Other Titles
Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
‘Moral distress’ was originally conceptualized among nurses in 1984 by Professor Andrew Jameton as occurring when a nurse “knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action.” Moral distress has since been studied among a variety of healthcare professionals and can further be characterized as occurring when clinicians are constrained from taking what they believe to be ethically appropriate actions or are forced to take actions that are ethically inappropriate based on their professional obligations, resulting in a sense of complicity and wrongdoing. Conversely, the concept of grit has been characterized as the presence of passion and perseverance for long-term goals and has been positively correlated with nurse job performance, satisfaction, and organizational commitment. While moral distress and grit have been studied among nurses, especially those in the critical care and emergency settings, current literature is limited regarding the relationship of moral distress and grit among healthcare professionals working in the setting of organ transplantation. The purpose of this in-progress, cross-sectional study is to characterize moral distress and grit among healthcare professionals (i.e., nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers, and coordinators) in the transplant setting and identify any potential correlations among the concepts, demographic, and personal factors. The study is IRB approved and data collection begins in October 2024. Tools for data collection include a demographics questionnaire, the Measure of Moral Distress – Healthcare Professionals (MMD-HP), 12-Item Grit Scale, and exploratory open-ended questions regarding perceived experiences of moral distress and grit. Data analysis consisting of descriptive statistics and correlation is planned for December 2024 and results of the study are expected to be finalized by March 2025. The results of this study will expand on the growing body of literature regarding moral distress and grit, characterize these concepts further among transplant professionals, and potentially inform the development of future resources and interventions.
Notes
References: Duckworth, A. L.,Peterson, C.,Matthews,M. D., & Kelly,D. R. (2007).Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9,1087-1101.
Epstein, E. G., Whitehead, P. B., Prompahakul, C., Thacker, L. R., & Hamric, A. B. (2019). Enhancing Understanding of Moral Distress: The Measure of Moral Distress for Health Care Professionals. AJOB Empirical Bioethics, 10(2), 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/23294515.2019.1586008
Jameton, A. (1984). Nursing Practice: The ethical issues. Prentice Hall Series in the Philosophy of Medicine, ed. G. S1984, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Tarabeih, M., & Bokek-Cohen, Y. (2020). Between health and death: The intense emotional pain experienced by transplant nurses. Nursing Inquiry, 27(2), e12335. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12335
Tarabeih, M., & Bokek-Cohen, Y. (2020). Moral distress and moral residue experienced by transplant coordinators. Journal of Medical Ethics, medethics-2019-105593. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-105593
Sigma Membership
Beta Phi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Cross-Sectional
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Ethics, Workforce, Interprofessional Interdisciplinary
Recommended Citation
Miller, Preston H.; Hoy, Haley; Modi, Shikha; and Primus, Antonia, "Examining the Relationship Between Moral Distress and Grit Among Transplant Professionals" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 123.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/123
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Examining the Relationship Between Moral Distress and Grit Among Transplant Professionals
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
‘Moral distress’ was originally conceptualized among nurses in 1984 by Professor Andrew Jameton as occurring when a nurse “knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action.” Moral distress has since been studied among a variety of healthcare professionals and can further be characterized as occurring when clinicians are constrained from taking what they believe to be ethically appropriate actions or are forced to take actions that are ethically inappropriate based on their professional obligations, resulting in a sense of complicity and wrongdoing. Conversely, the concept of grit has been characterized as the presence of passion and perseverance for long-term goals and has been positively correlated with nurse job performance, satisfaction, and organizational commitment. While moral distress and grit have been studied among nurses, especially those in the critical care and emergency settings, current literature is limited regarding the relationship of moral distress and grit among healthcare professionals working in the setting of organ transplantation. The purpose of this in-progress, cross-sectional study is to characterize moral distress and grit among healthcare professionals (i.e., nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers, and coordinators) in the transplant setting and identify any potential correlations among the concepts, demographic, and personal factors. The study is IRB approved and data collection begins in October 2024. Tools for data collection include a demographics questionnaire, the Measure of Moral Distress – Healthcare Professionals (MMD-HP), 12-Item Grit Scale, and exploratory open-ended questions regarding perceived experiences of moral distress and grit. Data analysis consisting of descriptive statistics and correlation is planned for December 2024 and results of the study are expected to be finalized by March 2025. The results of this study will expand on the growing body of literature regarding moral distress and grit, characterize these concepts further among transplant professionals, and potentially inform the development of future resources and interventions.
Description
The goal of this Rapid Presentation Round (RPR) presentation is for participants to be able to characterize the experience of moral distress and grit among healthcare professionals working in the transplant setting. Furthermore, the results of this cross-sectional study may elicit discussion on strategies to promote grit and mitigate moral distress among transplant professionals and clinicians in other healthcare settings.