When you just can’t fix it: Moral distress in health care
For the third time this week, you’ve been assigned to the ICU where Harold is on day 386 of mechanical ventilation. A young man, the father of four children, with a career as a financial planner ahead of him, Harold suffered a catastrophic brain injury during surgery for a chronic disease. After long months of ICU visits and unanswered prayers at the bedside, his family rarely visits him. Nonetheless, Harold’s mother remains steadfast to her promise to fulfill his wish that