Abstract
Thousands of health care providers currently live and practice in Canada,1 and each day these providers are presented with new situations from their patients and clients. Many of these situations require much contemplation, and often both personal and professional judgment is used to come to a conclusion. In many cases, the decision-making process becomes difficult due to personal and professional beliefs, as well as institutional and legal requirements placed upon the health care provider. This phenomenon, known as moral distress, is “when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action”.2 This work provides a brief introduction to the topic of moral distress, the systemic factors that can lead to the development of moral distress, how it manifests in health care providers, and coping mechanisms used by health care providers to manage their moral distress.
Highlights
Thousands of health care providers currently live and practice in Canada,[1] and each day these providers are presented with new situations from their patients and clients
In the year 2001, more than 1.1 million individuals worked in health care in Canada.[1]. These health care providers face a myriad of challenges in their day-to-day work, many of which require considerate and confident decision-making skills, as well as the ability to understand the short- and long-term implications of those decisions
Jameton presented the first definition of moral distress in 1984, stating: “Moral distress arises when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action”
Summary
Thousands of health care providers currently live and practice in Canada,[1] and each day these providers are presented with new situations from their patients and clients.
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