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| with the hopes of becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse
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In an effort to better provide for her family, she plans to continue her education with the hopes of becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse.
Thanksgiving has come and gone and along with it the busiest shopping day of the year. But for most of us, the Christmas season doesn't seem to kick in until we see the calendar roll over from the month of November to December.
There's just something special about seeing Dec. 1 on the calendar. It's as if a big red flag is waved in front of our faces to officially kick off the race.
Festivities of the season begin in full swing: parties, parades, baking, shopping, and of course, classic Christmas shows like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "The Little Drummer Boy."
Empty Stocking Recipient No. 10, age 29, is a hardworking mom who has turned to the Empty Stocking so that she and her two children, ages 8 and 4, can participate in the joy of the holiday festivities.
Recipient No. 10 has worked for several years in the housekeeping department of a medical facility and has recently attended night school to become a Certified Nurse Assistant.
She has completed the certificate and will begin a new position as a CNA after the first of the year.
In an effort to better provide for her family, she plans to continue her education with the hopes of becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse.
For Christmas, this mother would welcome new clothes, socks and shoes for her children. She would also like to purchase a few story books and movies for their enjoyment over the holidays.
For the past 36 years, the Empty Stocking Fun has been a part of the Panhandle Community. It has become a tradition that Globe-News readers have come to expect and look forward to reading each holiday season. Just as December ushers in the festivities, so does the first Empty Stocking story remind us that the season is truly about giving. (source) |
posted by blogger @ 23:59
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| Alamo Community College- Accident insurance covers students
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Licensed Vocational Nurse LVN program prerequisites
"You are covered 24/7, wherever you are," said Josie Noriega, licensed vocational nurse with the college health center. "We will help you fill out the ...
Students who need medical assistance as a result of an accident on or off campus are covered through insurance provided through a $4 fee paid with registration.
The Compulsory Student Injury Insurance Plan is underwritten through the Monumental Life Insurance Co. It is administered through Bollinger Insurance. This program provides insurance to students who are involved in accidents while enrolled at an Alamo Community College.
It covers a specified amount depending on the injury. The coverage will pay for injuries such as an eye, hand and foot. It pays up to $5,000 for loss of life. To file a claim, students must go to the student health center located in Room 119 of Chance Academic Center.
"You are covered 24/7, wherever you are," said Josie Noriega, licensed vocational nurse with the college health center. "We will help you fill out the necessary paperwork to file a claim." Noriega said students who use the coverage are covered only for accidents and not other health issues such as the flu.
Students can get the necessay forms from the health center to notify the company of claims. Noriega did not know how many students have used the insurance.
LVN Program Fees |
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| "Registered nurses" and "Practical and vocational nurses"
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...the practical or vocational nurse does not function with the same level of responsiblity as a registered nurse, and their level of allowed responsibility will vary from state to state (dependent on any states given Nurse Practice Acts) and instituion to institution.
Do not however, assume that the vocational or practical nurse knows less or is not as capable as the registered nurse. It is not the initials behind your name that determine whether or not you are a good nurse.....it is the individuals willingness to learn and grow, the individuals ability to know their limitations and to act accordingly and responsibly. |
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| anesthesia -UC Irvine Medical Center enhances patient safety
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Certified Anesthesia Technician (Cer.A.T.)
Anesthesia Technician
UC Irvine Medical Center has begun using a sophisticated information management system that enhances patient safety and provides a more solid foundation for the complex teamwork required in the modern operating room. "Ensuring patient safety is our top priority," said Dr. Zeev Kain, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care chair. "Delivering the safest and highest quality of anesthesia and surgical care requires the latest technology."
Media-Newswire.com) - UC Irvine Medical Center has begun using a sophisticated information management system that enhances patient safety and provides a more solid foundation for the complex teamwork required in the modern operating room.
“Ensuring patient safety is our top priority,” said Dr. Zeev Kain, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care chair. “Delivering the safest and highest quality of anesthesia and surgical care requires the latest technology.”
The anesthesia information management system ( AIMS ) from Surgical Information Systems provides operating room physicians with accurate and comprehensive real-time data about a patient’s condition and the use of anesthesia during surgery.
It tracks equipment, supplies, drugs, vital signs and personnel, permitting the medical center to more easily review surgical procedures and diagnose ways to improve results. Previously, surgical personnel manually tracked and recorded such information.
“By eliminating those labor- and time-intensive tasks, the system allows the care providers’ full attention to remain where it should be – with the patient,” Kain said.
The information management system also enhances resident and medical student education by exposing doctors in training to the latest in anesthesia care.
“Data generated from the system will guarantee continual quality improvements as new anesthesia techniques keep pace with the advanced surgical techniques being pioneered at UC Irvine Medical Center,” said Dr. Michael O’Reilly, anesthesiology and perioperative care professor and a national authority on anesthesiology information systems. “This sophisticated information system will be a vital tool to fulfill our missions of clinical care, education and research.”
A team headed by Dr. Scott Engwall, medical director of perioperative services; Dr. Shermeen B. Vakharia, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care safety officer; Dr. Michael Moore, clinical lead on the project; and O’Reilly, coordinated the development and integration of this system in the medical center’s 15 operating suites. Hundreds of medical center personnel have undergone hours of training necessary to seamlessly integrate the new system with existing surgical practices.
Certified Anesthesia Technologist |
| posted by blogger @ 18:00
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| Urban medical schools feel weight of uninsured
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Certified Anesthesia Technician (Cer.A.T.)
Anesthesia Technician
DETROIT - Dr. Herbert Smitherman nervously monitors the city's fluctuating unemployment rate and sinking economy.
As one of about 750 Wayne State University Medical School physicians, he looks at the deluge of job cuts in Detroit's auto, manufacturing and other industries and sees even more people lining up for health care they can't afford to pay.
