A theoretical argumentation on the consequences of moral stress.

BACKGROUND

Intensive care units are characterized by heavy workloads, increasing work complexity and ethical concerns related to life-and-death decisions. In the present study, it is assumed that there is a relationship between moral stress, support and competence for nurses in intensive care units.

AIM: To analyse and describe the theoretical relationship between moral stress and support on the one hand and competence on the other, in the context of intensive care.

METHOD: A form of qualitative secondary analysis based on the findings from three original studies. In the analytic process a theory on professional competence was used.

FINDINGS: The findings suggest that imbalance due to moral stress between different competences hinders the development of collectively shared caring competence.

CONCLUSIONS

Moral stress cannot be totally eliminated in the intensive care unit. But moral stress is not only a problem. It can also become a driving force to stimulate competence.