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Moral courage: a virtue in need of development?
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1860/2588
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| Title: | Moral courage: a virtue in need of development? |
| Authors: | Lachman, Vicki D. |
| Issue Date: | Apr-2007 |
| Publisher: | Janneth Publications |
| Citation: | MEDSURG Nursing, 16(2): pp.131-133. |
| Abstract: | Moral distress has been documented since 1984 by
Andrew Jameton. He defined it as painful feelings
and/or the psychological disequilibrium that occurs
when nurses are conscious of the morally appropriate
action a situation requires, but cannot carry out the
action because of institutional obstacles (Corley,
Minick, Elswick, & Jacobs, 2005). This definition focuses
on organizational obstacles to action, but there are
also personal obstacles that the nurse must conquer
(for example, lack of knowledge of professional obligations,
lack of conflict resolution skills, etc.).
This author’s interest is not in discussing the existence
of moral distress, but instead how to prevent
and rectify the pain and suffering caused by moral distress.
To this purpose, this article we will focus on
necessary ingredients for moral courage. Interested
readers can gain additional understanding of the
problems created when organizational culture trumps
courage by reading the story of Enron (McLean &
Elkind, 2004). We will first define moral courage and
then, using an acronym CODE, outline the work for
nurses who are interested in demonstrating moral
courage. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1860/2588 |
| Appears in Collections: | Faculty Research and Publications (CNHP)
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