October was a successful month at the Resident Wellness Office for Peer Support and we are thrilled to share some updates. In the end of September and mid-October 2023, the RWO hosted two virtual Peer Support trainings in collaboration with Dr. Jo Shapiro from Harvard. During the two hour training, attendees had experiential learning and practical application of the support model through Dr. Shapiro’s teaching lens. The RWO is pleased to announce that we have trained 10 new Peer Supporters, both staff and senior residents, who are willing and available for any new reach outs. If you are in need of some support, don’t hesitate to request Peer Support through our portal here!
For the month of October we are sharing our gratitude to Peer Supporter Dr. Hélène Morakis who has been gracious in providing support this year. Dr. Morakis is an Emergency Medicine doctor and has been involved in the Peer Support Program since 2022 when she partook in the training with Dr. Jo Shapiro during the pilot phase of our program. When asked why she wanted to be part of the program, she shared “I wanted to be part of a culture of residents helping residents, across different specialties.” The beauty of the Peer Support Program is that all requests are matched with a resident or staff that is senior and from a different program. Pairing a supporter with a resident from different years and specialties allows for anonymity, diverse perspective and the opportunity for reflection on the shared experiences of humanity. Dr. Morakis shares “my favourite thing about the Peer Support Program is normalizing the effects of adverse events on physicians, empowering residents to take care of their peers – now and in the future.” As an office supporting wellness, we couldn’t agree more. Adverse events happen, it’s normal and the aim of our program is to make talking about it a little bit easier!
