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The Lawyer on Your Side: The Power of the Interprofessional Team in Preventing Moral Distress and Empathy Erosion

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Book cover Teaching Empathy in Healthcare

Abstract

Frustration in meeting challenges associated with the healthcare system and social determinants of patients’ health have been cited as causes of moral distress leading to erosion of clinician empathy. Including non-traditional health professions like law on interprofessional teams offers advocacy services that address patients’ social needs and may facilitate health systems change, aiding clinicians’ ability to treat illness and enhance quality of life. By including lawyers as partners in health care, health professionals gain knowledge and potential allies that address non-medical influences impacting health, and prevent causes of their own moral distress and empathy erosion.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, Health and Society, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Natalie Castellanos

  2. Division of Ethics, Humanities, and the Arts (DEHA), Department of Humanities, Health and Society, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Marin Gillis

Authors
  1. Natalie Castellanos
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  2. Marin Gillis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie Castellanos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Adriana E. Foster

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY, USA

    Zimri S. Yaseen

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Castellanos, N., Gillis, M. (2019). The Lawyer on Your Side: The Power of the Interprofessional Team in Preventing Moral Distress and Empathy Erosion. In: Foster, A.E., Yaseen, Z.S. (eds) Teaching Empathy in Healthcare. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29876-0_17

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