MAINE – Hospitals and health care professionals in Maine now have the opportunity to access free, on-demand and locally-focused education to Maine health care professionals and the communities they serve through the Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine via http://www.lunderdineen.org. Educational opportunities are tailored to address Maine’s most critical health issues. Many are available for Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Education credit.Click to view a brief video interview with Northern Maine Medical Center staff who have used Lunder-Dineen’s online resources.
This is a valuable benefit for smaller hospitals and health care practices, particularly in rural areas, may not have the funding to send their staff to training off-site; as well as busy practitioners who cannot take time away from patient care to attend conferences and workshops.
“We’re in northern Maine in a very rural area. We’re 200 miles from Bangor, 300 miles from Portland and 500 miles from Boston, so it makes it very difficult for us to attend conferences,” said Reggie Murray, nurse for more than 37 years and staff trainer and patient educator at Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC) in Fort Kent. Murray also shared that she and her staff find great value in the accessibility of Lunder-Dineen’s teleconferences, live Web-broadcast presentations and archived sessions.
Educational activities include Web-based workshops and lectures, forums and clinical simulations featuring national and Maine-based experts, as well asMassachusetts General Hospital Virtual Grand Rounds, white papers, posters and market research on critical Maine health issues.
“Education is the greatest skill we can have to bring quality care to our patients. Being so rural, we have a hard time getting these programs as live functions to our area, so we are very thankful to have the archived sessions and the live Web sessions that we can view from home and from work, in order to continue to bring great care to our patients,” said NMMC Registered Nurse Melissa Stoliker.
Educational opportunities vary in format and include live broadcasts and on-demand learning opportunitieshealth care professionals can access at their convenience, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This online learning platform is connected to a sophisticated Learning Management System (LMS) which allows Lunder-Dineen’s education team to measure the effectiveness of individual activities through the analysis of data gathered via post surveys issued to each participant.
“We look forward to future collaborations with Maine practitioners to develop education programs that aim to improve health care throughout the state,” said Lunder-Dineen Senior Program Manager Denise O’Connell.
Editor’s Note:
Click here to view video testimonial (featuring Reggie Murray and her team)
Click here for larger image
About Lunder-Dineen:
The Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine was created through a partnership between Maine philanthropists Peter and Paula Lunder and Massachusetts General Hospital to improve the overall health of Maine residents by expanding their health knowledge and advancing the skills of Maine health professionals. Lunder-Dineen, the only alliance of its kind nationwide, offers free, on-demand and Maine-focused educational opportunities to health care professionals and the communities they serve. Many programs are available for Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Education credit. To learn more, visit www.lunderdineen.org.