Doctors at the urban medical school -- working primarily through the Detroit Medical Center -- are feeling the financial and academic strain of treating 70 percent of the city's estimated 200,000 uninsured residents.
The uncompensated care means less money coming into the medical school to support programs and make infrastructure improvements necessary to attract top-notch physicians and highly qualified students. The school's doctors also could be using time they are not getting paid for to educate new generations of physicians, conduct grant-sponsored research and staff other programs geared toward the city's poor
"We're flying by the seats of our pants," said Smitherman, assistant dean of Community and Urban Health at the medical school.
He puts the total cost of uncompensated care by Wayne State medical school doctors at about $50 million each year. That includes all free care provided by its doctors and care and services for which they've billed patients and not been paid.
Smitherman estimates that 75 percent of patients treated by doctors at academic health centers are uninsured or underinsured. There are an estimated 47 million uninsured Americans.
The fortunate find free or low-cost programs run by medical school physicians. But that uncompensated care is money not being earned by the physicians or the school, according to Robert Dickler, chief health care officer for the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Medical Colleges.
"Part of the earnings go to pay for the infrastructure so you can run the medical school," Dickler said. "If you can't break even or you can't make some margin to reinvest in the facility and your activities, you are not going to be able to care for anybody.
"This is a dilemma many of our members currently are facing."
Wayne State's partner -- the eight-hospital Detroit Medical Center -- also is feeling the stinging financial pinch.
The DMC gives about $200 million in uncompensated care each year in Detroit. It also handles more Medicaid patients than any other hospital or group of hospitals in the state, Smitherman said. That played a role in 2003 when the state stepped in with $50 million from taxpayers to help the DMC through a tough budget time.
For the uninsured, urban medical schools are one of the largest parts of an unraveling safety net that includes community programs, local health centers and city-run free clinics.
The city of Detroit operates three primary care facilities offering basic prenatal care, pediatric screenings, dental services and some primary care. It also runs three specialty clinics focusing on the treatment of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
But funding for those services also are limited, said Dr. Phyllis Meadows, director of the city's Health and Wellness Promotion department.
"We do anticipate more uninsured, but we see so many people every year, anyway," she said. "Resources don't go up."
Smitherman said Wayne State's Medical School faculty is working hard to keep up with the waves of uninsured who often go through hospital emergency rooms for treatment. That route is the most expensive for hospitals, but allows people who can't afford to pay upfront to get treatment, he said.
Payments through the federal Medicaid program help recover some of the costs of primary care for the poor and uninsured, Smitherman said, "but there is no mechanism at the federal, state, county or city level for secondary care, and that's procedures, like if you wanted to get a CAT scan or an MRI or a chest X-ray," he said.
The Rev. Richard Wilson is one of those without health insurance, but he's in a community program that pays for the treatment he gets for heart problems, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.
"Unless I get into a group program, it's too expensive for me to do on my own," said the 56-year-old career pastor. His church, Tried Stone Baptist in Detroit, pays $700 each month for his medication, Wilson said.
The Voices of Detroit Initiative covers Wilson's minor lab work at a federally qualified health center run by Smitherman. But costs -- such as $4,000 in preventive services, including a colonoscopy -- have to be negotiated.
That starts with a call to the Detroit Medical Centers. "Then I have to call the anesthesiologist, and then I have to call the gastroenologist and ask them and negotiate with them on the price of it," Smitherman said. "Because we are faculty, what I do is call my colleagues and say, 'Would you please waive the fee on this patient who is totally uninsured and has no money, or can we get a significant discount on it?"'
What he can't get for free is paid with other federal funds, he added.
Unlike Wilson, many without insurance don't even bother to seek care because they can't afford it, said Smitherman, co-author of the book, "Taking Care of the Uninsured: A Path to Reform," published last year.
"They will do alternative medicine, over-the-counter medicine, have their friend do something," he said. "They will do anything to try to save the $200 to $300 that they would have to pay.
"It is very common for us to have people coming in and they say 'I have a rash and I treated it with Clorox,' or 'I treated it with something' and they've been doing it for a week. It's now infected. It's worse."
Certified Anesthesia Technologist |
| posted by blogger @ 16:00
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| 10 Best-Paying Jobs for Associate Degrees
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Vocational Nursing schools in California 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
Higher education is often synonymous with more professional opportunities. There's also a strong correlation between more formal schooling and lower unemployment, according to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In March 2006, high school graduates had a nationwide unemployment rate of 4.6 percent -- a rate that plummeted to 3.9 percent for associate degree holders and 2.2 percent for those with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Not surprisingly, investing in post-high school education can also have a strong impact on salary. While high school graduates with no college education collect an average weekly salary of $583, according to Current Population Survey data, that figure jumps nearly 15 percent to $670 for associate degree holders.
About 44 percent of all students are enrolled at two-year colleges, in part for their pocketbook-friendly tuition rates, according to the College Board. The organization estimates this year's average public two-year college tuition to be $2,191 -- or roughly equal to the average individual tax refund, according to the IRS.
By comparison, public four-year schools command annual tuitions of nearly $5,500 and private four-year university tuitions average more than $21,200.
A four-year education is not always the ticket to a swollen bank account, however. The following jobs -- ranked by the BLS as the highest-paying jobs typically held by those with associate degrees -- pay more than many jobs that require bachelor's degrees.
1. Computer specialist -- $59,480: Depending on the employer, computer specialists perform a variety of functions, ranging from technical support to coordinating network security. Hiring managers prefer graduates with an associate degree in a computer-related field.
2. Nuclear technician -- $59,200: Nuclear technicians monitor radiation and operate nuclear test and research equipment. They may also assist nuclear engineers and nuclear physicists with their research projects. An associate degree program in an applied science or specific technology should provide good training.
3. Dental hygienist $58,350: One of the fastest-growing occupations in the nation, dental hygienists provide routine dental services including cleaning teeth, taking X-rays and preventative care. Candidates must graduate from an accredited dental hygiene school and pass a written and clinical exam.
