Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Pediatric healthcare professionals routinely encounter traumatized youth as well as potentially traumatizing content on the job. Secondary traumatic stress refers to the emotional and behavioral distress that can develop in the medical professional in response to this exposure. This discussion provides an overview of the nature of secondary traumatic stress to help the trainee understand and mitigate these potential effects, along with two other empathy-based stress concepts: burnout and compassion fatigue. Risk and protective factors, assessment, and prevention as well as intervention of secondary traumatic stress are also discussed.