Moral Distress Amongst American Physician Trainees Regarding Futile Treatments at the End of Life: A Qualitative Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ethical challenges are common in end of life care; the uncertainty of prognosis and the ethically permissible boundaries of treatment create confusion and conflict about the balance between benefits and burdens experienced by patients.

Objective

We asked physician trainees in internal medicine how they reacted and responded to ethical challenges arising in the context of perceived futile treatments at the end of life and how these challenges contribute to moral distress.

Design

Semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews.

Participants

Twenty-two internal medicine residents and fellows across three American academic medical centers.

Approach

This study uses systematic qualitative methods of data gathering, analysis and interpretation.

Ke

SUBMITTER: Dzeng E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4700021 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature