Causes of Moral Distress in Academic Radiologists: Variation Among Institutions

Area of Science:

• Medical ethics
• Radiology
• Healthcare management

Background:

• Moral distress arises when healthcare professionals cannot provide optimal patient care due to institutional or resource limitations.
• Understanding the causes of moral distress is crucial for improving healthcare professional well-being and retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if the causes of moral distress differ among academic institutions.
• To identify common sources of moral distress in academic radiology.

Main Methods:

• A survey using the Moral Distress Scale-Revised for Health Care Professionals assessed moral distress in 126 academic radiologists from five institutions.
• Data were analyzed to compare moral distress levels based on various demographic and professional factors.
• Statistical tests included Kruskal-Wallis and Kendall ordinal correlation.

Main Results:

• Four primary causes of moral distress were consistently reported: pressure for unsafe study volumes, high workloads hindering resident teaching, inadequate administrative support, and pressure for unnecessary imaging.
• Higher moral distress scores correlated significantly with intentions to leave the job or past job changes (P < .001).
• Radiologists working over 60 hours per week reported higher median moral distress.

Conclusions:

• Moral distress is a widespread issue in academic radiology, with consistent contributing factors across institutions.
• The significant association between high moral distress and job turnover intentions underscores its critical impact on retaining radiologists in the workforce.