Question

Describe a situation in which you or someone you know experienced moral distress, noting moral and nonmoral claims in the situation

Answer 1

Moral distress is "the emotional state that arises from a situation when a nurse feels that the ethically correct action to take is different from what he or she is tasked with doing."

I once an encountered a patient in intensive care unit on ventilator. The patient had a road traffic accident and was unconscious and in a coma. The patient was only on assisted ventilation and responding to any stimuli. The family of the patient were emotionally disturbed as a result of the laws that did not permit euthanasia. The patient in a vegetative state and it pained me to see him Iike this. Sometimes I felt to put an end to all this suffering of the patient as well his family.

The moral of my profession dictates to take care of the sick. However seeing such a scenario one thinks of putting an end to the suffering. This is non moral claim, ultimately giving rise to this moral distress