“It is time to end the conspiracy of silence.” This call to address psychosocial distress in health professionals was issued more than 30 years ago. Since then, we have progressed through the stages of change, moving from denial to action. Yet, vital course corrections remain to be done. Join clinical psychologist, Wayne Sotile, as he shares insights borne of his 40+ years of experience working with health professionals, as a therapist, leadership coach, and organizational consultant. Wayne will highlight what we’ve gotten right, where we have erred and over-corrected, and how we can move forward with renewed energy and purpose.

• Discuss the stage of change as applied to workforce wellbeing efforts
• Discuss the mythical balanced life, burnout hysteria, and “write ‘em up!” as examples of “right concept; wrong application” efforts to shape a well healthcare workforce
• List at least three practical strategies for advancing and solidifying well-being, at home and at work

Over the past several decades, healthcare has increasingly been conceptualized as a series of independent transactions that can be distributed nearly randomly among healthcare workers: The resulting fragmentation of care is ubiquitous and has been at odds with the fundamental relational nature of medical care.

How would healthcare differ if the infrastructures, policies and technologies upon which care delivery is based were reoriented to prioritize relationships at every level? In this presentation, drawing from the commentary, Radical Reorientation of the US Health Care System Around Relationships, wherein 3 foundational recommendations are presented: 1. Structurally prioritize continuity of relationships, 2. Make room for relationships by removing sludge from the system, and 3. Realign reimbursement and research to prioritize relationships. Implementation tactics are provided to guide organizational leaders, policy makers, technology vendors and other stakeholders. After the session, you will be able to:

• Describe one consequence of a transactional conceptualization of healthcare
• Identify at least 2 tactical approaches to prioritize relationships within the physical structure, team structure, scheduling approach and/or technology within a work unit
• Plan to bring home at least 1 change to remove sludge from the daily work of clinicians in your unit
• Become inspired about the possibilities of reclaiming the joy in medicine

From leaders to frontline workers, our relationships and the culture we create shape the outcomes we generate. Reframing distress to encompass moral injury, and resetting the work environment to prevent and mitigate it, invites effective, innovative solutions that will make healthcare better for all of us – administrators, healthcare professionals, and patients. Learning objectives include:

• Define moral injury
• Describe the relationship between moral injury and burnout
• Name three (or more) characteristics of a morally centered organization

Join Geoffrey Roche as he takes a deep dive into how to develop future leaders and current leaders to ensure they are focusing on culture, leading with heart, becoming holistically healthy, and transforming lives. Roche will discuss the future of work and education as it relates to healthcare including leadership, culture, DEIB, leading through difficulty and how to be a holistically healthy leader. You’ll walk away with:

• Strategies to promote continuous learning and upskilling among healthcare staff to adapt to evolving roles and responsibilities in the changing healthcare landscape
• The ability to cultivate a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizational culture that fosters innovation and collaboration
• Ideas to promote holistic well-being and resilience among healthcare leaders, especially in times of crisis

The health of an organization is determined by the well-being of its people. Unfortunately, burnout continues to rage on and threaten the well-being of the workforce – especially for women, people of color, and others from marginalized communities. Leaders need a top-down and bottom-up approach to foster resilience in the workplace and support those most vulnerable to burnout. This session will explore practical strategies to advance both organizational and personal resilience. You will:

• Garner insights from other industries for systems-level well-being solutions.
• Prevent burnout using the ReST Revive Strive Thrive® framework.
• Apply human-centered design principles and practices to implement actionable change.

Why is it so difficult to keep the best people and attract the best talent? It turns out after studying hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals, workplace culture expert Jessica Weiss has discovered that the solution lies in … happiness. Happiness is the basis for collaboration, trust, effective leadership, and the ability to navigate uncertainty and change. By developing and focusing on happiness first, organizations are able to build incredible, high-performing, sustainable teams. Join this session to:

• Understand why work can and should be a source of happiness
• Transform the way employees think about their work
• Learn practical frameworks to create spaces where people love to work

Data-driven insights allow you to proactively manage employee well-being, improve productivity, and reduce healthcare costs within your organization. This data-backed, interactive session will allow you to:

• Identify key data sources and metrics for assessing workforce health and performance using predictive analytics and technology tools
• Develop strategies to implement these models to forecast health risks, trends, and interventions for promoting a healthier and more productive workforce
• Evaluate the ethical considerations and privacy implications of using predictive analytics to ensure compliance with regulations and protect employee data

The Big Quit continues to adversely affect all industries and the healthcare sector in particular. It has become the leading concern for leaders of healthcare organizations and impacts the ability to deliver quality care and a positive patient and employee experience. Dr. Riess will describe a leadership implementation of a brief institutional empathy and wellness training at a major health system that re-engaged medical staff and resulted in 17X retention of physicians over a four-year period that saved the system millions of dollars and can be easily replicated. You’ll learn:

• How empathy and compassion play significant roles in attaining and retaining talent
• Wellness training and programs that can positively impact the bottom line
• Steps you can take to get buy-in for programs at your organization

While working in healthcare is uniquely rewarding, it also is uniquely challenging. Supporting the healthcare workforce effectively requires a nuanced approach to systematically remove the barriers to help-seeking. In this session, Dr. Farley will cover evidence-based strategies including Stress First Aid, and will share best practices for effectively integrating SFA concepts into organizational culture. She will explore the power of peer support programs, the importance of normalizing mental health conversations, and the impact of policy and procedural barriers on healthcare workers’ well-being. Join us to learn how to create a healthcare community where it truly is ok to not be ok. Session participants will:

• Understand Stress First Aid: Gain insights into the principles of Stress First Aid and how to apply them in a healthcare setting to provide immediate support to colleagues.
• Foster Peer Support: Learn strategies to establish and maintain effective peer support systems that can act as a buffer against the isolating effects of adverse events.
• Overcome Barriers: Identify common policy and procedural barriers to mental health support in healthcare and discuss actionable steps to advocate for systemic changes that promote well-being.

By fostering a culture of respect, continuous listening, and accountability, healthcare organizations can achieve higher levels of employee engagement, retention and well-being, and improved patient experience. This session will present:

• Insights from national data, with organization specific case studies that include innovative approaches for enhancing staff engagement
• Strategies to support supervisors and managers
• Solutions to bolster overall wellness and resilience

Protecting the healthcare frontline in the pursuit of psychological safety involves creating a supportive environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up, sharing concerns, and collaborating openly to enhance patient care and staff well-being. After this session, you will be able to:

• Identify factors that contribute to psychological safety, including effective communication, trust-building, and leadership support
• Implement strategies to promote open dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback among your team members
• Evaluate the impact psychological safety initiatives can have on staff morale, patient outcomes, performance, and staff retention

As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the modern workforce, leaders and staff face an uncertain future. While a global impact brought with it increased competition for staff, inflationary pressures to drive up wages, and cultural changes such as quiet quitting, AI holds the potential to alleviate some of these pressures by automating tasks, acting as a virtual assistant, and in some cases completely taking over roles. Many employees harbor fears that the rise of AI technology could lead to job displacement, creating uncertainty about their future employment and career stability. The time-consuming benefits of AI could reduce workforce burnout while simultaneously increasing it due to fears of workforce reduction. What will the modern workforce culture look like in the coming AI age when AI becomes our assistant, our co-worker, our replacement, and maybe even our manager? In this session, you will:

• Gain better insight into the capabilities of AI in the modern workforce
• Understand the potential impacts AI will have on workforce culture and burnout levels
• Learn about workforce cultural implications as AI agents become co-workers and even managers