In healthcare settings, professionals may experience distress from witnessing others' trauma, known as:

• A. Primary burnout
• B. Secondary traumatic stress
• C. Acute stress disorder
• D. General anxiety

Answer: (B)

Secondary traumatic stress is the distress healthcare professionals feel from witnessing others’ trauma. It happens through empathic engagement with patients and their experiences, and it can produce symptoms similar to PTSD, such as intrusive recollections of traumatic events, avoidance or withdrawal from reminders of the trauma, negative mood or cognition, and heightened arousal like sleep trouble or irritability. This is not the same as burnout, which stems from chronic workplace stress and emotional exhaustion in general, not specifically from exposure to others’ trauma. It’s also not an acute stress disorder, which is a diagnosis tied to a traumatic event experienced personally by the individual and typically has a defined shorter timeline. General anxiety is broader and not necessarily linked to exposure to others’ trauma in the clinical setting. Recognizing secondary traumatic stress helps clinicians seek support and apply strategies like peer debriefing, supervision, boundaries, self-care, and access to mental health resources to protect both well-being and patient care.