Patient & Family Support Specialist, Organ Donation - BC Transplant

Patient & Family Support Specialist, Organ Donation 

BC Transplant

Vancouver, BC

With compassion, collaboration and innovation, we will save lives and offer hope through organ donation, transplant and research.

BC Transplant a program of the Provincial Health Services Authority provides oversight for all aspects of organ donation and transplantation across BC.

Working in collaboration with the regional health authorities and provincial partners, BC Transplant (BCT) is focused on increasing the availability of organs for transplantation in British Columbia.

Join one of BC’s largest employers with province-wide programs, services and operations – offering vast opportunities for growth, development, and recognition programs that honour the commitment and contribution of all employees.

Reporting to the Manager, Patient & Family Experience, the Patient & Family Support Specialist is integral to the post-organ donation direct client service and capacity building efforts of BC Transplant’s Patient & Family Experience program, providing strategic leadership and advanced clinical services. Working from a patient and family-centered, trauma-informed care model, the Patient & Family Support Specialist provides specialized clinical and consultative services to families who have consented to organ donation on behalf of their loved one at the end of their life or who have supported their loved one when they provided first-person consent to become an organ donor following their medically assisted death.

What you’ll do

• Conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments post-organ donation. Assess the impact of sudden and traumatic death of the organ donor in context of the donor family’s environment, relationships, living situation, and financial status, and partners with the family therapeutically to identify and address their psychosocial needs.
• Provide solution focused short-term counselling for donor families and/or family/group counselling, crisis interventions by methods such as exploring emotional responses to sudden and traumatic loss to identify problems, personal concerns, and goals to facilitate change in coping style, behaviour, attitude, feelings, and adaptive responses to an adverse life event.
• Coordinate the post-organ donation care for donor families by applying advanced case management principles, carrying out health, psychosocial, functional/environmental and safety/risk assessments, identifying problems, addressing issues, and/or encouragement for donor families to identify and utilize community supports and resources.
• Provide consultative and direct services to donor families regarding access to community resources by methods such as identifying applicable resources, providing information on resources, and suggesting contacts to facilitate optimal planning.
• Develop and facilitate support groups for donor families as well as opportunities for donor family peer support and community development.
• Facilitate the strategic operations of the Patient & Family Experience program post-donation. This includes but is not limited to anonymous correspondence and direct contact between donor families and transplant recipients as well as the annual Donor Medal Ceremonies.
• In collaboration with the Manager, Patient & Family Experience, continuously evaluate the current family services program, and implement necessary change and improvement based on feedback from donor families, recipients, and internal and external stakeholders.
• Participate in team meetings, continuing education, conferences, and/or corporate initiatives by methods such as providing input from a clinical perspective, presenting relevant material, acting as an advocate for the goals and objectives of the program, and promoting optimal support for donor families.
• Maintain and update knowledge in advanced clinical services by methods such as reviewing relevant literature, consulting with other clinical and community counsellors, evaluating clinical practice, and participating in professional development and revision of standards to improve care through new practices and contribute to the program initiatives.
• Set measurable goals and objectives within a team environment, incorporating the organization’s vision and values by methods such as maintaining and updating own knowledge of clinical and professional development, and creating a professional development plan in collaboration with the Manager, Patient & Family Experience. Review progress to ensure that goals are achieved within established periods.
• Support the Manager, Patient and Family Experience, to ensure equitable access to high quality psychosocial care for patients and families throughout the continuum of organ donation and transplant care in BC.

What you bring

Qualifications

• A level of education, training, and experience equivalent to a Master’s degree in Social Work from an accredited university plus five (5) years of recent, related experience as a social worker providing clinical expertise, as well as comprehensive therapeutic intervention with individuals/families/groups in a healthcare setting.
• Current full registration with the British Columbia College of Social Workers.

