Addressing Moral Distress: A Call To Action For Nursing

Authors

Angie Knackstedt, Children's Mercy Kansas CityFollow
Cathy Cartwright, Children's Mercy HospitalFollow

Files

Publication Date

5-2022

Abstract

Nursing is caring and complex, committed to patients and families, as well as the profession and society. Nurses experience the stress of witnessing pain, suffering, and injustices that violates their moral values – personally and professionally – creating moral distress. Moral distress is the experience of not being able to act in accordance with one’s core values, the feeling that it is nearly impossible to do so or that one’s actions did not result in the intended outcome due to institutional constraints. Over time if moral distress is not mitigated, it has a crescendo effect that can lead to burnout, poor mental well-being, decreased quality patient care and job satisfaction, or the intent to leave a position or the profession.

This poster will discuss evidence from the MMD-HP survey of Children’s Mercy APRNs and their collaborating physicians and address moral distress and ways to mitigate it through ethical and organizational resources.

Document Type

Poster

Recommended Citation

Knackstedt, Angie and Cartwright, Cathy, "Addressing Moral Distress: A Call To Action For Nursing" (2022). Research at Children's Mercy Month 2022. 30.
https://scholarlyexchange.childrensmercy.org/research_month2022/30