5/14/25

Dear Colleagues,

My name is Veronica McEvoy, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Conway School of Nursing at The Catholic University of America. I am inviting you to participate in this research study because you cared for patients in the intensive care unit, stepdown/progressive care unit, or medical/surgical unit who were under diagnostic testing for or confirmed as having the COVID-19 virus during the first wave of the pandemic (January 2020 to June 2020). I am interested in better understanding the clinical bedside nurses’ moral courage and their experiences while caring for the hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the first wave of the pandemic.

There are two components of the study. The first component is an online survey that includes the Nurses Moral Courage (Numminen et al., 2019) consisting of 21 questions and a short demographic questionnaire. The survey is confidential and does not require personal information (name, address, e-mail). There is no envisioned risk or discomfort in participating in the study, and you may withdraw at any time during the survey. There are no direct benefits of participating in the survey for you, however, the benefits of this research may serve to help nursing schools and healthcare facilities to better understand and promote nurses’ moral courage. The research study has received IRB approval from The Catholic University of America. If you have any questions about the conduct of this study or my rights as a subject in this study, you can call The Catholic University of America, Office of Sponsored Programs 202-319-5218.

Please forward the Letter of Invitation to other nurses who would be eligible to participate in the study. By clicking on the survey link below you indicate that you have read the study information and agree to participate in this research study. You may choose to withdraw from the study at any time. Please print a copy of this page for your records.

At the end of the survey, you will receive an invitation to participate in a Zoom session or face-to-face interview to discuss your nursing experiences during the January/February 2020 to June 2020 portion of the COVID-19 pandemic. This second section of the study is not required but voluntary. The interview would solicit your nursing experiences demonstrating moral courage from January/February 2020 to June 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic. The result of the study is expected to describe nurses’ moral courage behaviors while caring for hospitalized patients either confirmed with or under diagnostic testing for COVID-19 during January/February 2020 to June 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic. While discussing your experiences caring for the COVID-19 patients may be difficult, sharing this information will improve the profession’s understanding of clinical bedside nurses’ morally courageous behaviors during the pandemic.

Participation in this section of the study will require one audio-recorded interview lasting 45 to 70 minutes either at a location of your choice or via the Zoom virtual meeting platform. I may request a follow-up interview lasting no longer than 30 minutes at a location of your choice or via Zoom. All data will be stored on a password-protected laptop and secured in a locked cabinet located in the researcher’s home and accessible only by the primary researcher. Committee members will have access to the de- identified data. At a later date, if a second data analysis is needed, you will be contacted to obtain consent.

Participants who complete the online survey have an opportunity to enter a gift card drawing for one of four $25.00 gift cards. The participants who completed the interview will have their identifier entered in a second gift card drawing for one of four $25.00 gift cards. Participation is strictly voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time.

To participate or learn about this study, contact Veronica McEvoy at mcevoyv@cua.edu or call 609-233-3983.

Thank you,

Veronica McEvoy Ph.D(c), MSN, RN, CCRN, SCRN

Survey Link

https://catholic.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5r5yezq66obi5g