Moral Agency, Bureaucracy & Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Presenter Information

Elisabeth Fortier, University of Regina
David Malloy, University of Regina

Section and Paper

Section 1: Paper 1

Description

This research explores moral agency among a group of nurses in an urban hospital located in a Western Canadian province. For this study, six Nurses were recruited and their stories describe various limitations within the culture of the healthcare system appears to constrict moral agency and possibly lead to moral distress among nurses. Moral agency seems to be influenced by hierarchy and taking initiatives, time/workload, and the “politics of healthcare”. Nurses also shared experiences of resiliency in facing moral dilemmas in the nursing profession. In conclusion, nurses appear to juggle conflicting priorities between providing quality care to patients and being efficient in the health system. As suggested by previous research, this climate leads to moral distress and may negatively influence the wellbeing of nurses in the care they provide to patients.

Comments

Elisabeth Fortier was a graduate student in the Master of Science in Kinesiology & Health Studies program at the University of Regina, David Malloy, a professor in this department, was her Thesis Supervisor Their primary research interests are moral agency, moral distress, nursing ethics, and organizational culture.

First Page

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Last Page

14