In March 2018, bioethicist Dr. Beth Epstein PhD RN, FAAN, will be visiting the Center for Bioethics to offer workshops on moral distress in health care. This event will be the first in a series around this subject. There will be three interactive and engaging workshops, open to all health care professionals practicing at UNC. Workshops will include education regarding moral distress. Additionally, Dr. Epstein will offer strategies for health care professionals dealing with moral distress.
*Each workshop lasts for 2 hours, registration required, watch for more details*
Workshop time-slots: 10am-12pm, 1pm-3pm, or 3pm-5pm
Beth Epstein, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Associate Professor for the University of Virginia School of Nursing and UVA Center for Biomedical Ethics and Humanities.
Click here for information from Dr. Epstein’s last visit to UNC to present Moral Distress Consultation: The UVA Model.
Please read more about moral distress: “Moral Distress, Moral Residue, and the Crescendo Effect”
What is Moral Distress?
Moral distress, now a well-recognized phenomenon among all of the healthcare professions, occurs when providers believe they are doing something morally wrong but have little power to act differently or to change the situation. As a result, they feel that they are compromising their own moral integrity as well as their ability to protect patients and care for them appropriately.
-Hamric & Epstein, 2017
Image from Beth Epstein
Planning Committee Members:
- Arlene Davis, UNC Center for Bioethics*
- Sara Scarlet, Surgical Resident & Ethics Fellow*
- Neil Ryan, Respiratory Therapy*
- Crista Creedal, Nurse Manager, Cancer Hospital*
- Maureen Heck Nurse Manager, SICU
- Hadley Kifner, Pastoral Care
- Claire Barber, NICU Nursing Care Coordinator
- Yee Patricia, Nurse Manager, Children’s Hospital
- Donna Withrow, Patient Relations
- Lisa Walston, Case Management
- Margaret McWilliams, Case Management
- Coordinator: Brandy Elsenrath, UNC Center for Bioethics
*Hospital Ethics Committee
Additional Resources:
UNC SOM Department of Psychiatry – Wellness Initiatives
UNC Hospitals’ Beacon Program
UNC Health Care System’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team
UNC Health Care Employee Assistance Program
UNC SOM Wellness Initiative
Campus Health Services (for Medical Students)