This literature review, published in Text Context Nursing, was performed with the objective to identify, in national and international scientific literature over the last ten years, the implication that moral distress has on nurses, the similarities between moral distress and burnout, and the coping strategies for moral distress. The authors found that the moral distress experienced by the nurses is manifested in the personal dimension, by emotional and physical alterations, and in the professional dimension, by job dissatisfaction, burnout and abandonment of the profession. Coping strategies utilized fell into three categories: (1) the educational dimension, including the process of permanent education and training; (2) the communicative dimension, which include multi professional communication, structured communication, ethical rounds, forums, simulations and lectures; and (3) the organizational dimension.