WHAT PEER MENTORING
is ALL ABOUT
Who, or What, are Peer Mentors?
The Peer Resource Consulting program utilizes specially trained dialysis and transplant patients who have made a positive adjustment to their chronic illness. They provide support to other individuals who are new to dialysis or transplantation.
Peer Mentors are people who have kidney disease
who have found out how to live with their disease.
They coach and mentor newly diagnosed patients,
helping them take back control of their lives.
They're life givers, and life savers.
Their work also saves millions of dollars each year in medical costs,
because their work results in patients who take care of themselves, get on with their lives and remain productive.
WHY PEER MENTORING?
No matter how close you are to friends or how much you trust your medical team, nothing beats talking with someone who has "walked in your shoes."
"With just a few words from the doctor, I suddenly was faced with the pain and fear of dialysis and deteriorating health. My first reaction was to shut down. Would I live or die? If I lived, would living be worthwhile? I needed information and people to talk to who knew what they were talking about." -- Nate Steed (Volunteer - Peer Mentor Program)
HISTORY OF PEER MENTORING
In 1980, a high school counselor, who had been on dialysis for 8 years at the University of Michigan Health System, told social work that he wanted to make himself available to fellow patients to help them deal with the many confusing emotions accompanying renal disease.
A peer mentoring training program was located; this patient was trained; and patients and staff found his work invaluable.
Since then, over 300 renal patients, spouses, and adult children have trained to volunteer their time helping others face life with kidney failure. The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan now provides 8 hours of rigorous training and this program has proliferated throughout Michigan and the country.
WHAT DO PEER MENTORS DO?
The Peer Mentoring Program, in conjunction with the medical team, is designed to empower patients with renal disease to take control of their lives and their health care. Some of the roles they play are to:
Peer Mentors help patients face issues of disease, self-management with difficult treatment regimens, death and dying, grieving and sexuality, to name a few. They help patients think through alternatives, cope with depression and anger that are natural to the process. They are positive role models who provide hope, encouragement and understanding.
They also have been advocates in Lansing for prioritizing prevention as well as providing prevention services in their communities by educating others about the importance of living healthy lives to avoid high blood pressure and diabetes, the leading causes of kidney failure.
RISE:
Rehabilitation, Information, Support and Empowerment
The RISE program helps motivate individuals with kidney disease to return to meaningful activity, which may include resuming daily routines, employment, continuing education and/or volunteering.
In the RISE program, training and information are followed up by Peer Mentors in ways that enable patients with kidney disease to make and carry out the decisions necessary for re-claiming their lives.
