Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Western Journal of Nursing Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nathaniel, A. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nathaniel, A. K.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Moral Reckoning in Nursing

Alvita K. Nathaniel

West Virginia University, Charleston

Analysis of qualitative data resulted in an original substantive grounded theory of moral reckoning in nursing, a three-stage process. After a novice period, the nurse experiences a stage of ease in which there is comfort in the workplace and congruence of internal and external values. Unexpectedly, a situational bind occurs in which the nurse’s core beliefs come into irreconcilable conflict with external forces. This compels the nurse into the stage of resolution, in which he or she either gives up or makes a stand. The nurse then moves into the stage of reflection in which he or she lives with the consequences and iteratively examines beliefs, values, and actions. The nurse tries to make sense of experiences through remembering, telling the story, and examining conflicts. This study sets the stage for further investigation of moral distress. The theory of moral reckoning challenges nurses to tell their stories, examine conflicts, and participate as partners in moral decision making.

Key Words: moral distress • ethics • grounded theory • moral dilemma • decision making

Western Journal of Nursing Research, Vol. 28, No. 4, 419-438 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0193945905284727


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Nurs EthicsHome page
W. Austin, J. Kelecevic, E. Goble, and J. Mekechuk
An Overview of Moral Distress and the Paediatric Intensive Care Team
Nursing Ethics, January 1, 2009; 16(1): 57 - 68.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Nurs EthicsHome page
J. McCarthy and R. Deady
Moral Distress Reconsidered
Nursing Ethics, March 1, 2008; 15(2): 254 - 262.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Nurs EthicsHome page
P. R. Zuzelo
Exploring the Moral Distress of Registered Nurses
Nursing Ethics, May 1, 2007; 14(3): 344 - 359.
[Abstract] [PDF]