Does Moral Distress Differ Between California Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in Independent Versus Medically...

The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive study was to determine if moral distress levels differed between certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) working in medically supervised versus independent practice in California. A 63-question survey was administered to 1,190 California CRNAs. Moral distress was measured by the included Ethics Stress Scale. The response rate was 14.7%, yielding demographic and Ethics Stress scores for 175 respondents. Sixty-five participants answered an open-ended question about moral distress yielding qualitative data. Medically supervised CRNAs had a lower mean moral distress scores (176.8) versus independent practice CRNAs (187.8) (p = .002). Lower scores on the ESS indicate higher moral distress. Qualitative data demonstrated that CRNAs experienced moral distress in the following situations: when pressured to give anesthesia to unoptimized patients, when differences of opinion regarding anesthetic plans occurred, in dealing with end-of-life issues, when working with incompetent providers, and during interprofessional struggles between CRNAs and anesthesiologists. In order to reduce moral distress among CRNAs, implications for practice include increased administrative support, increased communication and reciprocated collegial respect between anesthesiologists and CRNAs, and CRNA representation on ethics committees.