The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses with the assistance of an expert reference group have developed a free online eLearning tool for nurses working with patients with chronic disease to help them identify and treat mental illness. The project has been a year long journey that was supported by the Commonwealth Chief Nurse Rosemary Bryant and was launched at the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses 39th International Conference, 2013
As you know, research shows that there are strong links between chronic disease and the development of mental health issues – especially depression and anxiety. Many physical health conditions increase the risk of mental illness and poor mental health is known to increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke and cancer. Additionally, the prevalence of mental illness is greater amongst people with chronic diseases than it is among the general population and there is ample evidence that untreated mental illness increases the morbidity and mortality of chronic diseases. This program aims to give general nurses the tools to correctly identify and respond to the mental health issues of patients with chronic disease.
This program is free and provides 4 hours of CPD for nurses that complete the program. You get a CPD certificate after completing each module (Modules 2-5) of the project
http://www.acmhn.org/chronic-disease-elearning
You need to click on the CPD icon at the bottom once you get to the webpage, to enter the online program.