ArticleBMC medical ethics2025
The impact of moral injury on healthcare workers' career calling: exploring authentic self-expression, ethical leadership, and self-compassion.
Article in BMC medical ethics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- When Ethics Hurts: The Causes and Impact of Moral Distress on Emergency Department Nurses: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical nursing · 2026Article
- Reflections on Ethical Leadership: Organizational Ethics and Moral Injury.Healthcare management forum · 2026Article
- "We need to keep in mind that battle fatigue": A commentary on moral injury among substance use treatment and community service providers.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- The Harm We Cause: Spotlighting the Detrimental Consequences of Malicious Envy in Academic Medicine.Clinical medicine & research · 2026Article
- The impact of transition shock on moral sensitivity among nursing interns and its mechanism: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Predictive Role of Moral Injury and Burnout in Professional Communication: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Operating Room Nurses.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
- The positive effect of perceived social support and moral resilience between moral injury and health-related productivity loss among emergency nurses.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMoral injury is a significant issue for healthcare workers, often stemming from exposure to ethical dilemmas and distressing events. This study aims to explore the relationship between moral injury and healthcare workers' career calling, using the job demands-resources model as a theoretical framework. The goal is to understand how moral injury affects healthcare workers' sense of purpose and vocation and identify factors that may mitigate this impact.
methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 506 Chinese healthcare workers. The study used self-report questionnaires to assess moral injury, authentic self-expression, self-compassion, ethical leadership, and career calling. Path analysis was used to test the proposed mediating and moderating relationships within the job demands-resources model.
resultsMoral injury has a negative effect on healthcare workers' career calling. This effect is mediated by authentic self-expression - the inability to openly discuss moral distress weakens the sense of purpose. Self-compassion and ethical leadership buffer against the negative impact of moral injury on career calling.
conclusionsThis research contributes to the understanding of moral injury and career calling in healthcare workers, with practical implications for safeguarding healthcare professionals' well-being and commitment to their vocation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.