The Impact of Nurse-Physician Relationships on Emergency Nurses' Moral Distress

Moral distress affects registered nurses' job dissatisfaction, and may ultimately be associated with higher rates of turnover. Nurse-physician relationships have been shown to affect moral distress in the intensive care unit setting, but no research has evaluated this impact on emergency nurses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of nurse-physician relationships on the moral distress of emergency nurses.

A quantitative correlational design was used to evaluate the study's aim. Point-of-care nurses currently working in an emergency department were asked to complete the Measure of Moral Distress Scale for Healthcare Professionals and the collegial nurse-physician relations domain of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the impact of nurse-physician relationships on moral distress, controlling for demographic characteristics.

Thirty-two participants completed the survey. Multivariate regression showed that nurse-physician relationships are associated with moral distress in emergency nurses. Years of experience and gender did not affect moral distress in univariate or multivariate analyses.

Given current staffing shortages and the need to retain expert nurses in high-acuity settings, strategies to improve nurse-physician collaboration opportunities should be explored in ED settings.