TY - JOUR
T1 - Meaning in life and personal growth among pediatric physicians and nurses
AU - Taubman-Ben-Ari, Orit
AU - Weintroub, Adi
PY - 2008/8
Y1 - 2008/8
N2 - Studies examining medical teams indicate that exposure to the terminally ill often has detrimental effects on their physical and emotional well-being. However, recent theoretical developments suggest that this exposure might also have positive implications. The current study sought to examine 2 positive outcomes, meaning in life and personal growth, among physicians and nurses working with hospitalized children and exposed to different levels of patient mortality. In addition, the contribution of level of secondary traumatization and the personal resources of professional self-esteem and optimism were examined. The sample consisted of 58 physicians and 66 nurses working in pediatric hemato-oncology, pediatric intensive care units, and pediatric internal medicine wards in Israel. The findings indicate that a higher level of exposure to patient death, higher optimism, and professional self-esteem, and lower secondary traumatization predicted the sense of meaning in life, whereas occupation, as well as higher professional self-esteem and higher level of secondary traumatization, especially among lower professional self-esteem individuals, predicted a higher experience of personal growth. In addition, nurses reported higher levels of professional self-esteem, secondary traumatization, and personal growth than physicians. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
AB - Studies examining medical teams indicate that exposure to the terminally ill often has detrimental effects on their physical and emotional well-being. However, recent theoretical developments suggest that this exposure might also have positive implications. The current study sought to examine 2 positive outcomes, meaning in life and personal growth, among physicians and nurses working with hospitalized children and exposed to different levels of patient mortality. In addition, the contribution of level of secondary traumatization and the personal resources of professional self-esteem and optimism were examined. The sample consisted of 58 physicians and 66 nurses working in pediatric hemato-oncology, pediatric intensive care units, and pediatric internal medicine wards in Israel. The findings indicate that a higher level of exposure to patient death, higher optimism, and professional self-esteem, and lower secondary traumatization predicted the sense of meaning in life, whereas occupation, as well as higher professional self-esteem and higher level of secondary traumatization, especially among lower professional self-esteem individuals, predicted a higher experience of personal growth. In addition, nurses reported higher levels of professional self-esteem, secondary traumatization, and personal growth than physicians. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=49449094814&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/07481180802215627
DO - 10.1080/07481180802215627
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C2 - 18924291
AN - SCOPUS:49449094814
SN - 0748-1187
VL - 32
SP - 621
EP - 645
JO - Death Studies
JF - Death Studies
IS - 7
ER -