4. Radiation therapist -- $57,700: Radiation therapists administer radiation therapy to patients afflicted with tumors or cancer. Employers generally require an associate degree from a radiation therapy program.
5. Nuclear medicine technologist -- $55,840: Nuclear medicine technologists administer diagnostic tests that involve using radioactive materials to monitor organ functions. An associate degree in nuclear medicine technology is standard, and many employers also require licensure.
6. Fashion designer -- $55,840: Fashion designers study current fashion trends, sketch out new clothing designs, select the colors and fabrics and oversee the production of their items. Designers often hold associate degrees in fashion design or fine arts.
7. Aerospace engineering and operations technician -- $52,500: Aerospace engineering and operations technicians construct, test and maintain aircraft and space vehicles. An associate degree in engineering technology is standard, and certification can be a competitive edge for job seekers.
8. Diagnostic medical sonographer -- $52,490: Diagnostic medical sonographers -- also known as ultrasonographers -- administer diagnostic imagining technology used during pregnancy and to diagnose some diseases. Many community colleges offer associate degrees in diagnostic medical sonography, and some employers prefer candidates registered through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
9. Registered nurse -- $52,330: Registered nurses treat sick, injured and convalescent patients, and provide education on post-treatment care. RNs must have at least an associate degree in nursing and pass a national licensing examination.
10. Engineering technician -- $49,440: Engineering technicians perform a variety of research- and development-related tasks, including building and setting up equipment, conducting experiments, collecting data and recording results. Employers prefer associate degrees in engineering technology, which are widely available at technical institutes. (source)
Vocational Nursing schools in California 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, |
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| ECPI College of Technology Health programs
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ECPI College of Technology is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Bachelor of Science, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science degrees.
With campuses in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, ECPI, a private college established in 1966, offers convenient classes during the day, evening, or online; graduate employment services are provided. IT certification classes are also available.
ECPI's many fields of study include: TECHNOLOGY: Biomedical Technology, Medical Imaging Technology, HEALTH SCIENCES: Dental Assisting, Massage Therapy, Medical Administration, Medical Assisting, Medical Radiography, Physical Therapist Assistant, Practical Nursing, Registered Nursing, Surgical Technology |
| posted by blogger @ 12:00
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| Joliet Junior College nursing program-health care scholarships
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
The Morris Hospital Auxiliary and Morris Hospital Foundation awarded health care scholarships to 10 students. Eich, of Verona, is a 2008 Seneca High School graduate and will attend Joliet Junior College to become a nurse.
Lardi, of Coal City, is a 2004 Coal City High School graduate and a student at Southern Illinois University. He is working toward a certification as a radiologic technician, with plans to become specialized in ultrasound. White, of Dwight, is a 2004 Dwight Township High School graduate and is pursuing a degree in clinical laboratory science from Illinois State University.
The Auxiliary presented the $1,000 Maxine Burroughs Nursing Scholarship to Kate Hausken of Morris. Hausken is a 2008 Morris Community High School graduate and will pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing at Olivet Nazarene University.
The Morris Hospital Foundation presented three Carol Harrington Endowed scholarships. These $1,000 scholarships are named after Carol Harrington, former vice president of patient care services who retired from Morris Hospital in January after 43 years of service. Recipients are Christina Crater, Kaitlin McArdle and Travis Peters.
Crater, of South Wilmington, is a 2008 graduate of Gardener South Wilmington High School and will attend Aurora University to pursue a nursing degree. McArdle, of Morris, is a 2008 graduate of Joliet Catholic Academy and will attend the College of Pharmacy and Health Services as a pre-pharmacy student at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Peters, also of Morris, is a 2008 graduate of Coal City High School and will attend Augustana College in Rock Island to pursue a degree in physical therapy or sports medicine.
The Foundation also offers three $1,000 scholarships to hospital employees pursuing health care careers, as well as their dependents. This year, scholarships were awarded to Melissa Budach, Dana Cheshareck and Brandy Sharp.
Budach, of Morris, has worked at the hospital for more than 10 years and is an obstetrical technician in the Family Birthing Suites. She is in Joliet Junior College's nursing program with a graduation date in spring 2010.
Cheshareck, also of Morris, has worked at the hospital for two years and is a telementry clerk and certified nurse assistant in the intensive care unit. She is studying nursing at Joliet Junior College. Sharp, of Channahon, has worked at the hospital since 2006 and is a radiology assistant. She is pursuing a degree as an X-ray technologist at Joliet Junior College.
Eligibility requirements for the scholarships include living in the Morris Hospital service area and enrollment in a hospital-related health care curriculum at an accredited college, university or vocational-technical school. After submitting an application, transcripts, letters of recommendation and an essay, scholarship candidates are selected on demonstrated academic achievement, leadership ability, initiative and participation in work and community activities. (source)
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
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| Communities wrestle with holding on to new doctors, needing more to focus on general care
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Best Medical Careers
Ashwin Patel is a doctor, and that fact still throws him a bit.
A month into his residency, the Medical School of Charleston graduate is getting used to the new title.
“I’m used to walking into a room saying, ‘I’m Ashwin Patel, fourth-year medical student.’ I can’t do that anymore,” he said.
This summer, Patel and 20,939 others spread out to hospitals and clinics across the country to start their graduate education programs known as residencies.
It’s the first step in their professional medical careers, with the goal to become certified to practice on their own.
The newest group of 20 residents at New Hanover Regional Medical Center will spend the next few years intensely learning the specialty they have picked.
Based on recent trends only some will remain in the region and even fewer will practice the type of routine and preventative medicine that is the frontline care for most families.
The same issue is facing other communities in the state as well as across the nation, leaving health care experts to worry if there will be enough primary care doctors to handle growing patient populations.
