UVA Health & UVA Community Health Team Members...
Do you care about your colleagues' wellbeing?
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 Team Wellbeing Advocate (formerly Peer Support Champion)! Advocates are knowledgeable about wellbeing 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 wellbeing in the workplace.
Why are Team Wellbeing Advocates 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 resources in your Team Wellbeing Advocate 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 zones when the going gets tough.
How do I become a Team Wellbeing Advocate?
We're glad you asked! Here are the steps UVA Health team members can take to become an Advocate.
Learn the Stress First Aid and wisdom practices core concepts -- all the material in the basic Workday program Wisdom and Wellbeing for Healthcare Workers.
Once you've completed the online courses, you can sign up for a facilitated 3-hour Team Wellbeing Advocate training session in Workday.
You may also wish to have a conversation with your manager or supervisor to explain that you are taking this step. They may wish to recruit a second team member to join you. We usually recommend at least two Team Advocates per work unit.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected].