Working in risk management requires a balance of meeting the needs of patients to ensure safe and trusted healthcare while meeting the needs of the healthcare team to foster a positive safety culture where errors and events are openly discussed. The role can be demanding and can often interfere with personal activities and carry emotional weight and worries beyond working hours. We have learned that accident investigators can experience psychological harm that can snowball further into burnout, anxiety, and depression.

Wellbeing efforts to reduce burnout are often geared more toward staff providing direct patient care. It is not often that someone checks in on the risk professional during critical events to see how they are managing. A large part of their role includes keeping sensitive information confidential. They cannot vent or process situations with others due to the uniqueness of their role. The risk professional may not have the support and resources on hand to recognize and process the stress and emotions caused by their position. This can lead to taking these stories home and feeling consumed by the role.

This presentation will explore the emotional challenges of the role, which may include critical incident stress, emotional labor, abusive supervision, and competing loyalties/duties. The presenter will share red flags and warning signs for the busy risk professional to be aware of and strategies to prioritize balancing life along with work. Some of these strategies include developing positive social relationships, mind/body connection, autonomy, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, a sense of purpose, and personal growth. This presentation will promote the resiliency of the risk management professional in times of uncertainty.