Staff Development Opportunities

Center for Spirituality and Healing  

• COVID-19: Bakken Center Information and Resources—The Center for Spirituality & Healing has unique resources to offer the University and community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

College of Continuing and Professional Studies

• CCAPS Professional Development Webinar Series

Coping with COVID19:  Mental Health Matters
Public Education Recorded Webinar Series
Brought to you by the NC Psychological Foundation
 
These are short episodes (5-15 minutes) for you with sound bites of information. We hope these will help you cope during this difficult time. 

• The Foundation of Mental Health Matters by Dr. Sandra Wartski
• ACE Your Day by Dr. Sandra Wartski
• Breathe and Smile by Dr. Roger Moore
• Coping With Corona Stress by Dr. Andy Short
• Disarming Racism by Dr. Talee Vang
• Guided Meditation of RAIN on Fears with Dr. Sandra Wartski introducing Dr. Tara Brach's Guided Meditation 
• Making Your Own Mask by US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams (from CDC website)
• Helping Kids Cope by Dr. Sandra Wartski with Dr. Linda Nicolotti 
• Resilience During a Time of Fear by Dr. Rick Hanson 
• The Self-Compassion Break with Melli O'Brien presenting meditation from Dr. Kristin Neff
• Survival Tips for Couples by Dr. Susan Orenstein (interviewed by Dr. Sandra Wartski)

Coursera for Minnesota Online Courses (COVID-19)

We are pleased to announce that all University of Minnesota instructors, students, and staff have access to more than 3,800 courses and 400 Coursera Specializations (sets of courses in a specific area) at no cost. Learners can register at no charge through February 28, 2020 and will have until April 30, 2021 to complete their Coursera courses. Note that these do not provide U of M academic credit (faculty may use the content of the Coursera courses, however, as part of their regular classes).

This high-quality, electronic curricular material consists of a series of modules with 8-12 minute video segments, readings, assessments, and assignments that can be used to supplement your content. Courses are available in a variety of disciplines from leading U.S. and international universities, including the University of Minnesota. Faculty, students, and staff can now take any of the Coursera offerings at no charge. For assistance or questions, email Bob Rubinyi.

Exercise for Optimal Mental Health and Performance 

• During this recording of Exercise for Optimal Mental Health and Performance, Dr. Karlie covers how exercise boosts mental health, and how it improves stress management and academic performance. She gives tips on exercise adherence encouragement on campus, and how to apply the “exercise is medicine” approach. Access the recorded webinar now.

Office for Human Resources

• Supervisory Development Webinars—The circumstances of the last few weeks have required us to shift priorities and adapt to new ways of working. It can be challenging to lead your dispersed team to get results in innovative ways.
• “Working Remotely...Now what?” webinar recording—Jennifer Engler, PsyD of the University’s Leadership and Talent Development team discusses the importance of building resilience and psychological safety in this out-of-the-ordinary environment and provides process guidelines for onboarding teams into a virtual work world. You can also find highlights from the webinar in this Q and A blog post.
• Guide to working remotely—The Office of Human Resources has curated many resources for remote work, from ergonomics to wellbeing to digital accessibility. You might also be interested in these tips for managing teams in a virtual environment.

COVID-19 Learning

• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine presents: Tackling the novel coronavirus
• St. George’s University of London presents: Managing COVID-19 in General Practice
• Boston University presents: Mental Health in a Time of Crisis
• American Public Health Association presents: The Science of Social Distancing, Part I 
• Osterholm Update (podcast): How We Got Here
• Caring for Clinicians—wellbeing webinars for healthcare professionals 
  • An emotional survival guide
  • Recommendations for staff wellbeing
  • Coping with moral distress
• Steering ourselves and our clients through new and developing traumas by Bessel van der Kolk, MD. 
• Levelhead-Ed.com: 30 Minute Webinar: A Proven Digital Solution for Reducing Student Stress & Anxiety
• UMN School of Public Health Health in All Matters podcast
• JAMA Psychiatry. Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in populations with serious mental illness.  
• COVID-19 Racial Equity & Social Justice Resources curated by the organization Racial Equity Tools
• Ted Talk: How to create meaningful connections while apart

Disaster Preparedness, Infectious Disease Outbreak Response

• A new 10-hour course is available online focusing on the principles of disaster preparedness and responding to infectious disease outbreaks. The course was created by Kristina Krohn and her colleagues in the Department of Medicine.

