Moral Injury

Moral Injury

            One of the critical issues that emerge in the discussions is the concept of moral injury. It is described as a multi-dimensional, and the management and cure of moral injury should be multidimensional as well. Different individuals experience different moral and ethical challenges at the various stages of their lives or work operations. Moral injury has different impacts on each since they come in varied forms and shapes for each person. Therefore, the healing process is different for each is unique and the servant leaders helping out in the therapeutic process should understand the extent and nature of moral challenge the individual is experiencing to be able to facilitate a successful recovery. Moral injury can be managed through sharing with others who have gone through a similar experience. 

            Kathryn gives an example of her friend Andrew who worked as a military munition for the Air Force troop in the year 2003 to 2008. He was responsible for munition reception and safe-keeping. He kept the inventory of the munitions such as bombs, delays, and arms and was also responsible for the handling of the flammable items like the grenade, small arms, and flares. Andrew experienced ethical and moral challenge when he discovered how the weapons he assembled for the troop were being used. He was not sure whether arms were used only on the enemies or if the innocent civilians were collateral damage. These thoughts affected his performance, and he was no longer proud of what he was doing as a monition keeper and armory personnel.

            She gives another example of a military reserve that experienced moral challenge when he was denied retirement because of lack of replacement and his high level of clearance. The person suffers, even more, when his troop is taken to the Middle East and him to a safe place in South Africa, yet they have been training together for the Middle East mission.

According to Marjorie, hospital servants such as nurses, therapists, and doctors also experience moral injury in their line of duty. He explains that medical practitioners also e experience symptoms of moral challenges such as guilt, demoralization, and distress. He gives an example of his sister who is a nurse in one of the medical facilities and her husband who is a physician as well. Most of the doctors experience moral and ethical challenges when it comes to vital decisions regarding their patients.  For instance, a nurse or any other medical practitioner will experience moral injury when handling a patient suffering from a terminal illness. Watching a patient suffer from the pain and agony in their sick bed as they wait to die can be morally challenging to the medical practitioners. The decision as to whether to save them from the pain and end everything for them at once or let them suffer as they wait for their death may lead to moral injury.

 Also, without the assistance of the patient's family members and other medical officers, choosing a pathway for the patients can be morally challenging. Every patient has a unique condition; therefore, the choice of whether the patient is to be rehabilitated or taken to a comfort care or hospice may lead to moral injury without the assistance of other related parties.

            In the opinion of Haley Curtis, help to those suffering from moral injury can only come from individuals who have suffered from the same experience. An individual who has not experienced the mental torture that the soldiers go through during or after a war or someone who does not understand when transpires during the war cannot be of help to the soldiers who are experiencing moral injury.

 She gives an example of her husband who never understood the nature of ethical challenges that the soldiers go through until they had a discussion on moral injury. The aftermaths of war such as the innocents' victims of war consume the minds of soldiers despite the pressure to but the war behind. Some soldiers don't prefer to be referred to as troops as they consider this not human and is affecting them psychologically. The increased rate of military suicide is a clear indication that the soldiers are suffering from moral injury and a lot need to be done to assist them.