Abstract
INTRODUCTION[|]According to the definition of the American Association Critical Care Nurses, moral distress occurs when 'nurses know the ethically appropriate action to take, but are unable to act upon it and they act in a manner contrary to their personal and professional values.' [¤]METHODS[|]Factors that may cause moral distress in nurses can be examined under three titles as internal factors related to care providers, clinical conditions and external factors in the environment.[¤]RESULTS[|]Moral distress may also adversely affect the professional development of nursing profession and the quality of care, treatments and practices provided. [¤]DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION[|]In order to solve the situations related to moral distress, nurses need to be able to identify the symptoms of moral distress in their professional lives, to identify the causes of moral distress, and to learn the strategies that may reduce the undesirable consequences of moral distress.[¤]