Skills & Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge of social work theory and practice, including issues related to grief, sudden or traumatic loss, end-of-life care and decision-making, and mental health.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct and document comprehensive psychosocial assessments, as well as provide individual, family, and group counseling in a healthcare setting.
• Demonstrated program development skills to identify gaps/needs and plan programs/develop services for patients and their families.
• Proficiency in facilitating group sessions and applying other healthcare best practices in an interdisciplinary environment.
• Strong initiative in pursuing professional development and collaborating effectively within interdisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate both verbally and in writing, and to effectively deal with co-workers, physicians, healthcare professionals, clients, families, and external agencies.
• Proficiency in planning, organizing, and prioritizing work, resolving conflict, problem-solving, and demonstrating leadership and coordination skills.
• Knowledge of community resources.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.
• Basic computer literacy to operate a computerized patient care information system.
• Experience in intensive care unit, emergency department and/or mental health settings considered an asset.
• Commitment to upholding the shared responsibility of creating lasting and meaningful reconciliation in Canada as per TRC (2015) and BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019).
• As a strong asset for consideration, we are looking for our successful candidate to have: Knowledge of social, economic, political and historical realities of settler colonialism on Indigenous Peoples and familiarity with addressing Indigenous-specific anti-racism, anti-racism and Indigenous Cultural Safety and foundational documents and legislative commitments (The Declaration Act, the Declaration Action Plan, TRC, IPS, Remembering Keegan, etc.).

What we bring

Every PHSA employee enables the best possible patient care for our patients and their families. Whether you are providing direct care, conducting research, or making it possible for others to do their work, you impact the lives of British Columbians today and in the future. That’s why we’re focused on your care too – offering health, wellness, development programs to support you – at work and at home.

• Join one of BC’s largest employers with province-wide programs, services and operations – offering vast opportunities for growth, development, and recognition programs that honour the commitment and contribution of all employees.
• Access to professional development opportunities through our in-house training programs, including +2,000 courses, such as our San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training course, or Core Linx for Leadership roles.
• Enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including municipal pension plan, and psychological health & safety programs and holistic wellness resources.
• Annual statutory holidays (13) with generous vacation entitlement and accruement.
• PHSA is a remote work friendly employer, welcoming flexible work options to support our people (eligibility may vary, depending on position).
• Access to WorkPerks, a premium discount program offering a wide range of local and national discounts on electronics, entertainment, dining, travel, wellness, apparel, and more.

Job Type: Regular, Full-Time
Salary Range: $74,618 - $107,264/year. The starting salary for this position would be determined with consideration of the successful candidate’s relevant education and experience, and would be in alignment with the provincial compensation reference plan. Salary will be prorated accordingly for part time roles.
Location: 1770 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver BC, V6J 4Z9
Hours of Work: Monday – Friday, 0800 - 1600
Requisition # 174289E

What we do

BC Transplant (BCT) provides oversight for all aspects of organ donation and transplantation across BC.

BCT is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA).

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates specialized health services with the BC health authorities to provide equitable and cost-effective health care for people throughout the province. Our values reflect our commitment to excellence and include: Respect people – Be compassionate – Dare to innovate – Cultivate partnerships – Serve with purpose.

Learn more about PHSA and our programs: jobs.phsa.ca/programs-and-services

PHSA and BCT is committed to equity in our hiring and employment practices. With learning and compassion, we are addressing existing inequities and barriers throughout our systems. PHSA is seeking to create a diverse workforce and to establish an inclusive and culturally safe environment. We invite applications and enquiries from all people, particularly those belonging to the historically, systemically, and/or persistently marginalized groups identified under the B.C. Human Rights Code.

One of PHSA’s North Star priorities is to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism, which includes dismantling barriers to health care employment at every level. We welcome Indigenous individuals to apply and/or contact the Sanya'kula Team (Indigenous Recruitment & Employee Experience) for support at indigenous.employment@phsa.ca.

Indigenous-specific anti-racism initiatives are rooted in addressing the unique forms of discrimination, historical and ongoing injustices, and marginalization faced by Indigenous peoples. These initiatives align with an Indigenous rights-based approach, recognizing the inherent rights and self-determination of Indigenous communities. PHSA must uphold legislative obligations and provincial commitments found in the foundational documents such as including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study.

ATTN: PHSA Employees:

To be considered as a PHSA employee (internal applicant) for this position, you must apply online via your internal profile at http://internaljobs.phsa.ca

Please note the internal job posting will no longer be accessible after the expiry date of October 28^th, 2024. If the internal job posting has expired, please contact the Internal Jobs Help Desk and advise that you would like to be considered as a late internal applicant for this position. Please do not apply for the external job posting.

If you have not registered your internal profile, a password is required to log in for the first time. To obtain your password, please contact the Internal Jobs Help Desk at 604-875-7264 or 1-855-875-7264. Please note regular business hours are Monday – Friday (excluding stats), 8:30am to 4:30pm. For inquiries outside of regular business hours, please email the Internal Jobs Help Desk at internaljobshelpu@phsa.ca and a Help Desk Representative will contact you the next business day.