Moral resilience – how to navigate ethical complexity in clinical practice

Clinicians are constantly confronted with ethical questions. Recent examples of healthcare workers caught up in high-profile best-interest cases are on the rise, but decisions regarding the allocation of the clinician’s time and skills, or scare resources such as organs and medication, are everyday occurrences. The increasing pressure of “doing more with less” is one that can take its toll.

Dr Cynda Rushton is a professor of clinical ethics, and a proponent of ‘moral resilience’ as a pathway through which clinicians can lessen their experience of moral distress, and navigate the contentious issues they may face with a greater sense of integrity. In the video series below, she provides the guiding principles of moral resilience, and explores how they can be put into practice.

Ethical challenges for clinicians
 

 
What is the cause of moral distress in healthcare professionals?
 

 
Fee vs free: moral distress in other healthcare systems
 

 
What is moral resilience?
 

 
Using moral resilience in everyday practice
 

 
Does society contribute to moral distress in healthcare?
 

 
Featured Image Credit: Lonely Tree by Mahkeo. CC0 Public Domain via Unsplash.