Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Moral distress is prevalent in health care providers and can have long-term negative consequences on providers. There is currently no literature identifying if athletic training students experience moral distress or if these students feel prepared to deal with moral and ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. This study aimed to examine the frequency and perception of moral distress in athletic training students and evaluate athletic training students' ethical preparedness. This study used a concurrent mixed-methods design. 20 athletic training students in their final year of their professional master's program who had completed at least one 4-week clinical immersion rotation were recruited for this study (age: M = 24.50, SD = 4.0 years old, women = 17, men = 2, agender = 1). Using a web-based survey, participants completed the Measure of Moral Distress in Athletic Trainers (MMD-AT) and participated in a semi-structured interview to gather information about moral distress and ethical preparedness. Overall, participants did experience moral distress, albeit at a low level, with an average overall MMD-AT score of 23.80 ( SD = 24.50) out of a maximum of 189 (range: 0–73). Qualitative analysis of the student interviews identified three domains: a) moral distress, b) dealing with distress, and c) educational preparation, with 11 categories that represented student responses. From these data, I created the Framework for Athletic Training Student Moral Distress Progression (the "Framework"). This Framework is a visual representation of the development, experience, and outcome of moral distress in athletic training students. The Framework is divided into three stages, each including potential interventions that educators could use to help mitigate the development of moral distress in students. Moral distress is inevitable in health care, and through proactive and effective ethics education, athletic training students can develop the moral resilience they will need to effectively mitigate the negative outcomes of moral distress.
Recommended Citation
Drescher, Matthew J., "Moral Distress And Ethical Preparedness In Athletic Training Students" (2023). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1996.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/1996