Exploring the Relationships Among Moral Distress, Moral Courage, and Moral Resilience in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Background: Nurses and students face a demanding and fluid health care system that can present overwhelming challenges. Moral distress is a challenge encountered by students who experience complex situations. Certain virtues such as moral courage and moral resilience are necessary to navigate around this phenomenon. Method: Using a descriptive correlational study design, a convenience sample of nursing students distributed among three sites were surveyed using three tools: The Moral Distress Thermometer (MDT), the Connor-Davidson Moral Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Moral Courage Scale for Physicians (MCSP). Results: Students reported mild levels of moral distress (M = 2.73, SD = 1.9). Moral resilience was significantly correlated with moral courage, age, and students having a previous degree. Conclusion: Interventions to cultivate moral resilience in nursing curricula are necessary. Valid instruments to measure moral resilience and moral distress in nursing students should be investigated further.