Learner Life Specialist

Date Posted: 05/02/2024
Req ID: 37198
Faculty/Division: Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Department: Ofc of the Vice Dean, Medical Education
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Position Number: 00050636

Description:

About us:

Home to over 40 departments and institutes, the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine lies at the heart of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network and is a global leader in ground-breaking research and education, spanning clinical medicine, basic science and the rehabilitation sciences sectors.

Your opportunity:

Residing in the Office of the Vice Dean, Medical Education, the Office of Learner Affairs (OLA) is dedicated to working with and supporting health professions to optimize the learning environment and experience at individual and systems levels, and enable learners’ development into and as health care professionals.

As Learner Life Specialist, you will provide mental health and learning environment intervention and support to health professions learners from varied cultures, backgrounds and faiths, through a needs assessment, navigation and case management approach. You willfacilitate the development and provision of care plans through internal and external resources. You will provide short-term counselling to health professions learners in distress while making referrals or developing case management plans as appropriate. You will act as a first point of contact for learners who wish to discuss concerning behaviour that they have experienced or witnessed in the learning environment.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Screening learners to determine suitability for short-term counselling, providing clinical counselling and psychotherapy and making referrals to appropriate resources
• Determining life-threatening situations, risk of self-harm or harm to others and independently applying appropriate interventions
• Developing and implementing components of treatment plans based on appropriate therapeutic approaches
• Providing case management support to learners requiring the coordination of multiple services
• Advising groups on how to develop strategies and skills to address their emotional and behavioural concerns
• Fostering positive relationships with campus resources and community health services providers

Essential Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in social work, occupational therapy, counselling/psychotherapy or equivalent. Must be in good standing with a professional college that allows for the practice of psychotherapy in Ontario.
• Minimum five years experience counseling in the educational context, preferably health professions education with experience at the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) and/or Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) level
• Experience working with health professional learners in academic difficulty and from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds
• Experience working with individuals and groups including Indigenous, Black, persons with disabilities, religious minorities and other marginalized groups
• Demonstrated experience supporting members of 2SLGBTQIA+ community with a sound understanding of challenges and needs faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals/ communities and a commitment to 2SLGBTQ+ affirming care as a subject matter expert.
• Experience working in a highly diverse community with learners from varied backgrounds and a variety of age groups, presenting a range of difficulties and personal issues
• Superior understanding of the issues of physician health, particularly those related to physicians in training
• Familiarity with trauma-informed approaches as well as with anti-oppression/anti-racism frameworks
• Experience leading and facilitating group workshops, seminars and outreach activities
• Experience developing educational tools and identifying emerging trends/patterns and developing recommendations
• Advanced proficiency, including MS Office Suite and Adobe Professional
• Skill in working with university-aged young adults, and individuals in crisis
• Superb oral and written communication, leadership, organizational and interpersonal skills
• Expert communicator with staff and senior academic administrators about issues facing learners in crisis and make recommendations on strategy
• Able to work effectively and collaboratively with professional staff in the university, to set up networks of aid and response for learners in difficulty
• Demonstrated ability to exercise patience, tact, judgment and discretion
• Mustbe able to relate to adult learners, staff, and faculty in ways that build confidence and trust
• Understanding of and experience with an adult learning model
• Demonstrated ability to recognize the limits of one's own scope of practice

Assets (Nonessential):

• Lived experience as a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
• Understanding of the postgraduate medical training environment, including the educational framework and standard evaluation tools

To be successful in this role you will be:

• Approachable
• Intuitive
• Perceptive
• Self-directed
• Team player

This is a term position until February 2025. 

Closing Date: 05/15/2024, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: USW
Appointment Type: Budget - Term
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:
USW Pay Band 15 -- $93,752 with an annual step progression to a maximum of $119,892. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.
Job Category: Health & Wellbeing
Recruiter: Amanda Di Fonzo

Lived Experience Statement
Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.