중환자실 간호사가 경험하는 윤리적 딜레마와 대처행위

Abstract

Purpose: This study was aimed to describe ethical dilemmas and types of coping behaviors among nurses who worked in intensive care units (ICUs). Methods: Data were collected by 2 focus group interviews with 12 ICU nurses in an academic affiliated hospital in Seoul, Korea. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, and data were analyzed by modified qualitative content analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the focus group interviews: "Respect for Persons (2 contents)", "Beneficence (13 contents)", "Justice (1 content)". Coping behaviors against the dilemmas were consultations with the doctors or colleagues, acceptance, guilt, reflection, forgetting, endurance, and frustration. Conclusion: The results of this study help us to understand ethical dilemmas that nurses experienced in ICUs and their coping behaviors. It would be useful to develop education programs for nurses in ICUs to support coping strategies for ethical dilemmas.