title: Moral Distress: Recognition, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
abstract: Infusion nursing is a unique hybrid of inpatient and ambulatory nursing. The subspecialty of nurses cares for patients requiring treatment over long periods, including cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and patients who require short bursts of treatment, such as those with multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Infusion nurses are exposed to many of the common root causes of moral distress in their practice, similar to nurses caring for terminally ill or critically ill patients. The specific aims of this article are to (1) define moral distress, moral residue, and the crescendo effect; (2) describe ethical stressors that can be confused with moral distress; (3) review the effects of moral distress on different health care providers; and (4) provide strategies to manage moral distress in the workplace using a case example.
authors.affiliation: Formerly from the University of Virginia, School of Nursing, Charlottesville, Virginia. Jennifer Trautmann, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, received her doctoral degree from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. She is currently a Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Post Doctoral Fellow in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, Jennifer has 20 years of nursing experience and 13 years of experience as a nurse practitioner. Her dissertation focused on relationships regarding advanced practice autonomy and moral distress of emergency department nurse practitioners. Her current research interest is in child mental and behavioral health and implementing parenting interventions to preschool families. Her long-term research goal is to adapt an evidence-based parenting program for military families with young children.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trautmann
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007263:Infusions, Parenteral / Q000451:nursing*; D009014:Morals; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological