January 11, 2023

Healthcare professionals from across New England are invited to participate in a day of renewal, camaraderie, and professional development when Great Bay Community College hosts “Healthcare Reset: Workshops for Advancing Clinician and Workplace Well-Being” on March 17 at its Portsmouth campus.

Presented by Great Bay’s Business and Training Center, the day-long gathering will be divided into two four-hour sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Each professional development session offers four nurse contact hours, and participants may attend either session or both.

The morning workshop, from 8 a.m. to noon, is “Learn to Thrive During Stress.”

The afternoon workshop, from 1 to 5 p.m., is “Strategies for Greater Joy and Well-Being in Healthcare.”

The workshops are based on the latest science in workplace well-being. Participants will acquire the tools that will help them to be successful with the complex challenges that they face in this challenging time in healthcare said Lynn Szymanski, Director of Workforce Development at Great Bay Community College.

This day is designed to give our healthcare heroes an innovative day of professional development,” Szymanski said. “These uplifting workshops will honor clinicians with time to renew, restore, and recover from the pandemic. They will connect with colleagues and learn integrative strategies for thriving in the midst of stress using adversity as a catalyst for growth.”

The workshops will be led by Joyce Morrissette, BSN, RN, founder of Nurse Flourish, and author of Receive, So You May Give: A Self Care Path for Nurses. She is a facilitator, organizational consultant, mentor, and content expert on clinician well-being.

“It’s been really moving to witness how nurses and healthcare providers have served patients and communities the last three years. Working on the frontlines of the pandemic has been extremely challenging, however, with costs to clinician well-being,” Morrissette said. “System change is urgently needed in healthcare.”

Extensive nurse surveys report unhealthy work conditions that include staff shortages, violence, and high levels of stress, depletion, and burnout. “These conditions are not sustainable, and a radical reset is needed,” Morrissette said. “We must come together to think systemically and respond holistically in a collaborative effort to transform healthcare together.”

To respond to the crisis, the U.S. Surgeon General has advocated for an investment in workplace well-being and mental health. Principles from his framework will be woven throughout the workshops, Morrissette said.

The morning workshop will focus on learning to thrive during stress with new understandings from research and neuroscience. “We’ll increase our awareness of the brain and nervous system as we explore the stress response system. With training, providers can learn to regulate stress by applying neurobiological principles. Integrative practices, strategies, and resources will be shared,” Morrissette said.

The afternoon workshop will continue the conversation on how to cultivate greater ease, joy, and well-being in healthcare. Part of the programming will introduce the construct of mattering and its role in well-being,” she said. Mattering at work is a principle in the Surgeon General’s plan.

Morrissette’s professional background includes clinical research and 25 years as a psychiatric nurse. She graduated from the Integrative Health and Lifestyle program for healthcare professionals founded by Andrew Weil, M.D. Recently, she served as the director of training for the Maine Resilience Building Network. She is pursuing graduate studies in psychology.

The workshops cost $375 for both sessions or $240 for either the morning or afternoon session. Lunch will be provided for those who attend all day.

This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by Connecticut Nurses’ Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

To learn more and to register visit GBCCHealthcareReset or contact [email protected],  603-427-7653.