
Peer Support Case
Medical Resident Jeffrey
Give Jeffrey social and emotional support as he processes grief from the loss of one of his patients.
Your Role: In this interactive case, you are invited to play the role of a medical resident who volunteers in a peer support program in the hospital where Jeffrey is a second year resident in Emergency Medicine. You will be asked to make choices for what to say next, to help Jeffrey deal with stress arising from feeling overwhelmed by work-related emotional stress and physical exhaustion from long hours.
Scenario:
Dr. Jeffrey T. is a resident in Emergency Medicine. His work weeks are 80 hours+ these days.
2 weeks ago, a patient that he identified with died. Even though Jeffrey completed a debriefing that the Wellness Office offers, he still feels sad and thinks about it often. He decided to reach out to a peer support program sponsored by that office.
Funding: Initial development of this activity was supported by funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant #1 R43 AA026474-01).
Educational Objectives:
After completing this activity, physician and other clinician participants will be able to provide peer support to mitigate the acute distress of a colleague experiencing stress related to medical practice. The skills participants will be able to use in peer support include:
- Connect with a peer in acute distress and engage them in discussing their concerns.
- Clarify your role in providing peer support
- Use questioning and listening skills to learn more about your peer’s concerns.
- Assess the impact of your peer’s concerns.
- Recognize when a peer in distress needs a recommendation for professional help.
- Provide interventions and resources to help mitigate a peer’s acute distress.
- Provide appropriate follow-up for peer support.
Technical Requirement: To participate in this activity, you will need a computer, an Internet connection, and a Web browser. This activity requires Chrome, Firefox, and IE7 or higher.
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