For patients, that could mean fewer choices, more time spent in waiting rooms and less time spent with their doctors. And it’s a problem that could be particularly acute in communities with many older residents or that are largely rural, such as Southeastern North Carolina.
New Hanover Regional trains residents in the areas of family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine and general surgery.
Even though the residents are still learning, they are actual doctors now.
“You do an intern year, and all that responsibility is now yours,” Patel said, referring to the first year of his obstetrics and gynecology residency. “And you’re the one that they look to when certain decisions need to be made. That was initially pretty frightening.”
Patel, one of four ob/gyn residents starting their first year at New Hanover Regional, spent his first month traveling among various clinics that are part of the hospital system, working with oncology surgeons who see women with breast cancer, seeing patients in for ob/gyn appointments and being ready for anything during on-call hours over the weekend.
Patel ran his first triage during one recent on-call shift, in which he stays overnight at the hospital, to help a woman who was worried she was going into premature labor.
Meanwhile, there are weekly educational conferences with the other OB-GYN residents and their supervisors, called attendings, to go over interesting cases and swap treatment advice.
It all fits into 80 hours a week, max.
It has to under changes that took effect nationally in 2003 limiting residents to an 80-hour workweek as well as rules governing breaks between work periods. It’s a significant change from the past when residents would spend all hours of the night at their hospitals, but it also presents programs with the challenge of making sure the same level of training is given to these doctors who will one day be licensed and working on their own.
“I’m excited about starting this whole new phase of life,” Patel said, “where I’ve always been a student and now I get to come into the pseudo-real world of residency and hospital work.” (source)
Best Medical Careers |
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| Mobile High School Students Explore Scrubs
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| Saturday
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Vocational Nursing schools in California 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
Licensed Vocational Nurse LVN program prerequisites
LVN Program Fees
Don't let the scrubs fool you. These teens are just Doogie Howsers in training. Many, like McGill Toolen junior Bayley Jones say they're here just to browse medical careers.
“I've liked hands on things and I’ve always liked helping people,” says Jones. Almost 200 high school students from around mobile are touring the mobile infirmary system this week. The free summer scrubs program lets them see the people that cure, and the people that calculate.
We have the accountants, we have the people, we have all of the billing people so it really is with the maintenance like a small city inside a city,” says Manager of Employment Service Carol Statter. Most of these students are probably already familiar with what a nurse does or what a doctor does. This program is designed to put them in touch with some of the more obscure occupations in the medical field.
“Obviously I'm not real excited about needles and blood but I’m still in healthcare I still feel like we all get to save lives everyday,” says Statter. In one room they learn about cardiac rehab. An exercise physiologist would help a post-heart attack patient with an exercise routine to speed recovery. Fields like these are mostly unknown by aspiring students. About 500 students applied to the program. Almost 200 were accepted.
LPNs and RNs-similarities and differences
LVN vs RN What is the difference? |
| posted by blogger @ 23:55
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| Washington community college-Seattle Community College
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How to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse
Licensed Vocational Nurse working conditions
What is the typical salary for a Licensed Vocational Nurse ?
Raising babies, learning to speak English and 40-hour workweeks aren't typically associated with college students. At least, not as frequently as study-abroad excursions, Frisbee in the quad and beer pong. But for thousands of Washington community college students, that's exactly what the college experience looks like. And that might explain why, year after year, only about 50 percent of the two-year transfer-track students at Seattle community colleges make it to their second year.
There was only a 55 percent return in transfer students from 2005 to 2006 -- the latest data available. But overall, retention rates at the schools have been rising slightly over the last several years -- usually by a percentage point or 2. Statewide, hundreds of thousands of students enroll every year at community colleges, and now school administrators are looking at new ways to keep them in the classroom.
Lori Miller, head counselor at Seattle Central Community College, has a front-row seat to the challenges students face, because those with challenges often land in the chair across from her desk. Sometimes it's an 18-year-old who wasn't an achiever in high school and now feels isolated on the college's commuter campus. Other times, it's a 40-something returning student who has to coordinate the education of three children in addition to her own. Or maybe it's a first-generation student who doesn't have the support and direction a legacy of college degrees in the family provides.
"It's amazing what they're juggling," Miller said. "They're getting compressed from so many angles. And oftentimes, they're walking a tightrope of staying in and dropping out."
"We really see a big issue around time -- time is a resource," added Mark Mitsui, vice president of student services at South Seattle Community College. "Some of them are working two jobs. Some are working more than 40 hours."
Elena Atanasova, a 33-year- old South Seattle Community College student, embodies the subset of those struggling to care for a family while attending community college -- and how family life can encumber education.
After moving from Bulgaria to Seattle three years ago, Atanasova cleaned houses, baby-sat and pulled the graveyard shift at Virginia Mason Medical Center to help support her family -- a husband and a 10-year-old son. Atanasova has a midwife-nursing degree from a Bulgarian university. When she started a registered nursing certificate program at South Seattle this fall, she wasn't surprised to find she was often the highest scoring student in her classes.
But complications with her second pregnancy and doctor-ordered bed rest forced Atanasova to drop out a few months into the program.
"I was just devastated when this happened," Atanasova said. "I was sad. It was a very hard thing."
Her daughter will be born in April, about a month before Atanasova was supposed to earn her nursing credentials.
"Having my baby and having my RN certificate -- that was my dream," said Atanasova, who plans to return to the program in the fall. In the meantime, she tutors other South Seattle nursing students.
Retention rates in vocational programs -- often one-year certificate programs such as Atanasova's -- tend to be slightly lower than retention rates for students who intend to transfer to a four-year university. And comparing retention rates with schools such as the University of Washington (in 2006, UW retention was at 93 percent for freshmen who enrolled the year before) puts community-college student turnover in perspective.
School administrators and lawmakers are pouring money and effort into programs geared toward keeping community college students in the classroom long enough to develop job skills.
"Our colleges by far have the hardest job in higher education, and that's because of the profile of our students," said Charles Mitchell, chancellor of the Seattle Community College District.
