title: Identifying ethical issues of the Department of the Army civilian and Army Nurse Corps certified registered nurse anesthetists.
abstract: The purposes of this study were to identify the ethical issues Department of the Army civilian and Army Nurse Corps certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) encountered in their anesthesia practice and how disturbed they were by these issues. This descriptive study used a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of Army Nurse Corps officers and Department of the Army civilian registered nurses (N = 5,293). The CRNA subset (n = 97) was obtained from questionnaires that indicated a primary practice setting as anesthesia. The most frequently occurring ethical issue identified was conflict in the nurse-physician relationship, whereas the most disturbing issue was working with incompetent/impaired colleagues. Unresolved ethical conflicts can negatively influence the nurses' morale, leading to avoidance of the issue and contributing to burnout. Identifying the ethical issues and disturbance level experienced by CRNAs should contribute to the development of an ethics education program that addresses issues encountered in CRNA practice.
authors.affiliation: Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC 28310, USA.
authors.forename: Constance L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Aaron R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Janet R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000941:ethics*; D008888:Military Nursing / Q000941:ethics*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D009719:Nurse Anesthetists / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D028701:Patient Rights; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States