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Nursing Ethics
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An Overview of Moral Distress and the Paediatric Intensive Care Team

Wendy Austin

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, wendy.austin{at}ualberta.ca

Julija Kelecevic

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Erika Goble

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Joy Mekechuk

Capital Health, Edmonton, AB, Canada

A summary of the existing literature related to moral distress (MD) and the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) reveals a high-tech, high-pressure environment in which effective teamwork can be compromised by MD arising from different situations related to: consent for treatment, futile care, end-of-life decision making, formal decision-making structures, training and experience by discipline, individual values and attitudes, and power and authority issues. Attempts to resolve MD in PICUs have included the use of administrative tools such as shift worksheets, the implementation of continuing education, and encouragement to report. The literature does not yet show these approaches to be effective in the resolution of MD. The need to acknowledge MD among PICU teams is discussed and an argument made that, to facilitate understanding among team members, practice stories need to be shared.

Key Words: ethics • moral distress • paediatric intensive care unit • paediatrics • team

Nursing Ethics, Vol. 16, No. 1, 57-68 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0969733008097990
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