Do you care about your colleagues' well-being?
Are you creative and willing to try new things to help others?
Do coworkers often come to you for advice or a listening ear?
If you answered "Yes" to even one of these questions, you should consider becoming a Wisdom and Wellbeing Peer Support Champion! Peer Support Champions are knowledgeable about well-being and mental health resources available to their team. They can help leaders (and the Wisdom & Wellbeing team) identify stress support resource gaps and help to fill them. And they can promote peer support and well-being in the workplace.
Why are Peer Support Champions effective in caring for healthcare teams?
No one knows your team better than your team. Folks in the C-suite don't know the specific day-to-day challenges you face. Health workers in a different unit don't face the exact same stressors that you do. First responders in County A face different challenges than those in County B.
As a peer, you can appreciate the strengths and challenges of your colleagues, understand what may help in the moment, and recognize when additional support needs to be requested. With the tools in your Peer Support Champion toolkit, you will be able to "grow the green," or foster wellbeing when stress levels are relatively low. And you'll be able to nudge your team back to lower stress modes when the going gets tough.
How do I become a Peer Support Champion?
We're glad you asked! Here are the steps you can take to become a Peer Support Champion.
Learn the basic concepts and the vocabulary of Stress First Aid and wisdom & well-being -- all the material in the four online modules available on this web site by registering here.
If you are a UVA Health employee, once you've completed the online training, you can sign up below or email [email protected] for information about upcoming 4-hour Peer Support Champion (Tier 2) training. These are typically held via Zoom in two 2-hour blocks.
Sign Up For Peer Champion Training
You may also wish to have a conversation with your manager or supervisor to explain that you are taking this step; he or she may wish to recruit a second team member to join you. We usually recommend at least two Peer Champions per work unit.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected].