• Elizabeth M Rice, Mohamed Y Rady, Arreta Hamrick, Joseph L Verheijde, and Debra K Pendergast.
• Department of Nursing, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ 85054, USA. rice.elizabeth@mayo.edu
• J Nurs Manag. 2008 Apr 1;16(3):360-73.

AimTo determine the prevalence and contributing factors of moral distress in medical and surgical nurses.BackgroundMoral distress from ethical conflicts in the work environment is associated with burnout and job turnovers in nurses.MethodA prospective cross-sectional survey using the Moral Distress Scale tool was administered to medical and surgical nurses at an adult acute tertiary care hospital.ResultsThe survey was completed by 260 nurses (92% response rate). The intensity of moral distress was uniformly high to situations related to physician practice, nursing practice, institutional factors, futile care, deception and euthanasia. Encounter frequencies for situations associated with futile care and deceptions were particularly high. Encounter frequencies increased with years of nursing experience and caring for oncology and transplant patients.ConclusionMoral distress is common among nurses in acute medical and surgical units and can be elicited from different types of situations encountered in the work environment. Nursing experience exacerbated the intensity and frequency of moral distress.Implications For Nursing ManagementStrategies aimed to minimize exposure to situations of moral distress and augment mechanisms mitigating its effect on nurses are necessary to enhance job satisfaction and retention.

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