Nurses' Experiences of Ethical Dilemmas and their Coping Behaviors in Intensive Care Units

Park, Young Su; Oh, Eui Geum

Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing 2012;5(2):1-14.
Published online December 31, 2012.

중환자실 간호사가 경험하는 윤리적 딜레마와 대처행위

박영수, 오의금

¹연세대학교
²연세대학교 간호대학 간호정책연구소

Nurses' Experiences of Ethical Dilemmas and their Coping Behaviors in Intensive Care Units

Young Su Park, Eui Geum Oh

¹Department of Nursing, Yonsei University
²Department of Nursing, Yonsei University, Institute of Nursing Policy and Research

Abstract

Purpose
This study was aimed to describe ethical dilemmas and types of coping behaviors among nurses who worked in intensive care units (ICUs).
Methods
Data were collected by 2 focus group interviews with 12 ICU nurses in an academic affiliated hospital in Seoul, Korea. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, and data were analyzed by modified qualitative content analysis.
Results
Three themes emerged from the focus group interviews: "Respect for Persons (2 contents)", "Beneficence (13 contents)", "Justice (1 content)". Coping behaviors against the dilemmas were consultations with the doctors or colleagues, acceptance, guilt, reflection, forgetting, endurance, and frustration.
Conclusion
The results of this study help us to understand ethical dilemmas that nurses experienced in ICUs and their coping behaviors. It would be useful to develop education programs for nurses in ICUs to support coping strategies for ethical dilemmas.

Key Words: Ethical Dilemmas, Coping Behaviors, Intensive Care Units, Nurses