Program Manager of Peer Support and Stress First Aid

Job Description Summary

This position provides leadership and management for the MUSC’s Peer Support and Stress First Aid programs. These initiatives provide peer support and stress first aid to clinical and non-clinical individuals and groups such as physicians, nurses, ancillary and administrative staff who may experience distress at work following adverse patient events, workplace violence events, and other stress related to the workplace or patient care.

Entity

Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA)

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type​

Regular

Cost Center

CC005330 SYS - Chief Wellbeing Officer

Pay Rate Type

Salary

Pay Grade

Health-32

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Work Shift

Job Description

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Serves as a core member of the Mental Health and Well-being Programs Team, under the Office of Well-being, developing and presenting well-being education related to Peer Support and Stress First Aid broadly across the MUSC Enterprise, both on demand and as part of an ongoing program curriculum. 
• Leads change management efforts for the Peer Support and Stress First Aid programs, working with organizational leaders to align resources, support and promote collaboration amongst key stakeholders.
• Serves as subject matter expert, providing education to staff, managers and senior leaders about appropriate and evidence-based responses to caregivers with stress injuries, specifically secondary trauma, and workplace trauma more generally.
• Raises awareness of the impact of stress injury, second victim phenomenon, secondary traumatic stress, and the availability of the Stress First Aid trainings and the Peer Support program by creating and presenting education to frontline leadership and staff.
• In partnership with other trainers, provides Stress First Aid trainings, as requested, across diverse divisions of MUSC Health, and the University. 
• In collaboration with the Director of Mental Health and Well-being Programs, develops and oversees communication(s), marketing, and OurDay documentation of Stress First Aid trainings across the MUSC Enterprise.
• Oversees nursing, ancillary staff, attending physician, resident physician, and non-clinical active peer supporters, and focusing on the recruitment of additional peer supporters to align with program expansion. Selects, orients, trains, and documents the process of onboarding new peer supporters. 
• In connection with MUSC’s Code Orange process, triages peer support cases and coordinates matching of peer supporters with affected staff or teams after referrals, ensuring timely response and connection to appropriate supportive resources. This includes facilitating or providing group psychological first aid and rapid-response support following traumatic events that impact entire units or care teams.
• Chairs monthly peer supporter meetings, developing new educational content for each session to increase the competence and confidence of peer supporters, particularly in terms of their own mastery of self-care, helping skills, and appropriate referral/escalation of cases.
• Provides guidance and supervision to peer supporters navigating difficult cases, providing direct peer support in cases in which advanced helping skills are required.
• Manages cases escalated by peer supporters or Pastoral Care for referral, providing individualized warm handoffs to EAP and other mental health providers within the MUSC Enterprise or within the community. Serve as a resource liaison by facilitating access to existing behavioral health and well-being resources. Future – Develop and maintain referral relationships with community-based behavioral health providers to decrease barriers to securing timely psychological and psychiatric support as needed.
• Provides consultative support to caregivers seeking referral to appropriate behavioral health providers, including education about most efficient and effective use of behavioral health resources.
• Oversees processes and program evaluation, data collection and maintain database.  Submit data to well-being and research teams to provide publication support for SCHA/Duke Endowment grants and other future peer reviewed journals in collaboration with the MUSC Well-being Office and MUSC Institute of Psychiatry.
• Coordinates with other MUSC teams such as workplace violence, patient safety, risk management, and HR as needed, identifying novel opportunities to identify caregivers in need of individual or group Stress First Aid and Peer Support trainings.
• Collaboratively supports additional programs and initiatives under the purview of the Mental Health and Well-being Programs and Operations teams (e.g., Well-being Clinic