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Ethical Conflicts Experienced by Nurses in Geriatric Hospitals in South Korea: “If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen”

Author

Listed:
  • Moonok Kim

    (Department of Nursing, Donggang University, Dongmun-Daero 50, Gwangju 61200, Korea)

  • Younjae Oh

    (College of Nursing, Research Institute of Nursing Science, Hallym University, Hallymdaehakgil 1, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do 24252, Korea)

  • Byunghye Kong

    (Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Pilmun-Daero 309, Dong-Gu, Gwangju 61452, Korea)

Abstract

Ethical conflicts among nurses can undermine nurses’ psychological comfort and compromise the quality of patient care. In the last decade, several empirical studies on the phenomena related to ethical conflicts, such as ethical dilemmas, issues, problems, difficulties, or challenges, have been reported; however, they have not always deeply explored the meaning of ethical conflicts experienced by nurses in geriatric care. This study aims to understand the lived experiences of ethical conflict of nurses in geriatric hospitals in South Korea. A phenomenological study was conducted. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were performed with nine registered nurses who cared for elderly patients in geriatric hospitals in South Korea between August 2015 and January 2016. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) confusing values for good nursing, (2) distress resulting from not taking required action despite knowing about a problem, and (3) avoiding ethical conflicts as a last resort. It was found that for geriatric nurses to cope with ethical conflicts successfully, clear ethical guidance, continuing ethics education to improve ethical knowledge and moral behaviors, and a supportive system or program to resolve ethical conflicts involving nurses should be established.

Suggested Citation

  • Moonok Kim & Younjae Oh & Byunghye Kong, 2020. "Ethical Conflicts Experienced by Nurses in Geriatric Hospitals in South Korea: “If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:12:p:4442-:d:374252
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kwisoon Choe & Hyunwook Kang & Aekyung Lee, 2018. "Barriers to ethical nursing practice for older adults in long‐term care facilities," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5-6), pages 1063-1072, March.
    2. Sergio Iavicoli & Antonio Valenti & Diana Gagliardi & Jorma Rantanen, 2018. "Ethics and Occupational Health in the Contemporary World of Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Marta Roczniewska & Anne Richter & Henna Hasson & Ulrica von Thiele Schwarz, 2020. "Predicting Sustainable Employability in Swedish Healthcare: The Complexity of Social Job Resources," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-19, February.
    4. Jennifer Rainer & Joanne Kraenzle Schneider & Rebecca A. Lorenz, 2018. "Ethical dilemmas in nursing: An integrative review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(19-20), pages 3446-3461, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yunmi Kim & Younjae Oh & Eunhee Lee & Shin-Jeong Kim, 2022. "Impact of Nurse–Physician Collaboration, Moral Distress, and Professional Autonomy on Job Satisfaction among Nurses Acting as Physician Assistants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-12, January.
    2. Risto Nikunlaakso & Kirsikka Selander & Elina Weiste & Eveliina Korkiakangas & Maria Paavolainen & Tiina Koivisto & Jaana Laitinen, 2022. "Understanding Moral Distress among Eldercare Workers: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, July.

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