Moral Injury in Medical Students: A Review of Associated Factors and Intervention Strategies

Abstract

Moral injury is a critical moral and psychological issue in medical education, profoundly affecting students’ well-being and professional identity. Traditional constructs like moral distress and burnout fail to fully capture its moral essence and structural roots. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the conceptualization, distinguishing features, associated factors, and intervention strategies of moral injury in medical students. It suggests strengthening multi-level interventions, clarifying conceptual boundaries, and developing targeted assessment tools to protect students’ moral integrity, providing a reference for medical education practice and future research.

Keywords

Medical students / Moral injury / Associated factors / Intervention strategies

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