Emergency nurses' moral evaluation of patients

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Medical Ethics
• Patient Care

Background:

• Nurses constantly make judgments about patients' moral fitness and the appropriateness of emergency department visits.
• These judgments can influence the treatment patients receive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient characteristics used by emergency nurses for moral evaluation.
• To determine the reasons nurses provide for this evaluative behavior.
• To identify factors contributing to nurses' evaluative behavior.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory, descriptive study design was employed.
• A mailed questionnaire was distributed to emergency department nurses in Alberta.
• A response rate of 55% was achieved with 83 completed questionnaires.

Main Results:

• A hierarchy of patient characteristics and illness/diagnosis influenced nurses' attitudes, confirming previous research.
• Nurses appeared unaware of their own prejudicial behavior.
• Patient characteristics and nature of illness were critical factors in nurse attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Patient labeling by nurses can jeopardize nurse-patient communication and relationships.
• This can negatively impact patient care and recovery.
• Recommendations include enhancing nurses' awareness of labeling dynamics and improving understanding of 'unfavorable' patients.