MALVERN, Pa. (November 3, 2021) – Cassatt Insured Group, a captive insurance group for hospitals, physicians and other healthcare organizations, hosted its 23rd Annual Risk Management and Patient Safety Symposium virtually on November 3rd for member hospitals.
This year’s Symposium, “I’m Fine…”: The Mask of Healthcare Providers, is Cassatt’s 23rd Annual Symposium. This theme was determined based on feedback from previous Cassatt symposiums and other educational programs, as well as the experience and knowledge of current topics from Cassatt’s Risk Management Advisory Group education committee and staff. Stress and burnout were frequently-suggested topics for future programs in the 2019 symposium evaluation comments, and the topic has become even more pertinent given the pandemic experiences this past year. People frequently ask one another, “How are you doing?” and the automatic response becomes, “I’m fine.” That two-word response is just an easy way for professionals to move on with their day, maintain a sense of control, and keep others from feeling helpless when they cannot and do not understand what the professional is experiencing.
During this year’s Symposium, we heard from a group of experienced speakers from the healthcare environment. They discussed self-care; the importance of compassion in healthcare, not only for patients but for providers as well; how mindfulness can help mitigate burnout; support available from defense counsel; and the importance of implementing humor into your work and life to manage stress. Healthier workforce members can find meaning and purpose in their work. Improved well-being increases resilience, engagement, and satisfaction; it decreases early retirement and job changes and leads to improved access to care and the quality of care delivered to our patients.
The target audience included: Cassatt member hospitals’ physicians, nurses, clinical and administrative leadership and staff, hospital attorneys, patient safety officers, quality and risk managers, educators, human resource professionals, and other healthcare professionals interested in risk management and safety.
The lectures for the symposium were:
- A Physician’s Road to Recovery– Adam Hill, MD
- Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference– Stephen Trzeciak, MD, MPH
- Everyday Well-being and Resilience: 3 Practical Strategies to Survive the Stress– Gail Gazelle, MD, MCC
- Supportive Relationships with Defense Counsel – Marcie Courtney, Esquire; Daniel Sherry, Esquire; Rebecca Waddell, Esquire; Richard Zangle (Moderator)
- Let it Go, Just Let it Go – Kent Rader
The symposium was presented in joint sponsorship with Abington Health.
