Poster4-03: THE PREVALENCE OF SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS IN SURGICAL RESIDENTS
Laura T Greco, MD, Emily Browning, LCSW, Abhijit Pathak, MD; Temple University Hospital

Introduction: Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is a constellation of psychological symptoms in professionals exposed to individuals who have undergone trauma.  These symptoms are similar to those who have experienced direct trauma. Although STS has been studied in behavioral health providers, there is little data in surgical residents who are often indirectly exposed to the traumatic experiences of their patients. The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence of STS among surgical residents at a single institution.

Methods: The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) is a validated scale which provides an overall score and includes three subscales- intrusion, avoidance, and arousal that correspond to criteria for the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The minimum score is 17, and a cutoff of 38 has been considered a “positive” score.  The STSS and demographics sheets were distributed to residents. Student’s paired T-tests were used to evaluate for significant heterogeneity. Bartlett’s test for equal variance and Bonferroni correction were used to evaluate differences in scores between class years and subgroups.

Results: 38/42 residents returned completed surveys and demographics pages. Of these, 16 were female (42.2%), 16 were between the ages of 31-40 (42.2%) and 22 were 30 years old or younger (57.8%). 12 residents were PGY-1 (31.58%), 5 PGY-2 (13.16%), 8 PGY-3 (21.05%), 6 PGY-4 (15.79%), and 7 PGY-5 (18.42%).  The incidence of positive STSS scores was 47.5%(18/38).

The average STSS score for PGY-1 was 30.3, PGY-2 was 39.2, PGY-3 was 30.37, PGY-4 was 49, and PGY-5 was 43.2. When comparing subgroup scores, residents scored lower in the category of intrusion (1.96) compared individually to avoidance (2.19,p<0.06) and arousal (2.32,p<0.002). Residents age <30 tended to score lower than those >30 (35.04 vs. 39.31,p<0.33), and females scored higher than males (39.37 vs. 35,p<0.58).

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that nearly half of surgical residents had a positive STSS score of > 38 with increasing frequency with higher level of training, female gender, and age >30. Of subgroups analyzed, residents scored highest in arousal.  Awareness and acknowledgement of STS can allow residents and residency programs to take appropriate measures to manage these symptoms.