Developing a Stress Risk Management Plan for Residents in Training: Reflections from the First Phase of an Action Research Occupational Health Initiative

Residency training programmes can be highly stressful endeavours with the potential to exact a heavy toll on the mental health of those involved (Chigerwe et al., 2021; Langley-Evans, 2023; Petersen et al., 2021). The University of Edinburgh has invested significant resources in the development of student support services and is also committed to bringing wellbeing and mental health into the curriculum as part of the Curriculum Transformation Project . These represent some of the elements of a Public Health approach to student mental health (Besse et al., 2021); there has, however been little work undertaken to integrate Occupational Health approaches into such work, despite the fact that they are specifically designed to manage work-related health risks (Calvet et al., 2021; Cousquer, 2023; Davis and Morganson, 2019; Taubman and Parikh, 2023). A working group at the R(D)SVS was therefore established to initiate and develop a participatory Action Research project to safeguard resident wellbeing. The research question considered here explores how Veterinary Teaching Organisations can approach the challenge of managing stress in resident training programmes using the recommended HSE approaches. This presentation reports on the iterative learning that has allowed the team to develop a pilot project that will allow work, worker and organisational hazards and risks to be better understood and managed. Key findings arising from the development of stress risk assessments, stress indicator tools, exit interviews and proposals for a mental health training course highlight the need to build trust and address barriers to engagement through collaboration and co-creation. At an organisational systems level, these can be viewed as deep listening challenges where the attentional qualities and listening skills brought to the project are easily overlooked but crucially important. Piloting initiatives, actively seeking and integrating feedback, creating opportunities and safe spaces for individuals to express their concerns, all help to evolve organisational culture.