Patient Safety Incidents and the second victim phenomenon among nursing students

OBJECTIVE: To map the factors involved in incidents that harm patient safety and contribute to the second victim phenomenon among nursing students. METHOD: Qualitative, exploratory-descriptive study addressing 23 nursing students attending a Federal University in the South of Brazil. The interviews were analyzed using text and discoursive analysis. The Iramuteq software supported the processing of texts. RESULTS: Communication failures within the health staff, a lack of protocols and equipment that prioritize patient safety, and factors related to the teaching-learning process favor the occurrence of patient safety incidents and the second victim phenomenon among nursing students. CONCLUSION: Addressing the topic concerning patient safety in nursing programs can promote the patient safety culture by encouraging reporting and admitting the possibility of errors and learning from them, strategies that can mitigate second victim effects.