Moral distress in nursing is described as a psychological imbalance or disequilibrium that occurs when nurses finding themselves in situations where they feel unable to do the right thing. This conflict can cause physical, emotional and spiritual suffering. The residual build up of continuing moral distress can lead to burnout and burden.

Correctional nurses have unique situations that lead to moral distress. Examples include conflict with custody over patient access to care and a higher volume of patient healthcare needs than the resources available to meet them. Other potential sources of moral distress include nurse-provider conflict, nurse-nurse conflict, disrespectful interactions, workplace violence, and clinical ethical dilemmas.

Ways to combat Moral distress

• Acknowledge that moral distress exists in our practice.
• Educate staff on the causes and symptoms of moral distress.
• Provide venues for verbalizing distress and seeking solutions such as an open-door management practice, support groups facilitated by an outsider, and constructive solution seeking during staff meetings.
• Seeking ways to reduce moral distress through communication among the disciplines and across disciplines with custody.
• Establishing policies about civility and actions to take when in a morally distressing situation.

Have you found correctional nursing to be morally distressing? How do you deal with it? Share your experiences in the comments section.