Background & Aim: Moral courage is a virtue that helps people overcome their fears and limitations and make the right decision and take the right action when encountering any situations. Due to the nature of their profession, nurses daily face many moral issues, and their correct decisions and performances require moral courage. The aim of this study was to determine the moral courage of nurses employed in hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

Methods & Materials: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015. The research population was composed of nurses employed in hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The study samples were 155 people. The moral courage questionnaire of Sekerka and colleagues (2009) was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA on the SPSS software v.22.

Results: The mean score of moral courage of nurses was 63.72±5.91 (15-75). The highest and lowest mean scores were for the dimensions of moral agency (13.73±1.22) and endures threats (11.40±1.80) respectively. The work experiences of nurses had a significant positive relationship with moral courage and beyond compliance (P<0.05).

Conclusion: In this study, moral courage of nurses was at a desirable level. According to the findings, while taking steps to strengthen this virtue, we could strengthen nurses’ moral reasoning to make right decisions and perform ethical practices. In addition, strengthening nurses’ moral courage and reasoning can help them play their role as the patient advocate.