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Published on: July 4, 2018
Critical care nurses' perceptions of and responses to moral distress
1karen.gutierrez@mchsi.com
Abstract:
Nurses frequently experience conflict regarding healthcare decisions, yet are expected to implement actions which they perceive to be morally wrong. Research has described the deleterious effects of this moral incongruency, coined moral distress, on nurses' well being and has identified it as a causative agent in nursing turnover, burnout, and nurses leaving the profession. Thus, it is known that moral distress has significant consequences for nurses, but does moral distress affect nurses' provision of care, and if so, how?
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