Addressing Moral Distress in Nurse Managers

Abstract

Everyday workplace stressors are catalysts for moral distress (MD) in nurse managers, which can lead to burnout and leaving their position or profession. At a Midwest Community Hospital, the turnover rate for nursing leaders, including nurse managers, ranged from 22-43% over the last two years. While contributing factors and interventions to address MD have been explored, few resources are available to support nursing leaders in reducing their MD. An extensive literature review identified guiding nursing leaders through facilitated discussions related to their workplace stressors demonstrated reduced MD. The purpose of this evidence-based quality improvement initiative was to implement a series of facilitated discussions for nurse managers to reduce moral distress and impact their intention to leave the organization. After implementation of four monthly facilitated discussions addressing the top workplace stressors, the average moral distress appraisal score decreased, the nurse managers' intention to leave their position remained the same, however, all ten nurse managers have remained in their roles. Based on the cost of the program and median salary of nurse managers, the return on investment equaled a savings of over $236,000. Addressing MD can retain nurse managers, minimizing the downstream effect on their team and organizational outcomes.A three-year embargo was granted for this item