title: "I felt like the angel of death": role conflicts and moral distress among allied professionals employed by the US cardiovascular implantable electronic device industry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to identify themes associated with role conflicts and moral distress experienced by cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) industry-employed allied professionals (IEAPs) in the clinical setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus groups were used to elicit perspectives from IEAPs who had deactivated a CIED.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen IEAPs (five women) reported increased clinical presence and work-related role conflicts and moral distress along several themes: (1) relationships with patients, (2) relationships with clinicians, (3) role ambiguity, (4) customer service to clinicians, and (5) CIED deactivation. Patients often misperceived IEAPs as physicians or nurses. Many physicians expected IEAPs to perform clinical duties. Customer service obligations exacerbated IEAP role conflicts and moral distress because of dual agency. IEAPs commonly received and carried out requests to deactivate CIEDs; doing so, however, generated considerable distress-particularly deactivations of pacemakers in pacemaker-dependent patients. Several described themselves as "angels of death." IEAPs had recommendations for mitigating role conflicts and moral distress, including improving the deactivation process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IEAPs experienced role conflicts and moral distress regarding their activities in the clinical setting and customer service obligations. Health care institutions should develop and enforce clear boundaries between IEAPs and clinicians in the clinical setting. Clinicians and IEAPs should adhere to these boundaries.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. mueller.pauls@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Abigale L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Ottenberg
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Koenig
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000941:ethics*; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000941:ethics*; D014481:United States; D028761:Withholding Treatment / Q000941:ethics*