Peer Support at UC Davis Health during COVID-19…………. and after.
It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing and that we are going to have to learn to live with significant disruptions to our personal and professional lives for some time to come. So, as we adjust and gradually change our mindsets to thinking of COVID-19 as a chronic problem, rather than taking a short term “flatten the curve” perspective, let’s look at one of the positive sides to this tragedy.
One of these “silver linings” is that as physicians, nurses, paramedics and all other “essential workers” many, if not most of us have started to learn to value ourselves more, and look after ourselves better, than we have in the past.
There has been a rewarding emphasis from many in the public and the media during COVID-19 on the value and respect due to front-line healthcare workers, but ironically, as such staff ourselves, we are often the last group to realize the importance that society places on us.
We have to look after ourselves better than we have in the past.
We have to emphasize our well-being.
The need to maintain our own health and fitness so that we in turn can provide optimal care to our patients has become more obvious lately. This is a huge change in the culture of healthcare.
With this in mind and acknowledging the amount of stress and fear that is still with us in this time of uncertainty, at UC Davis Health, we are significantly increasing the number of our staff who are trained as Peer Supporters. Anyone who is interested in being trained, either by themselves, or as a group with colleagues, is welcome to contact us via the feedback link below this message.
Michelle Linenberger, MSN Ed, RN has developed the
UC Davis Health Support U Peer Responder Program which is intended to support our entire UC Davis Health community. We already have over 220 trained peer responders at UC Davis Health. We are changing the culture of silence and isolation in healthcare by providing an opportunity for providers to have trained peer responders available to listen effectively and empathetically and connect them with organizational resources as necessary.
Support U Peer Responder Training for Physician Teams continues after a recent initial program of 16 physicians led by Katren Tyler MD, several of whom are
Clinician Health and Well-being Champions. Resident Peer Responder workshops have started, and Anesthesia and Pain Teams will complete their team training soon. Advanced Practice Nurses will begin training in September. Pharmacy has launched their team as has the Lift Team, Respiratory Therapy and Physical and Occupational Therapy. Nursing areas continue to add teams in each department.
Peer Responder Badge Identifiers soon will be available to identify trained peer responders in all disciplines so that it is easier for all of us to reach out for peer support.
Michelle Linenberger, MSN, Ed RN described Support U as follows. “This program is one of the most impactful that I have been a part of in my career at UC Davis Health. The collaboration and sense of community that this program supports brings joy and gratitude to my work. It is so amazing to see the focus on caring for our providers/staff. The fact that we are taking the time to focus on ourselves in real time with resources readily available in the health system is incredible.”
And Katren Tyler MD noted that “peer support is a way to provide and receive support with, and from, colleagues. It is an admission that the work of health care workers can be overwhelming on bad days. It is not therapy. It is the support of someone with similar experiences standing beside you on part of your journey.”
She described two main models of support: “One is a group support process after an overwhelming event, usually an unexpected adverse clinical outcome shared by a group of health care workers. The other model of support is one-on-one support for health care workers undergoing stressful events, which can include clinical events, but also complaints, litigation, divorce, illness, and financial strain.”
Dr. Tyler concluded that: “Peer supporters stand beside their colleagues on a difficult journey. The primary role of peer support programs is to listen. Not to fix, and not to judge. Perhaps most importantly for one-to-one support, the role of the peer supporter, by listening, is to help the health care worker figure out what they need, and to help them find the right resources if and as necessary.”
The American Medical Association has just published an excellent educational module on
Peer Support Programs for Physicians . Please consider joining Michelle, Katren and myself as trained Peer Responders, available to listen, to help, and to continue to improve our culture, during COVID-19 and thereafter. Form your unit or departmental teams, or volunteer individually, and connect with us to arrange training via the link below.
