Custody and correctional health care teams work in high-threat, high-scrutiny environments where repeated exposure to violence, human suffering, ethical dilemmas, and limited resources can erode well-being. The consequences extend beyond burnout and secondary trauma to include moral injury—the distress that arises when individuals are unable to act in accordance with their values due to systemic constraints, conflicting priorities, and the dual mandates inherent in correctional work. These impacts can manifest as sleep disruption, physiological stress symptoms, irritability, cynicism, withdrawal, reduced empathy, conflict, increased errors, absenteeism, and turnover—ultimately compromising safety, quality of care, and organizational performance. This session provides a practical roadmap for strengthening wellness across both custody and correctional health care teams, with attention to shared stressors, role-specific pressures, and common points of tension. Participants will examine a framework for identifying early warning signs at the individual and team levels and selecting interventions that align with correctional realities. Strategies to reduce stigma, enhance psychological safety, and foster moral courage will be discussed, along with organizational approaches that acknowledge the occupational hazards of corrections while supporting repair and resilience. Attendees will leave with clear definitions, conceptual tools, sample language for difficult conversations, and an implementation checklist to support sustainable culture change across custody and health care teams.

Educational Objectives

• Differentiate key drivers and signs of burnout, compassion fatigue, traumatic stress, and moral injury
• Apply at least three practical, on-shift strategies that reduce stress escalation and support recovery
• Develop an action plan that includes one team practice and one system-level change to improve wellness, retention, and safety