Nurses’ Ethical Difficulties in Emergency Department*

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the ethical difficulties experienced by emergency department nurses in hospital settings. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 12 nurses working in emergency department. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to identify ethical difficulties. Four themes were emerged from the qualitative data: difficulty of advocacy for patients’ good, ethical disagreement, ethical immaturity, and ethical stress. This study will provide a theoretical basis for developing ethical guidelines that enable emergency room nurses to make decision ethically.