Other Institutional Courses and Resources

• Yale free course “The Science of Wellbeing”
• Emotional Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Crisis for Health Care Providers Webinar Series
• NCORE Webinar Series: "Racism and Infectious Disease: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19"
• Working from home may be new to many of us! Take the new Securely Working from Home course for short videos on creating a cyber secure home, social engineering, passwords, protecting your kids online and a PDF of five top tips for securely working from home.

UMN LinkedIn Learning & More

• LinkedIn Learning, all free for UMN (more than 13,000 courses and personalized recommendations, you can discover, complete, and track courses related to your field and interests.)
• GoldMine—UMN Alumni Association’s free site to watch University and expert talks on a variety of topics to expand your knowledge, improve your life, and advance your career

University of Minnesota Wellbeing Tools

• The University of Minnesota Wellbeing Program has teamed up with several new partners to support faculty and staff wellbeing during this stressful time. Through May 31, the following tools are available at no charge: Aaptiv: At-home cardio & relaxation classes that can be accessed through Apple or Google podcasts; Enrich: Managing financial wellness during COVID-19; and meQuilibrium: A tool to help you manage uncertainty, stress, and anxiety.

Health Coaching
All of our health coaching programs are now available on every campus via Zoom or over the phone. Each session earns you 25 points and you can earn up to 250 points with each coaching program.

• Face-to-Face Health Coaching is now available virtually in Duluth and Morris as well as through Boynton Health for Crookston, Rochester, and the Twin Cities.
• Group Health Coaching is also available virtually through Boynton Health (Duluth employees can attend the Wellbeing Speaker Series).
• You can also schedule a phone health coaching appointment with RedBrick.

Four Cornerstones of Financial Literacy

• This course has been adapted into an online program called Foundations of Financial Wellness and has room for even more participants now! When you complete the course, you’ll earn 100 points. You can register for the course here.

Biometric Health Screenings

• All screenings across the University have been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have had a physical or similar appointment with your physician, or plan to in the future, you can have their office fill out the Biometric Health Screening form. Once completed, you can upload the form and send it to RedBrick to earn 150 points.

Bike Commuter Program

• While you are not biking past the ZAP reading stations, you can keep track of the bike rides you take using this form. By marking the dates of your bike rides, you can submit this form before August 31, 2020, and still earn 2 points per ride, 250 total.

Cooking Classes
Cooking for Wellness through the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute is offering a series of webinars that will provide practical advice and tips for planning and cooking simple, healthful foods that support wellbeing during this time of social distancing. Not only will these classes help you adopt healthier cooking strategies while you’re at home more, you can also earn 50 points each class.

Tools for Managing Your Wellbeing
Remember, many of our programs are already available online for you to earn points. These allow you to get credit for all sorts of wellbeing activities, not just physical ones. Some ideas include taking a meditation break, going for a walk, or connecting with your friends and family. You can:

• Track your activity and earn 1 point a day through RedBrick Track (up to 150 points). If you connect a fitness tracker to RedBrick Track, you can automatically have that activity tracked.
• Get credit for wellbeing activities you're already doing and earn 25 points for each activity through Wellbeing My Way (up to 125 points).
• Take self-directed courses through RedBrick Journeys and earn up to 200 points.

As a reminder, when you earn either 500 or 750 points by August 31, 2020, you will save either $500 or $750 on 2021’s UPlan premiums.

If you have questions about these adjustments or programs, please email [email protected]. For information on your wellbeing points, you can call RedBrick’s support hotline at (844) 724-8636.