rss
J Med Ethics 2008;34:521-525 doi:10.1136/jme.2007.021246
  • Clinical ethics

Moral distress among Norwegian doctors

  1. R Førde1,
  2. O G Aasland2
  1. 1
    Research Institute, Norwegian Medical Association, and Section for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
  2. 2
    Research Institute, Norwegian Medical Association, and Institute of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
  1. Dr R Førde, Section for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1130 Blindern, NO 0318 Oslo, Norway; reidun.forde{at}medisin.uio.no
  • Received 18 April 2007
  • Revised 7 November 2007
  • Accepted 16 November 2007

Abstract

Background: Medicine is full of value conflicts. Limited resources and legal regulations may place doctors in difficult ethical dilemmas and cause moral distress. Research on moral distress has so far been mainly studied in nurses.

Objective: To describe whether Norwegian doctors experience stress related to ethical dilemmas and lack of resources, and to explore whether the doctors feel that they have good strategies for the resolution of ethical dilemmas.

Design: Postal survey of a representative sample of 1497 Norwegian doctors in 2004, presenting statements about different ethical dilemmas, values and goals at their workplace.

Results: The response rate was 67%. 57% admitted that it is difficult to criticise a colleague for professional misconduct and 51% for ethical misconduct. 51% described sometimes having to act against own conscience as distressing. 66% of the doctors experienced distress related to long waiting lists for treatment and to impaired patient care due to time constraints. 55% reported that time spent on administration and documentation is distressing. Female doctors experienced more stress that their male colleagues. 44% reported that their workplace lacked strategies for dealing with ethical dilemmas.

Conclusion: Lack of resources creates moral dilemmas for physicians. Moral distress varies with specialty and gender. Lack of strategies to solve ethical dilemmas and low tolerance for conflict and critique from colleagues may obstruct important and necessary ethical dialogues and lead to suboptimal solutions of difficult ethical problems.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: None.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.