th to 30 September 2016.
Materials and Methods: A total of 200 male and female doctors were selected from a tertiary care hospital in
Islamabad, Pakistan, through convenient sampling technique in order to fill a pretested structured
questionnaire, for a period of six months. Questionnaire was adapted from a previous study and alpha
reliability of the variables checked. Data was collected via face to face interviewing. It was analyzed using SPSS
version 21.
Results: Out of the 200 study participants, 62.5% belonged to the age group of 24-31 years, 53% of them were
males and 43% were females. Major errors were 13.2 %, minor 57.2 %, near miss were 29.6%. The prevalence of
second victims came out to be76 %, and it was almost equal in males (80.6%) and females (71.7%) and was the
highest in Medicine department (35-40%). The main cause of errors was documented to be overwork by
72.5% of the participants. The major emotional effect as perceived by 50.5% participants was guilt, followed by
sadness in 21.6%, embarrassment in 16.5% and sleep disturbance in 16%. Around 75.5%of the participants
were of opinion that an organization should be in place to help second victims come out of their trauma.
According to 83% study participants, medical errors should be disclosed to patients and their families.
Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a high prevalence of medical errors in the tertiary care hospital
and male and female doctors are equally becoming second victims of their errors. The major effects of medical
error on the second victim's life are feeling of guilt, sadness, embarrassment and sleep disturbance.
Shumaila Humayun, Shazil Abrar, Sharaqa Waseem, Shafaq Zaman, Marya Malik, Ammara Mohib, Amina Pervaiz. (2020) Medical Errors and the Prevalence of Phenomenon of Second Victim in A Tertiary Care Hospital in Islamabad, Journal of Islamic International Medical College, Volume-15, Issue-1.
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