Partly, college administrators are trying to get professional-track students to a "tipping point" -- the point at which they can leave the school with a new skill set and earn more money than they did before enrolling.
"It would be good if they got that two-year degree," Mitchell said. "When I came out of high school, a person could take a high school degree and they could go to work for Boeing, they could go work at the post office, they could raise a family. That's no longer true today."
Though schools are making individual efforts to reach out to minority students, along with those who are challenged financially, the retention buzzword has recently caught the ear of Olympia lawmakers, too.
Last year, the Legislature allotted $4 million to fund "opportunity grants" for low-income students who, according to trends tracked by schools, are less likely to reach degree or certificate-related goals. In a pilot program last year, 73 percent of opportunity-grant students continued on in school, compared with only 46 percent of students at the same socioeconomic level.
And to motivate community colleges to brainstorm about retention, the state recently started a "student achievement initiative," under which the 34 colleges will receive incentive funding based on their level of retention success.
"We did the debate of whether or not it's best to reward process or to reward outcome," said Sharon Fairchild, a member of the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. "We landed on rewarding outcome."
In a mostly empty classroom at North Seattle Community College last week, five students from non-English-speaking countries bent their heads over accounting textbooks in preparation for their final exam. The class is part of I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training), a support program recently started by community colleges around the state. The classes combine basic job skills, such as truck driving and welding, with English as a second language curriculum -- a formula school administrators have determined helps keep ESL students in school longer.
Usually taught jointly by two professors, last week's review session was supervised by I-BEST coordinator Sara Stapleton. There was a gadget sporting a row of brightly colored egg-shaped knobs that lit up to indicate which student would have to come up with the right answer for "Jeopardy"-style questions.
At least it was a little like the game show "Jeopardy." Alex Trebek doesn't often ask contestants to give an example of a long-term asset or list the information included on a schedule of accounts payable.
And later, when the students split into groups to devise questions for the next class session, Stapleton went from table to table, first explaining what "miscellaneous" means, then defining the expression "off the top of my head."
"They need someone to take a second to explain (a word) may mean this, too," she said later. "So they have someone to go to with those types of questions, and not to be embarrassed by that."
One of those five accounting students was Judy Xie, a 36-year- old Chinese immigrant and mother of four.
"It's really hard," she said. "I go to school, and I have my kids and other stuff. ... I want to improve my English -- I think that is the most important part for me."
And Diem Vo, a 22-year-old who came to Seattle from Vietnam less than three years ago, said it's sometimes hard to manage learning English and American-style accounting while working his job at a North Seattle doctor's office.
"It's really challenging, but I organize my time," he said. "My boss -- he understands." (source)
What do Vocational Nurses do?
Important skills, knowledge, and abilities for LVNs |
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| DoD CCATT course- Air Force provides Army burn flight team with critical care training
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How to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse
Air Force Base, CA - Dec 20, 2007Army burn flight teams consist of a general surgeon, a critical care registered nurse, a licensed vocational nurse, a respiratory technician and an ...
American combat casualties conceivably have a greater chance to survive life-threatening burn and inhalation injuries as a result of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine's initiative to train U.S.
Army burn flight professionals in Critical Care Air Transport Team operations.
In December, respiratory therapists, flight nurses and other aeromedical professionals from the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston, Texas joined Air Force colleagues in a challenging course designed to prepare them for what the aeromedical evacuation community characterizes as "critical care in the air."
Army burn flight teams consist of a general surgeon, a critical care registered nurse, a licensed vocational nurse, a respiratory technician and an operations Non-Commissioned Officer, he explained. "The CCATT course provides joint training in fixed-wing aeromedical transport of critically ill and injured patients that integrates real-world en route care lessons learned from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
No training platform (of this type) exists for tri-service critical care operations," Lt. Col. Fecura, Jr., CCATT course director, said. He also noted that it's the only DoD CCATT course. The joint training is especially important to the Army and Air Force aeromedical evacuation community because of the significant number of combat casualties suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, Army burn flight and Air Force CCATT teams have evacuated and treated hundreds of patients who've suffered burn and inhalation injuries primarily resulting from improvised explosive device detonations.
According to an American Burn Association report written by Army physicians, evacuating burn victims within the first 24-48 hours is critical to patients' survival and recovery. The article explains: "Rapid global evacuation of burned soldiers has been a priority during this conflict in an effort to minimize infectious complication and organ failure, which can ensue without definitive treatment."
According to Maj. Elizabeth Mann, an Army burn flight team registered nurse and CCATT course graduate, "Before Iraq, we did not fly patients who were not stable. Now we fly stabilized patients who could experience an adverse event in flight." Burn patients are most susceptible to infection. "The longer the burn goes untreated the worse the patient becomes," said Dr. Dax Holder, CCATT medical director. Dr. Holder explained that 15-20 years ago, patients who suffered burns to 50 percent or more of their body usually died.
"Now we're saving their life with 90 percent of the surface area of their body burned," he said. CCATT and Army burn flight teams provide airborne intensive care to burn victims evacuated from the combat theater to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. Burn casualties eventually receive specialized treatment from the Army Institute of Surgical Research at San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center, the only American Burn Association-verified burn center within the Department of Defense.
"CCATT and Army burn flight teams (often) fly together," said Colonel Fecura, explaining that a joint interoperability, cooperation and training initiative promoted by DoD has led to curriculum improvements and accessibility by other services to the CCATT course.
"We've had a synergistic relationship with the Army," Capt. Mark Gosling, CCATT course assistant director and former civilian paramedic, said. "They (ISR physicians) teach a two-hour burn lecture in the CCATT course.
