MAINE, Statewide – Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine (Lunder-Dineen) has announced the release of two new, on-demand Nursing Grand Rounds webinars. Made available through a collaboration between Lunder-Dineen and the Massachusetts General Hospital Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development, the sessions focus on nursing excellence and provide a forum to share expertise focused on the art and science of nursing. The two new sessions are entitled “Compassionate Self Care” and “Innovations in Interprofessional Care” and are available at no cost via www.lunderdineen.org.

When it comes to participating in education, the majority of Maine clinicians say time and funding are the biggest barriers to overcome. For some, staffing shortages and tight schedules make it difficult to be away, while for others the distance required to travel to conferences or budget constraints make high-quality education difficult to access. According to a statewide needs assessment conducted by Lunder-Dineen in 2012, median funding for education for nurses was only $300 per nurse, annually. To address these challenges, Lunder-Dineen provides access to Nursing Grand Rounds at no cost and the topics for each presentation are timely and relevant across all health care settings.

More than 30 sites in Maine have requested access to participate in live broadcasts of Nursing Grand Rounds. In addition, the on-demand webinar viewing option allows nurses who are unable to participate in the live broadcasts to participate in the webinar versions any time their practice schedules allow, and also to obtain a nursing contact hour for completing the webinar.

“We’re very pleased to partner with our Maine nursing colleagues and provide access to these timely and relevant Nursing Grand Rounds presentations. Each of these topics helps to advance nursing knowledge and practice across health care settings and overcomes the identified barriers to participating in ongoing professional development.” says Lunder-Dineen Professional Development Specialist Carole MacKenzie, RN.

To learn more about connecting your health care organization to the live Nursing Grand Rounds sessions, or to participate at any time in the on-demand sessions, check out the course catalog at www.lunderdineen.org.

Featured Nursing Grand Rounds Sessions:

MGH Nursing Grand Rounds: Compassionate Self Care
Margaret Baim, MS, NP discusses resiliency as a function of mind-body interactions that successfully adapt to stress and result in both physical health and emotional wellbeing. With an estimated 40 percent of the nursing workforce reporting symptoms of burnout, resilience is lost or at risk for many. This presentation will review the science of these interactions, and detail a few simple attitudes and behaviors that engage key mind-body regulators that restore resiliency.

MGH Nursing Grand Rounds: Innovations in Interprofessional Care: Nurses Leading the Future
This session is led by Janis P. Bellack, PhD, RN, FAAN, and provides an overview of the history and drivers for interprofessional care. She identifies and discusses the challenges and opportunities of future innovations in interprofessional education and practice, examines the role of nurses at the crossroads, and reviews competencies and strategies for nurses to lead innovations in interprofessional education and practice.

About Lunder-Dineen:
The Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine believes that health education is powerful medicine. That is why it offers free, easily accessible and evidence-based education to Maine health care providers and the communities they serve through an innovative partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital and an ongoing collaboration with Maine’s health care community. Its mission is to improve the overall health of Maine residents by expanding their health knowledge and by advancing the skills and expertise of Maine health professionals. To learn more about Lunder-Dineen and its free educational resources, please visit www.lunderdineen.org.