Many studies have examined clinical and institutional moral problems in the practice of nurses that have led to the experience of moral distress. The causes and implications of moral distress in nurses, however, have not been understood in terms of their implications from the perspective of virtue ethics. This paper analyzes how nurses reach for the telos of their practice, within a context of moral distress. A qualitative case study was carried out in a private hospital in Brazil. Observation and semi‐semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 nurse participants. With the aid of ATLAS.ti software, the data were analyzed by using thematic content analysis using virtue ethics to theorize the findings. These nurses experienced a loss of their nursing identity as they encountered an ambiguous telos and the domination of institutional values. In their reach for the telos of their practice, nurses found an environment permeated by ethical challenges, which not only created moral distress but also created professional invisibility, a phenomenon referred to as ‘invisibility of the self’.

No abstract

Objective: To analyze potential triggers of moral suffering experiences of health professionals, reported in the media, during the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose a theoretical construct of analysis. Methods: Study with qualitative approach whose data source were 50 reports published online, collected passively and actively, submitted to Content Analysis with the help of ATLAS.ti software. Results: The potential moral problems that trigger moral suffering are related to the threat to moral integrity, infrastructure/logistics and teamwork problems, and emotional aspects, revealing their articulation with damage to the foundations of a healthy work environment, which generated the proposal of a construct. Final considerations: The articulation between the experiences of moral suffering and the commitment of the fundamentals of a healthy work environment has brought important contributions to the adoption of strategies to protect and stimulate moral deliberation by professionals in favor of practice and society.

No abstract

Resumo Objetivo Analisar associações entre distresse moral e características sociodemográficas e laborais de enfermeiros brasileiros. Métodos Estudo transversal realizado em todo território brasileiro, no período de novembro de 2015 a maio de 2016, com uma amostra de 1227 enfermeiros, a partir da aplicação da Escala Brasileira de Distresse Moral em Enfermeiros (EDME-Br), por meio de questionário eletrônico. A análise empregou estatística descritiva e analítica. Resultados Associações estatisticamente significativas foram estabelecidas em todos os seis fatores, são eles: 1. Reconhecimento, poder e identidade pessoal; 2. Cuidado seguro e qualificado; 3. Defesa de valores e de direitos; 4. Condições de trabalho; 5. Infrações éticas; 6. Equipes de trabalho. As variáveis que apresentaram maior número de associações foram: carga horária; pós-graduação, natureza da atenção/complexidade do serviço, natureza, tipo e tempo do vínculo. Destacou-se o papel da experiência e da formação ampliada na maior percepção e/ou vivência do distresse moral. Conclusão A amplitude do estudo e a diversidade do contexto revelam especificidades quanto à ocorrência do distresse moral no cenário brasileiro, reforçando a necessidade de conhecer elementos que participam da experiência moral dos enfermeiros.