Abstract

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) working in the intensive care environment experience clinical and operational anxiety, such as moral distress. Moral distress occurs when an individual knows the ethically correct action but cannot take it due to internal or external constraints or violation of their professional core values. Historically, nurses have experienced moral distress at higher levels than other healthcare professionals, especially those in intensive care units (ICUs). This phenomenological study aimed to describe the lived experience of moral distress in ICU NPs, specifically emphasizing its effect on their personal and professional lives. Research on moral distress has demonstrated that individuals who experience moral distress have an increased likelihood of leaving their current position, decreased job satisfaction, professional burnout syndrome, and negative personal and health effects. Without examining moral distress in the ICU NP population, it is unclear what impact this lack of knowledge may have on the safety of ICU patients, the ICU environment, and NPs themselves.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 30995340; ProQuest document ID: 3054387393. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Steven L. Bocchese, PhD, RN, AGACNP-BC, CCRN

Sigma Membership

Iota Kappa

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Phenomenology

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Critical Care, Psychological Distress, Nurse Practitioners

Advisor

Joyce Johnson

Second Advisor

Reiko Asano

Third Advisor

Elizabeth Epstein

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The Catholic University of America

Degree Year

2024

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.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2024-05-22

Full Text of Presentation

wf_yes

Download

Share

COinS