Nurses' experiences of moral distress and how it affects daily work in surgical care-a qualitative study.

Publisher: Blackwell Scientific Publications Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 7609811 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1365-2648 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03092402 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Adv Nurs Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Oxford : Blackwell Scientific Publications
Original Publication: Oxford, Blackwell.

Nursing* ; Nurses*; Humans ; Qualitative Research ; Perioperative Nursing ; Morals

Aim: To describe nurses' and specialist nurses' experiences of moral distress and how it affects daily work in surgical care.
Design: A qualitative descriptive study design was used.
Methods: A qualitative study with 12 interviews with nurses and specialist nurses working in surgical care. All interviews were conducted during October and November 2022 in two hospitals in southeastern Sweden. Data were analysed using conventional qualitative content analysis.
Findings: Three categories and seven subcategories generated from the data analysis. The three categories generated from the analysis were Experiences that lead to moral distress, Perceived consequences of moral distress and Strategies in case of moral distress. The results show that a lack of personnel in combination with people with complex surgical needs is the main source of moral distress. Both high demands on nurses as individuals and the teamwork are factors that generate moral distress and can have severe consequences for the safety of patients, individual nurses and future care.
Conclusions: The results show that moral distress is a problem for today's nurses and specialist nurses in surgical care. Action is necessary to prevent nurses from leaving surgical care. Prioritizing tasks is perceived as challenging for the profession, and moral distress can pose a patient safety risk.
Impact: Surgical care departments should design support structures for nurses, give nurses an authentic voice to express ethical concerns and allow them to practice surgical nursing in a way that does not violate their core professional values. Healthcare organizations should take this seriously and work strategically to make the nursing profession more attractive.
Patient or Public Contribution: There was no patient or public contribution.
(© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

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Keywords: moral distress; nursing care; patient safety; qualitative research; surgical care

Date Created: 20231117 Date Completed: 20240418 Latest Revision: 20240418

20240418

10.1111/jan.15966

37975326