The Scope of Clinical Ethics: Letting Go of Moral Distress

Abstract

We argue against the widely assumed view that clinical ethicists have an important role to play in helping to alleviate the moral distress of clinicians. When moral distress causes pathological psychological states it properly falls within the domain of mental health professionals. Where moral distress appears to be the result of a clinician's true normative beliefs, the ethicist should not convince them otherwise. Where the normative beliefs causing distress are false, clinical ethicists do not have any special ability to persuade clinicians to give up those normative beliefs. At best, successfully alleviating moral distress may be an unsought, accidental byproduct of addressing ethical concerns. Our discussion points to the need for more clarity around the appropriate professional scope for clinical ethicists.