Moral distress in medical residents from Chilean universities

Bibliographic Data

ID15693157
AuthorsPamela Jofré (0000-0002-0787-1867, University of Valparaíso, corresponding author), Rodrigo Vergara (0000-0003-4263-0193, Hospital Carlos Van Buren), Thelma Suau (University of Chile), Jaime Bastidas (Universidad Católica del Norte), Diego de la Barra (Austral University of Chile), Sofia P Salas (0000-0002-7865-291X, Universidad del Desarrollo)
Year2025
Volume33
Publication date2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Bioética (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1983-8034 • E-ISSN: 1983-8042
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/1983-803420253834en
OpenAlexW4414407451
LanguageEN
References cited24

Moral distress, defined as the suffering a person experiences when forced to actions or omissions that contradict their values, has been described in all medical professions and related training, associated with consequences such as depersonalization in care, low motivation at work, vocational questioning, and in connection with burnout. In Chile, moral distress has been scarcely researched, and even less in medical students. This is an observational, descriptive and mixed research with medical residents from four universities in Chile using an electronically distributed questionnaire to study its frequency and main triggering factors. Participants included 56 students. The results show transversal occurrence of moral distress in students from the researched universities. The difficulty in obtaining informed consent from patients is noted as the main moral distress source. The results provide useful knowledge for designing educational programs that address moral distress and its main associated sources

Bioethics · Depersonalization · Distress · Informed consent · Moral disengagement · Moral responsibility · Psychological distress · Ethics in medical practice · Innovations in Medical Education · Patient Dignity and Privacy

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