Innovative Solutions

In Brief Moral distress is the knowledge of the ethically appropriate action to take but the inability to act upon it. This phenomenon is one experienced in the critical care setting. To help staff members cope with moral distress, a team conducted workshops at one facility to help the staff identify and cope with this distress. The workshop consisted of discussions of distressing situations in the intensive care unit, didactic information on moral distress, formulation of an individual plan to reduce stress, and strategies to deal with moral distress in the intensive care unit. This article discusses the workshop and its effect on participants' coping with moral distress. Moral distress is the knowledge of the ethically appropriate action to take but the inability to act upon that action. This article describes the use of a workshop to discuss distressing situations, information on moral distress, and the formulation of a plan to reduce stress and cope with moral distress.