School of Medicine
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Overview of the Project
About the PIERS Study:
The Bellwether Collaborative for Health Justice, an interdisciplinary team led by Dr. Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Duke University, is seeking a Peer Specialist to join an ongoing research study located in Brunswick County, North Carolina titled, “Providing Intervent ions for Enhancing Recovery during Community Supervision (PIERS Study).”
The PIERS study is part of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) and is a collaboration with research partners at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Brown University, Temple University, and the University of Rhode Island.
The project’s main objective is to enhance inter-organizational coordination between community supervision departments and community-based treatment providers to facilitate engagement in the continuum of evidence-based care for individuals under community supervision (e.g., probation, parole) with opioid use disorder (OUD). The PIERS study focuses on the integration of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and peer support specialists into OUD treatment plans for these individuals.
Section 2: Position Purpose
Describe the primary functions and purpose of this position. Please note that this section (Position Purpose) and Section 6: Job Qualifications and Competencies will be used for the job posting and advertisements.
The Duke University School of Medicine (SOM) Department of Population Health Sciences (DPHS) seeks a full-time Peer Support Specialist to work directly with research participants who are on community supervision and have an opioid use disorder (OUD), helping them to identify the most appropriate services to assist them in their recovery and supporting them in connecting with those services. This may include establishing linkages to community treatment providers, providing education about recovery support services, and providing tangible assistance to overcome barriers (e.g., accompanying a client to a doctor’s visit). Peer Support Specialists will meet with clients in person and/or virtually based on individual needs and preferences and will work with each client to determine the scheduling and content of those meetings. The Peer Support Specialist will maintain daily logs of peer support services provided to – or conducted on behalf of – their clients.
The Peer Support Specialist will be performing research primarily on National Institutions of Health (NIH) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded research projects aimed at increasing evidence-based treatment for OUD among people involved in the criminal legal system. The Peer Support Specialist will work closely with the research team and research participants to ensure the project is completed successfully. The current study will randomly assign individuals on community supervision to either receive services from peer support specialists or not to receive those services. The project aims to test the independent and combined effects of organizational-level and client-level linkage to OUD treatment, retention, opioid use, opioid overdoses, recidivism, and utilization of recovery services.
Section 3: Major Responsibilities
List 3 to 6 major responsibilities, functions and/or activities; provide related supporting actions to describe how the work will be accomplished; and estimate the percentage of time for the responsibility. Please arrange in descending order by percentage time.
1. Major Responsibility: 50% - Provide peer recovery support to individuals on community supervision who have an opioid use disorder based upon a service delivery protocol.
Supporting Actions: Provide recovery support services according to project service delivery protocol. Develop and periodically review and update a wellness recovery plan with each client. Help clients prioritize goals and needed services and plan to achieve those goals, identify barriers to those goals, and create solutions. Continually track client goal progress and provide non-judgmental support in achieving the goals identified in the wellness recovery plan. Advocate on behalf of the needs and well-being of the client. Connect clients to organizations that assist them in gaining and maintaining a recovery-centered life and orient them to the recovery community. When appropriate, encourage the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Assist in multiple domains of life. Accompany clients to appointments, meetings, and social service agencies as necessary. Support and teach recovery principles. Model personal responsibility, self-advocacy, and hopefulness.
2. Major Responsibility: 25% - Maintaining up-to-date and accurate records of peer encounters and other community activities.
Supporting Actions: Document client interactions and services conducted on behalf of the client into electronic entry systems (REDCap and FileMaker Pro) daily. Complete personal assessments on time. Document auxiliary contacts, such as doctors, family members, social services agencies, etc. Complete research surveys.
3. Major Responsibility: 5 % - Participate in ongoing training and education.
Supporting Actions: Complete initial training at a high level of proficiency and skill. Obtain and sustain proficiency with effective listening and communication skills. Maintain peer specialist certification. Complete continuing education requirements.
4 . Major Responsibility: 10% - Participates in supervision and performance appraisals.
Supporting Actions: Participate in regularly scheduled individual and group supervision sessions. Seek out supervision when an unfamiliar situation is encountered.
5. Major Responsibility: 10% - Participate in team-wide project a ctivities.
Supporting Actions: Attend regular staff meetings and others to be scheduled. Complete project-related tasks as needed.
Section 4: Decisions Position is Free to Make
Describe the authority held by the position by listing 1 to 2 examples of decisions that the position is free to make and explain the decisions that depend on the position’s advice.
Decisions free to make:
- Peer Support Specialists are free to decide the content and structure of their interactions with clients within the design of the research protocol.
- The Peer Support Specialist’s advice will be seriously considered when making changes affecting the clients or another agency.
Section 5: Dimensions
List quantitative measures that define the size and scope of the position (for example, the number of students counseled, the number of faculty and/or staff supported, the number of employees supervised, the number of events planned, the size of budget managed).
• Monthly summaries are accurate and reported
• Clients receive outreach a minimum of twice weekly for the first few weeks, then weekly, then every other week. The Peer Support Specialist and the client will mutually determine the frequency of meetings.
Section 6: Job Qualifications and Competencies
Job Qualifications
Indicate the minimum required education and years of experience. Include any required licenses or certificates.
Education and Experience
- Lived experience within the recovery community for at least two years.
- Lived experience with the criminal legal system through previous incarceration or community supervision, including probation or parole.
- Be certified as a peer support specialist (state or national)
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- 1 year of prior experience in peer support work.
- Possess the skill set and motivation to accurately complete documentation associated with the research study protocol in a timely fashion.
- Flexibility in work schedule.
- Have reliable transportation.
Job Competencies
Indicate the essential job competencies. Competencies are required knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the job successfully.
- Commitment to the core values of peer recovery support.
- Knowledge/familiarity with harm reduction principles and medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
- Knowledge/familiarity with the principles and concepts of motivational interviewing.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.
- Ability to work collaboratively on a team.
- Ability to negotiate and resolve issues.
- Comfort in working independently or with minimal oversight.
- Ability to draw on positive strengths and behaviors of others.
- Well-organized and great ability for time management.
- Extensive knowledge of recovery services and resources that are helpful to clients.
- Commitment to developing positive and professional relationships with clients, research staff, community treatment providers, and Community Corrections staff.
- Commitment to learning, self-improvement, and overcoming challenges inherent to the work of peer recovery.
- Ability to provide crisis intervention services calmly and professionally.
- Ability to effectively complete documentation as required.
- Basic computer, internet, and information and communication technology skills.
Section 7: Diversity Statement
The Department of Population Health Sciences aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, equity, and inclusivity of others without biases or prejudice of any kind. Our collective success depends on a robust exchange of ideas - an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, we are committed to diversity in the staff and faculty we hire, the policies we create, and the decisions we make.
In the Bellwether Collaborative for Health Justice, we look for a diverse pool of applicants including those from historically marginalized groups —people with incarceration histories, people with disabilities, women, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, people with lived experience of addiction and mental health conditions, people of color, first and second generation college students, first and second generation immigrants, veterans, and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Minimum Qualifications
Education
Work requires an educational background normally equivalent to a high school education. Nurse Assistant Training preferred but not required.
Experience
Work requires one year of experience in a position involving OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE required. patient/public contact. Valid North Carolina driver's license with a good driving record is
Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.
Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.