The captain said the course has been modified in recent years to reflect the reality of war: 15 percent of CCATT patients are burn victims. CCATT was created in response to a major shift in Air Force aeromedical evacuation doctrine following the first Persian Gulf War. Brig. Gen. Linda Stierle, former Director of Medical Readiness Doctrine and Planning, articulated this doctrinal shift when she wrote in a 1996 letter: "With our doctrine shifting from 'return to duty' to 'evacuate and replace,' it is imperative that we begin the process to develop training programs to care for stabilized patients in the aeromedical evacuation system."
The aeromedical evacuation community had limited capabilities in transporting critically ill or injured patients prior to the doctrinal shift. Advances in aeromedical technology, combined with CCATT training, have given the Air Force aeromedical evacuation system enhanced clinical transport capabilities in caring for patients with potentially life-threatening medical conditions. "Today we're transporting sicker patients," said Capt. Sean Wilkinson, CCATT and Flight Nurse/Air Evacuation technician course instructor.
"The goal is to get them to (specialized) medical facilities that can better care for them." CCATT emphasizes team work and focuses on aerospace physiology and trauma care. "The training is pretty realistic," observed CCATT student Dr. (Lt. Col.) Charles Lutin, a flight surgeon from Luke AFB, Ariz. "Battery life (for equipment) and oxygen consumption are key considerations, both not easily replaced on an aircraft."
Maj. Mike Gonzalez, a CCATT alumnus who has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, praised the value of the joint training Army and Air Force medical professionals are receiving at Brooks City-Base. "This (CCATT) training is really reflective of the realism down range," Major Gonzalez said. He is a staff emergency medical physician at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas. (source)
How to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 18:00
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| Free Austin clinics-no appointment necessary
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Medical Assistant
"We'll probably be slammed in an hour," said Eninja Ervin, a certified medical assistant who tests blood pressure levels, runs lab tests and helps with ...
Three free Austin clinics see young people with hepatitis C, drug addictions, other ailments
In a twist on mainstream medical care in the United States, this clinic takes no appointments, no insurance and no money. And for nearly two hours on a Thursday in December, the doctor and the staff did the waiting.
"We'll probably be slammed in an hour," said Eninja Ervin, a certified medical assistant who tests blood pressure levels, runs lab tests and helps with patients at the weekly clinic in a modest space on the third floor of an Austin church building.
The staff at the branch of People's Community Clinic never knows when, or even if, a patient will come in, but that's by design. The goal is to encourage visits by troubled young people, including those who are homeless, substance abusers or "travelers" passing through Austin who need medical care. They don't respond well to appointments.
"Essentially, the at-risk adolescent we're trying to serve needs to be reached in their own environment on their own terms," said Regina Rogoff, executive director of People's Community Clinic.
That's why the organization established three outreach clinics in places where young adults gather, including this one — its first — at the Congregational Church of Austin at 23rd and San Antonio streets. At each one, People's Community Clinic partners with an organization geared toward serving youths who are in crisis: the LifeWorks Street Outreach Program at the church, which aids homeless youths, runaways and their families; American YouthWorks, which has a school for at-risk youths; and Phoenix Academy, which offers recovery to substance abusers.
The LifeWorks clinic has been at different sites near the University of Texas campus since the early 1990s and now uses the outreach program's office space.
The LifeWorks patients are "street-dependent youth," said Dr. Celia Neavel, medical director of outreach clinics for People's Community Clinic. Some live on the streets; others "couch surf" from one home to another. About a third of the patients have aged out of foster care and have no place to go, Neavel said. Others have mental illnesses; many are addicted to substances.
"Some are lost souls," said Neavel, 48, who also is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch-Austin. She supervises physicians in training who treat clinic patients as part of their residency requirement.
Not long after Ervin, 23, predicted a rush at the church-based clinic, the first patients arrived — travelers who have been in Austin since August.
"It's almost, like, I don't want to go anywhere else" for care, said Daniel Clark, 23.
"Where are you staying now?" asked Christina Gomez-Mira, 29, the clinic coordinator and health educator.
Clark said he and his girlfriend, Lilly Fagg, 18, were being evicted from their apartment in two days and would be moving on in less than two weeks, first to Colorado and then to California.
Clark said that for 10 years, he has had hepatitis C, one of the most common ailments clinic workers see. It is the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S., affecting 4.1 million, or about 1.5 percent, of Americans. It is generally spread when the blood of an infected person mixes with another person's. It can be deadly.
Clark told the nurse that he was nauseated. He was excited to hear that he had gained a pound.
Fagg said she had a "weird rash" just above her knees that itched constantly.
The two fit the mold of travelers the staff had described earlier: polite, intelligent and generally interested in their health.
Nurse practitioner Marcy Keefe examined Clark and then Fagg. Keefe prescribed a cream for what she diagnosed as hives. She also refilled Fagg's birth control prescription.
The pharmacy is a small set of storage drawers sitting on a file cabinet that hold antibiotics, steroid cream, birth control, ibuprofen and other basic medicines.
"It's amazing how much medicine you can practice out of those little boxes," Neavel said.
Rogoff estimates that 900 young people will have come through the three clinics by year's end.
Other U.S. cities have outreach clinics, Neavel said, "but I don't think there are tons of them."
She has three children between the ages of 14 and 20 and said she feels blessed to have such a rich, diverse job. But it can be wrenching to see young people made frail from living on the streets or being enslaved by their addictions, she said.
"We see and hear things that are very disturbing," she said.
She has learned to celebrate the small victories. "Sometimes," Neavel said, "the best thing you do is get somebody on birth control that day." (source)
Medical Assistant |
| posted by blogger @ 16:00
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| Beware quick-fix schools advertising 'dream jobs'
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Medical Assistant training
OK. So it's 11 o'clock on a Monday morning. You just got laid off from your job on Friday. You have no other job prospects lined up and you lack the skills employers want.
You are sitting at home, watching TV, with nothing to do. Then you see an ad for a trade school where you can train for a new career in either the health care, automotive, culinary, fashion merchandising, computer or criminal justice fields.
