There are many different types of clinical events which can evoke a second victim response. Examples of high risk situations that may induce a stress response include the following:

• Patient who 'connects' to health care professional's own family.
• Unanticipated clinical event involving a pediatric patient.
• Unexpected patient death.
• Preventable harm to patient.
• Multiple patients with bad outcomes within a short period of time within one clinical area.
• Long term care relationship with patient death.
• Clinician experiencing his or her first patient death.
• Failure to detect patient deterioration in timely manner.
• Death in a young adult patient.
• Notification of pending litigation plans.
• Community high-profile patient/event.
• Health care professional who experienced needle stick exposure with high-risk patient.
• Death of a staff member or spouse of a staff member.