Moral Distress: Managing Conflict Within Ourselves and With Others

Overview:

This program will review the concept of moral distress, and how it differs from other types of distress in healthcare. We will discuss strategies for recognizing and addressing conflict, both within ourselves and with others, and share mechanisms to build moral resilience and conflict competence.

Objectives:

• Recognize moral distress and distinguish from other types of distress
• Discuss strategies for addressing moral distress
• Provide techniques for conflict or value-laden conversations.

Presenter: Lindsay Semler, DNP, RN, CCRN, HEC-C

Dr. Lindsay Semler is the Executive Director of Clinical Ethics and Department of Medicine Faculty at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Founder and President of Semler Ethics Consulting, LLC, which is available to organizations and clinicians who are looking to develop their ethics service or provide evidence-based workshops to address moral distress. Her background includes critical care and emergency nursing experience, as well as education, quality improvement, and leadership at UPMC and Penn Medicine. She was also the director of the system-wide Ethics program at INTEGRIS Health. Lindsay obtained her BSN and MSN from the University of Pittsburgh, Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with a focus on moral distress from Johns Hopkins, and the Advanced Training in Healthcare Ethics certificate from the University of Washington. She is certified as a Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C) and critical care nurse (CCRN). Her bioethical areas of interest focus on organizational and preventive healthcare ethics, addressing moral distress, and teaching future generations of healthcare providers.