You call the number you see on the screen. Soon you are on your way to a whole new career and a new life on Easy Street. You don't want to have to spend four years in college and want to get trained for a new job right away.
Here are some of the ads that I have seen:
1. A girl who works in a dry-cleaning store sees another girl who graduated with her and tells her co-worker, "Do you see that girl in the scrubs?" The girl "in the scrubs" tells her she went to this particular school to learn how to be a medical assistant, that they found her a job, and tells the other girl that she should give them a try.
2. A girl who comes home from college, loaded down with books, decides that college was just not for her. She enrolls in this particular school, and learns how to become a medical assistant, the training focuses on her career. She gets a job in a doctor's office, and her face lights up by saying, "Now I work in a doctor's office. I have a great life."
3. A young woman driving home from a job as a housekeeper, which she hated, and noticed all the new pharmacies opening up. She enrolls at the school and now she's working as a pharmacy technician.
4. Another school advertises, "Do you want a career in the medical field but can't stand the sight of blood?" It then tells you how you can train for a job in the medical-billing field.
5. Another school advertises a young woman helping out in the operating room who said she didn't know where her life was going until she enrolled in that particular school. (She probably learned how to become a surgical technician there.)
6. A young girl comes home from work in a restaurant, tells her mother she didn't want to work there for the rest of her life, and decides to enroll at this particular school to learn how to become a medical assistant.
7. One guy said he loves cars and he wants to get paid for fixing them. Naturally, he enrolls at this particular school to learn how to become an automotive technician.
Unfortunately, these schools do not tell you the other side of these "new careers." If you think the girl didn't like her job in the restaurant, how is she going to feel when she's working as a medical assistant? She would have to draw blood, take the patient's blood pressure, assist the doctor with a patient, and be on her feet a lot. She also would have to deal with noisy, screaming, and crying children, especially if she works in a pediatric office.
What about the girl who trained to be a surgical technician? She, too, would have to stand on her feet all day long, deal with blood, and clean up in the operating room. Pharmacy techs have to stand a lot, as well as work different shifts, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Some of these schools now offer training in the criminal justice field, such as a police officer, private investigator, and so forth. I would be very careful about this. Some jobs in this field do require you to have a four-year degree in criminal justice. To be a police officer in Philadelphia, you have to go to the police academy.
If you're going to take up computers, make sure the school offers you training in the latest programming and software. I read on one of the consumer rip-off Web sites that some of these people were trained in outdated programming languages and the equipment didn't work.
I believe it's against the law for any school to guarantee that their graduates will get a job. These schools should explain the pros and cons of working in the fields they teach before you decide to enroll there. Don't be pressured to sign up right away. The admissions rep is really nothing but a salesperson who is under a lot of pressure to admit a certain amount of students per day.
Find out if the equipment is adequate and up-to-date to meet the employers. Find out if the instructors are experienced in the fields they teach, as well as have the proper teaching credentials.
Contact employers to find out if they hire graduates of the school. Check out the school with the Better Business Bureau and the local consumer protection agency. Take a tour of the school and ask to sit in on a class. Find out what their refund policy is if the training is not right for you.
And when you graduate, find out about their job-placement service.
If worse comes to worse, check out the local community colleges and training programs that are government-funded, or just simply settle for going the entire four years to college. ( source)
Medical Assistant training |
| posted by blogger @ 14:00
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| New nursing college opens-Emmanuel College
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A vocational nurse practices under the direction of a physician or registered nurse. Demesa-Bernabe said the nursing courses are based on a curriculum ...
Emmanuel College, the first vocational nursing school in the Marianas, welcomed 20 students during its opening ceremony yesterday at the Koreana Hotel, Pacific Towers. Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela, House Speaker Oscar Babauta, and a representative for Tinian Mayor Jose San Nicholas participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The establishment of the new school, Fitial said, signals the start of the local health care industry and the community only stands to benefit from this new industry's growth. “This will lead to good paying jobs in the CNMI,” he said. “Some people have been pointedly asking 'Where's the investment, governor?' And my answer today is: 'Right here. Here's the new investment. Here's the new industry. Here is the opening of Emmanuel College-a brand new licensed nursing school,'” the governor said.
Sedy Demesa-Bernabe, president of Emmanuel College, recognized Finance Secretary Eloy Inos, saying he has been a huge help throughout the process of making the school project a reality. Joan Cabrera, a student currently enrolled to attend the college this year, said that nursing is a way to give back to the community. “Hopefully, in 11 months' time, all the graduates will continue on to practice at CHC [Commonwealth Health Center],” she said.
Cherry Castro, director of the nursing program, said that nothing is more rewarding than to nurse a patient back to health and receiving a grateful “thank you.”Classes at the new school will be daily from Monday to Friday, while in the succeeding weeks, two days will be scheduled for clinical sessions and two for classes.
The college offers a Licensed Vocational Nursing program and aims to attract local and foreign students who want to complete the course in less than a year and be able to work afterwards.
An LVN is an entry-level health care provider who is responsible for rendering basic nursing care. A vocational nurse practices under the direction of a physician or registered nurse.Demesa-Bernabe said the nursing courses are based on a curriculum approved by the California Board of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education and the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.
She said that graduates of the program would be eligible to take up the NCLEX [nursing licensure exam] or even choose to pursue other advanced nursing courses.Demesa-Bernabe, who owns the second-largest nursing home chain in California, Pleasant Care, said that LVNs receive a wage rate of up to $27 per hour in the U.S.
The college is named after Demesa's husband Emmanuel, who is the president of Pleasant Care.LVN program will be open to local residents, as well as students from South Korea, China, and the Philippines, among others. (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 12:00
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| Retail clinics continue explosive growth
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Travel nurse job
Patients don't need an appointment, and care is administered by a licensed nurse practitioner or physician's assistant instead of a staff physician. ...
