The School of Nursing has been asked by a PhD student in Nursing at Villanova University to notify undergraduate nursing students in our traditional BSN program about an opportunity to participate in a research study. The study is focused on secondary traumatic stress in baccalaureate nursing students in the United States. The investigator is seeking to measure the prevalence and severity of secondary traumatic stress and to explore the relationship between secondary traumatic stress levels and the presence of reported individual trauma history, other personal factors, and characteristics of the clinical learning environment.
The investigator is recruiting undergraduate nursing students who meet the following inclusion criteria to participate in the study. Participants must be: 18 years of age or older; able to read, speak, and understand the English language; actively enrolled full time (12 credit hours or above) in a traditional non-accelerated baccalaureate (BSN) degree program; have completed at least one undergraduate nursing course with clinical hours; and currently enrolled in at least one undergraduate nursing course with clinical hours. If you meet these criteria and are interested in participating, you can click on the survey link below. The survey asks general demographic information and questions related to the clinical learning environment, the frequency of secondary traumatic stress symptoms, and the presence of individual trauma history. It should take approximately 15 minutes to complete the survey. Participation will be completely voluntary and anonymous, and no personal, identifying information will be collected. A study information email with additional information is attached to this announcement.
Ten $25 dollar Amazon® gift cards will be raffled and distributed via email approximately two weeks following the closure of the survey should you choose to enter your name and email in a separate, unlinked form. Confidentiality of contact information will be maintained. Eligibility for the prize is not contingent upon completing or enrolling in the study. The approximate number of individuals being recruited for this study is 175; however, anyone can enter the raffle.
You can access the study HERE.
This study has been approved by the IRB committee at the researcher’s home institution. It is not an expectation that you participate. This is something you can do if you wish. Faculty at the UW-Madison School of Nursing will not know who decides to participate. If you have any questions about the study, please contact the study lead: Kristen Oakley (koakley2@villanova.edu).
This post was authored by Linsey Steege on 03/10/2025.