RESCUE: European Certification for Second Victim Support

The "second victim" phenomenon affects healthcare professionals who experience highly stressful events in their daily practice, potentially compromising their well-being and patient safety. Despite the need for structured support interventions, many European institutions lack formal programs to address this issue. The RESCUE project responds to this need, building on the previous work of the ERNST Consortium (COST Action 19113). Its objective is to develop and validate two certification systems: one for second victim support interventions and another for training healthcare professionals as peer supporters. A mixed-methods approach will be used, incorporating expert consensus techniques (e.g., Delphi study and consensus conferences) and pilot studies in healthcare institutions across multiple European countries. The study aims to establish European certification standards for second victim support interventions, improving support for healthcare professionals, increasing resilience, and reducing the impact of adverse events on clinical performance.

NCT Number	NCT06888297
Lead Sponsor	Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana
Conditions	Second Victim Phenomenon, Occupational Stress, Healthcare Workforce Well-Being, Patient Safety, Healthcare Quality, Support Interventions
Enrollment	66 participants
Start Date	2025-07-31
Primary Completion	2025-10-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-10-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-09-10