Moral distress in critical care nurses: a phenomenological study
- 16 February 2015
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Advanced Nursing
- Vol. 71 (7), 1684-1693
- https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12638
Abstract
To explore and understand moral distress from the perspective of and as experienced by critical care nurses in Korea.The concept of moral distress among critical care nurses must be more broadly explored using a qualitative approach.Giorgi's phenomenological research approach was used.A purposive sampling was used to select 14 critical care nurses. In-depth face-to-face interviews were performed in Korea from March 2012-December 2013.Five main themes of moral distress emerged: (1) ambivalence towards treatment and care (notably prioritizing work tasks over human dignity, unnecessary medical treatments and the compulsory application of restraints); (2) suffering resulting from a lack of ethical sensitivity; (3) dilemmas resulting from nurses' limited autonomy in treatments; (4) conflicts with physicians; and (5) conflicts with institutional policy.Staff shortages are aggravated by high staff turnover caused by ethical suffering. The resulting lack of staff can, in turn, give rise to added ethical conflicts as part of a vicious circle, leading to decreased patient satisfaction.Keywords
Funding Information
- Chung-Ang University Research Grant
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Ethical issues experienced by intensive care unit nurses in everyday practiceNursing Ethics, 2012
- Moral Distress, Compassion Fatigue, and Perceptions About Medication Errors in Certified Critical Care NursesDimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 2011
- Corporate Ethical Values, Group Creativity, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention: The Impact of Work Context on Work ResponseJournal of Business Ethics, 2010
- Registered Nurses’ Perceptions of Moral Distress and Ethical ClimateNursing Ethics, 2009
- Role of Clinical Ethicists in Making Decisions About Levels of Care in the Intensive Care UnitCritical Care Nurse, 2009
- Determinants of moral distress in medical and surgical nurses at an adult acute tertiary care hospitalJournal of Nursing Management, 2008
- Nurse-physician perspectives on the care of dying patients in intensive care units: Collaboration, moral distress, and ethical climate*Critical Care Medicine, 2007
- Moral Reckoning in NursingWestern Journal of Nursing Research, 2006
- Hidden and Emerging Drama in a Norwegian Critical Care Unit: ethical dilemmas in the context of ambiguityNursing Ethics, 2001
- Sampling in qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries?Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1997