The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education (한국간호교육학회지)

The Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education (한국간호교육학회)
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The Experience of Nursing Students' Moral Distress in Clinical Practice

임상실습 현장에서 간호대학생이 경험하는 도덕적 고뇌

  • Kim, Chanhee (College of Nursing, Seoul National University) ;
  • Choi, Heeseung (College of Nursing & The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University)
  • 김찬희 (서울대학교 간호대학) ;
  • 최희승 (서울대학교 간호대학 간호과학연구소)
  • Received : 2016.04.22
  • Accepted : 2016.07.30
  • Published : 2016.08.31
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Abstract

Purpose: This study explores the moral distress that nursing students experience during their clinical practice in Korea. Methods: Data were collected using focus group interviews, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Participants were recruited from three nursing schools in three different cities; each focus group interview lasted between one to two hours. Results: Twenty-two nursing students with more than one year of clinical practice experience participated. Three categories and ten themes were extracted. The following situational categories: "unprotected patients' right and dignity," "clinical settings in which standards of care are not upheld," "disrespectful hospital culture," and "inconsistent and unsystematic clinical education" caused moral distress. Types of responses to moral distress included: "shock and confusion over the gap between reality and moral standards," "powerlessness when cannot advocate patients," "fear and doubts about nursing career," and "moral desensitization and disappointment in oneself." "Expressions of moral distress and the need for advice" and "a search for meaning and hope" were identified as coping strategies. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the need for systematic clinical practicum and education programs to minimize moral distress. These programs may offer opportunities for students to turn moral distress into opportunities for learning and growth in the future.

Keywords

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