A member of a patient's family calls the nurse manager of the palliative care unit to express concern that a member of the family, who died on the weekend, had requested analgesics from the RNs on duty
An RN came with the analgesic nearly 45 minutes later, just after the patient had died. The manager is aware that the unit was especially busy that weekend because many patients were seriously ill, staff had called in ill, and the staffing manager was unable to completely replace staff who were absent. The manager is deeply troubled that the family member had to die in pain because it violates what she knows should have been done. This manager is experiencing:
a. Compromised agency.
b. Moral distress.
c. Moral sensitivity.
d. Moral dilemma.
ANS: B
Moral distress is experienced when nurses cannot provide what they perceive to be best for a given patient. Examples of moral distress include constraints caused by financial pressures, limited patient care resources, disagreements among family members regarding patient interventions, and/or limitations imposed by primary healthcare providers.
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