Slovak Healthcare Workers’ Lived Experience of Conscience

This paper investigates the meaning of conscience in providing healthcare and Slovak healthcare workers’ lived experience of conscience. It draws on data from semi-structured interviews with eleven healthcare professionals. The data was analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation. Two main themes relating to the lived experience of conscience were derived-preserving one’s conscience integrity, by satisfying one’s conscience in order to sustain it, using defense mechanisms for protection, following one’s inner conviction, and respecting the patient’s individuality and having a troubled conscience in relation to external factors, medical procedures and options, and demands by the authorities. The results are discussed in relation to the literature.