The Experience of Nursing Students' Moral Distress in Clinical Practice / 한국간호교육학회지

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.