Living at Risk and Moral Distress

Kirsten Woodend RN, MSc, PhD; Manon Lemonde RN, PhD; Janet McCabe RN, MEd, PhD; Catherine Thibeault RN, PhD

Girl curled over self in distress with pink background — Image by Foundry Co from Pixabay

In this final section, learners will engage with two concepts that are very often interrelated: (1) a patient’s decision to ‘live at risk’, and (2) moral distress. Ethical and legal perspectives on living at risk are first explored, where learners consider the delicate balance that must be struck between respecting a patient’s autonomous decisions and the nurse’s additional professional duties of beneficence and nonmaleficence. In addressing moral distress, learners will seek to understand what moral distress is, where it comes from, and the nurse’s role in addressing it. Learners will also utilize a tool developed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses called: “The 4A’s to Rise Above Moral Distress.”