The nature of care provided and the work nurses perform
in EDs and resuscitation rooms are a primary source
of moral distress experienced by trauma nurses. The
ED represents a kind of cultural zone of protection—
the center of our collective line of defense against the
terrifying arbitrariness with which misfortune is distributed
among us.The ED is primarily the place for sudden
unforeseen events that have befallen upon people in our
communities. Within most EDs is a resuscitation room that
can be the portal between life and death. It is the place
where helplessness emerges from both the patient and the
nurse. Rescue is not always possible, and the undeniable
truth that death is imminent for all looms around every
drawn curtain. It is the place trauma nurses are expected
to take action over morally laden questions about how
and why, harm and benefi t, rights, and responsibilities
when seconds count in saving a patient's life.