Moral distress
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A form of emotional or psychological distress that occurs when a person knows the ethically appropriate action to take but is prevented from acting due to external constraints, such as policy restrictions or an insufficiently powerful role. uncountable
"Moral distress arises when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action."
Example
More examples"Moral distress arises when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action."
Etymology
The term was first used in clinical nursing literature in the 1980s and first formally described by Andrew Jameton in 1984.