Moral Distress and Moral Resilience Dilemma for the new Nurse

Welcome: Moral Distress and Moral Resilience Dilemma for the new Nurse
Description: Nurses may encounter moral dilemmas in which a treatment or test may not be always be appropriate for the patient. Confidence in one's own practice, along with guidelines for handling such dilemmas appropriately, allow the nurse to advocate for the patient while reducing the potential for moral distress and moral injury to the nurse (Rushton, Batcheller, Schroeder & Donohue, 2015, p. 413). In this assignment we will explore moral distress as related to moral resilience experienced by a new nurse who felt that a bone marrow biopsy was not appropriate for an end-stage liver cancer patient. The nurse relates that she suspected that the ordering oncologist was satisfying a curiosity of disease advancement; her understanding was that treatment would not be altered based upon the biopsy results. While the nurse did question the ordering oncologist, she lacked the confidence and skillset to persevere. The patient ultimately received the bone marrow biopsy. Subsequently, the nurse experienced lingering feelings of moral compromise (Lachman, 2016, p. 121). The goal of this assignment for the nurse to review his/her own experiences with moral dilemmas and moral resilience, or to explore how a nurse feels he/she may react in a situation similar to the one described above. The group will discuss their responses and develop strategies to build moral resilience when cases such as the one above arise.
Grade Level: College / Adult
Curriculum: Health / PE
Keywords: Nursing Moral dilemma Moral distress Moral resilience New graduate Health Care
Author(s): Carol Hargreaves