Comparison of posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress of nurses with physicians and medical students after caring of COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Objectives: The present study compared the prevalence and psychosocial factors affecting posttraumatic growth (PTG), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychological distress in nurses, physicians, and medical students. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, three groups of medical staff including nurses (n = 57), physicians (n = 40), and medical students (n = 34) who were responsible for the care/treatment of COVID-19 patients admitted to a general hospital for 4 months responded to Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory-18, Resilience Questionnaire, PTSD Screen, and Social Capital-Integrated Questionnaire. Results: After the exposure of medical staff to at least 4 months of treatment/care of COVID-19 patients, PTG prevalence was higher than PTSD (38.2% vs. 14.6%), but they experienced some degrees of psychological distress (65.5%). The nurses had 8.33 (confidence interval [CI]: 2.5–26.7) times higher PTG rate than medical students (P < 0.001). Physicists also experienced 5.00 (CI: 1.4–26.7) times higher PTG than medical students (P < 0.001). PTG was aided by age, married status, strong resilience, and high social capital, but gender had no influence. Resilience played an important protective role to prevent the incidence of psychological distress in nurses, medical students, and physicians. Conclusion: Despite the fact that the PTSD and psychological distress were same in the three groups of medical staff, the nurses had a greater rate of PTG than physicians and medical students.