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A Health System-wide Moral Distress Consultation Service: Development and Evaluation

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Abstract

Although moral distress is now a well-recognized phenomenon among all of the healthcare professions, few evidence-based strategies have been published to address it. In morally distressing situations, the “presenting problem” may be a particular patient situation, but most often signals a deeper unit- or system-centered issue. This article describes one institution’s ongoing effort to address moral distress in its providers. We discuss the development and evaluation of the Moral Distress Consultation Service, an interprofessional, unit/system-oriented approach to addressing and ameliorating moral distress.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr. Mary Faith Marshall and Dr. Anne O’Neil for their careful critiques of an earlier draft of this article.

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Correspondence to Ann B. Hamric.

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Hamric, A.B., Epstein, E.G. A Health System-wide Moral Distress Consultation Service: Development and Evaluation. HEC Forum 29, 127–143 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-016-9315-y

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