GME Mental Health Wellness Counselor

Job Summary:

A Graduate Medical Education (GME) counselor is a mental health and wellness professional who can help trainees with a variety of issues (listed below). Responsible for the wellness and academic success of physicians in training (residents and fellows). The Graduate Medical Education (GME) Counselor provides mental health, emotional wellness, and academic and professional development support services to the St. Joseph's Medical Center GME programs, residents, and fellows. Conducts individual consultation, assessments, and support for physicians in training who require support with well-being, professional or academic challenges, and those seeking to improve performance. Provides linkage and referrals to outside resources as required. Ensures compliance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) policies and requirements. This position also requires education delivery to residents and faculty, where appropriate. Experience in higher education, specifically counseling and academic coaching, is required. This position does not support medical students. It supports physicians in training (residents and fellows).

Job Details:

Coaching and Counseling Areas:

• Depression
  • Providing support and promoting healing through hopelessness, low motivation and energy, sadness, irritability, sleep disturbance, and loss of interest and pleasure in life.
• Anxiety, panic and worry
  • Coping with excessive worry, nervousness, or stress; intense discomfort in social settings; sudden and intense feelings of panic.
• Time management, organizational skills, fatigue management, Stress management
  • Strengthening effective ways of coping with the stress of life and change; managing expectations of self and others.
• Compassion fatigue; “burnout”
  • moral crisis and injury
• Secondary trauma
• Personal and Professional Identity development
  • Understanding, accepting, and strengthening one’s sense of self through the exploration of family, work, and personal and professional values.
  • Cultural adaptation - Exploring topics of racial, cultural, and ethnic background as it relates to one’s family origins and personal identity.
• Self-esteem
  • Cultivating self-compassion, assertiveness, and confidence.
  • Coping strategies to reduce suffering, anxiety, social withdrawal, and self-neglect.
• Emotion regulation
  • Learning how to identify, express, and manage feelings in safe, in-control ways.
• Interpersonal difficulties
  • Developing ways to maintain healthy relationships whether it be with family members, friends, romantic partners, peers, instructors.
• Career concerns
  • Learning to utilize and highlight strengths, effective and practical stress-management, focusing on fulfillment, utilizing communication skills, and enhancing efficiency to reduce burnout.
• Academic issues, Academic stress and burnout
  • Adjusting to studying and working; managing developmental and emotional challenges when studying for boards; balancing work and personal life.
  • Issues secondary to academic struggles, remediation plans, and professionalism.
  • Assists program leadership with academic and professionalism improvement plans and remediation.
• Substance abuse and self-harming behaviors
• Requests for referrals for mental health assessment
  • GME counselors can also provide referrals for psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and/or longer-term psychotherapy.
• Will assist program leadership with acute crisis management.
• Presents sessions for residents, including wellness/well-being; stress management, learning and study strategies and organization, time-management, and efficiency-related topics.

The counselor will hold regular open office hours but will endeavor to have at least one introductory session with each resident, 1-2 times per year of their academic training.

GME counselor will provide a holistic program assessment by specialty:

• The GME counselor will provide a biannual assessment of each training program.
• The GME Counselor can observe program didactics, resident-leadership meetings, and other program meetings as required and provide assessment, feedback, and opportunities for improvement and change regarding:
  • Overall Program culture
  • Communication
    • Between residents
    • Between residents and leadership
  • Integration between PGY classes
  • _ (Note: The original document left a blank here, so it is preserved.)
• Will provide biannual educational sessions for residents and faculty on topics of Moral injury, Managing stress, fatigue and burnout; Managing emotions, Anxiety & depression coping, Substance/Alcohol use, communication, Mindfulness, Interpersonal relationships and managing conflict, others.

Requirements:

• Education: Licensed Clinical Social Work OR Masters degree in psychology or related field with counseling or mental health services, higher education, or related field. 
• Experience: 1-3 years related experience. 

Preferred:

• Education: Masters degree in psychology or related field with counseling or mental health services, higher education, or related field
• Experience:
  • Experience in GME and/or UME/LCME administration or equivalent experience in academic advising in healthcare education.
  • Applied knowledge of adult learning theory and educational psychology, with a documented history of learner support success.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Training

• Knowledge of counseling, well-being, and higher education/healthcare education operations
• Knowledge of education curriculum of medical trainees
• Interpersonal/human relations skills to build relationships with physician faculty
• Ability to create collaborative relationships with other professionals
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Organizational, management, and collaborative skills
• Counseling/advising/coaching skills to assess and create interventions with a diverse population
• Teaching skills, including ability to facilitate small groups
• Develop and deliver presentations and educational programs
• Ability to relate well with physicians in training and teaching faculty
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Word, Access, Excel etc.)

St. Joseph's Medical Center is a member of Dignity Health. The word dignity perfectly defines what our organization stands for showing respect for all people by providing excellent care. St. Joseph's Medical Center was founded in 1899 under the direction of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael and is a not-for-profit, fully-accredited regional hospital with 395 beds, a physician staff of over 400 and more than 2400 employees. Specializing in cardiovascular care, comprehensive cancer services, and women and children's services, including neonatal intensive care, St. Joseph's is the largest hospital, as well as the largest private employer, in Stockton, California. Nationally recognized as a quality leader, St. Joseph's is consistently chosen as the most preferred hospital by local consumers.

One Community. One Mission. One California