Expert nurses' coping strategies in ethically challenging situations: a qualitative study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Ethics
• Healthcare Professionalism
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Nurses frequently face ethically challenging situations in practice.
• Understanding nurses' coping mechanisms in these situations is crucial but not well-documented.
• This study focuses on expert nurses' coping strategies in ethically challenging scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the coping strategies employed by expert nurses in South Korea when faced with ethically challenging situations.
• To understand how nurses maintain ethical practice amidst difficult circumstances.

Main Methods:

• Purposive sampling was used to recruit 26 expert registered nurses.
• Data were collected through small group interviews.
• Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method was applied for data analysis.

Main Results:

• The core theme identified was 'being faithful to the nature of caring'.
• This theme encompassed self-monitoring for ethical insensitivity, maintaining honesty, and actively advocating for patients.
• Expert nurses demonstrated effective coping through adherence to core professional values.

Conclusions:

• Expert nurses' coping strategies align with established attributes of ethical competence in healthcare.
• Faithfully adhering to the spirit of caring enables effective and ethical navigation of challenging situations.
• System-wide support, including early counseling, is recommended for nurses experiencing ethical difficulties.