Moral distress, caused by constraints that prevent someone from taking actions that they perceive to be morally right, is not uncommon among physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and physical therapy students in today's complex health care environments. The inability to act after considering and deciding on their ethical course of action can lead PTs and PTAs to experience emotional, physical, behavioral, and/or spiritual responses and doubt their moral agency. Residual feelings of doubt and worry can undermine their personal feelings of integrity. Repeated doubting of one's own moral sensitivity can have a negative impact on a professional's future calibration of their own thinking regarding moral decisions.
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Ethics In Practice: Ethics Under Pressure
Insights from real-life stories of moral distress in physical therapy.
Date: November 1, 2023
Contact: aptamag@apta.org
Content Type: Column
Rhea Cohn, PT, DPT; Rebecca Edgeworth Ditwiler, PT, DPT; and Debra Gorman-Badar, PT, PhD
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