Worried parents, a sick infant and a crowded hospital emergency room. Instead of frustration over a seven-hour wait to have their son treated for a common respiratory infection, Rob and Debra Tofil sensed a business opportunity. Today, the Tofils own and run MediMin, a Goodyear-based retail health clinic with locations in three Bashas' and Food City stores in the Valley.
MediMin is one of a handful of retail health clinic chains opening locations inside grocery and drug stores across Arizona. These in-store clinics promise convenient health care for common ailments such as strep throat, skin conditions or vaccinations.
Patients don't need an appointment, and care is administered by a licensed nurse practitioner or physician's assistant instead of a staff physician.
Backers of these in-store clinics say they provide an inexpensive option for people in need of quick treatment for minor health issues. These clinics, which typically charge a small fee for each service, also provide an option for people who lack health insurance.
"We view ourselves as an alternative to urgent-care or an emergency-room visit," said Dr. Joshua Holland, MediMin's chief medical officer.He added that retail clinics help a strained health-care system pare unnecessary visits to those facilities. "It is prohibitively expensive to take care of a sore throat or a urinary-tract infection at an ER," Holland said. "We can do that here."
Retail clinics are rapidly expanding in Arizona with clinic operators planning new locations at retailers such as CVS and Fry's and Bashas' supermarkets. The Minute Clinic has been the most aggressive retail clinic in Arizona, with locations in 13 Phoenix-area CVS stores and another three clinics in or near Tucson.
Minneapolis-based the Minute Clinic, a subsidiary of CVS/Caremark, plans to open locations in 2,500 CVS stores nationwide. The Brentwood, Tenn.-based Little Clinic recently opened clinics at two Fry's stores in Phoenix and a third Fry's location in Peoria. The clinic plans another five Valley locations in 2008.
MediMin, too, plans to open new locations in the Phoenix area, but no new sites have been announced. Wal-Mart operates retail health clinics in 12 states, but not Arizona. The rapid growth of these clinics has caught the attention of some doctors' groups. The American Medical Association this year urged federal and state regulatory agencies to take a hard look at the growth of retail health clinics.
The AMA said such clinics may pose a health risk to consumers by quickly treating patients for minor conditions that may be symptoms of larger health problems. The Arizona Medical Association is among the groups that believe retail health clinics need regulatory oversight to ensure patient safety. "I think they need to be watched carefully in the same way we (doctors) watch ourselves," said Chic Older, executive vice president of the Arizona Medical Association.
"Will the public be assured that they are competent enough to know what they don't know?"The Arizona Medical Board provides some oversight to retail clinics that employ physicians' assistants. The state requires an Arizona licensed physician to oversee all physician assistants. That oversight requires weekly meetings between the doctors and the physician assistants to review matters such as patient charts and treatments.
So far, the Arizona Medical Board has received no complaints about retail health clinics, according to a medical board spokesman. Retail clinic representatives insist they do not intend to replace primary-care doctors. They offer a menu of health-care services that vary from chain to chain, along with fixed prices charged for these services. Customers of The Little Clinic can get a cholesterol test for $20, a pre-employment physical for $45 or a flu vaccine for $30. And the process is quick, with most customers typically in and out within15 to 20 minutes, said Lisa Loscalzo, The Little Clinic's executive vice president of business development."We are not out there doing surgery, just minor ailments," Loscalzo said. "We treat a very narrow scope of services."
Clients often uninsured Clinic representatives say they do not pretend to offer services they cannot handle. The clinics usually do not have sophisticated equipment such as X-Ray or MRI machines that are needed to diagnose and treat more complicated medical problems. If a doctor is needed, the clinics say they provide patients with names of licensed physicians. They also encourage their customers to maintain a primary care physician.
Thing is, clinic representatives say they are tapping a demographic that conventional health providers often miss. At least 30 percent of customers who seek care at The Little Clinic don't have a primary care physician. MediMin counts the uninsured among its biggest customer groups. That can be fertile ground in Arizona, where one in five residents did not have health insurance in 2006, according to the Census Bureau. Phoenix resident Audrey Villa admits she was initially skeptical about the idea of a health clinic inside a grocery store, but she has used retail clinics for routine care such as flu shots. "It is a weird combination, but it's convenient," said Villa, at a Fry's store on W. Bell Road near Interstate 17, the site of a new The Little Clinic.
Some retail clinic representatives expect the medical community will become more comfortable with these clinics once they learn more.Kevin L. Smith, director of clinical services for the Minute Clinic, believes retail health clinics represent an evolution of health care service.
He compares the trend to the introduction of urgent care clinics more than a decade ago. Doctors and hospitals initially balked at those facilities, too, he said, "Both have been disruptive innovations," Smith said. "We are providing a niche of services. We have no intention of becoming the primary-care provider for the patient." (source )
Travel nurse job |
| posted by blogger @ 08:00
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| The average net income for an independent private dentist
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Dental Assistant training-Dental Assistant job-Dental Assistant salary
The average net income for an independent private dentist owning all or part of their practice was $198,350 in 2005, according to an industry survey,
A New York-based dental firm is opening its 10th Michigan office in Bay City, following the lead of other chain service providers such as Pearle Vision for eye care and BoRics for hair care.
Aspen Dental is finding success by attracting people who need tooth care but don't have a regular dentist. The company offers walk-in service and extended office hours.
"We focus on the underserved population, which is about 40 percent of the population, for one reason or another," said Mark Frank, a spokesman for Aspen Dental.
The Michigan Dental Association, representing 5,500 members and about 80 percent of the dentists practicing in the state, sees some upsides to Aspen's expansion in Michigan. The Bay City location at 3505 Wilder Road is set to open in September.
"If they are serving a niche that has not gone to the dentist and needs dental care, then that's important," said Tom Kochheiser, a spokesman for the association.
Kochheiser said he feels Aspen won't take customers away from existing dental practices, since most people prefer to have a long-term relationship with their dentist.
Aspen also is providing job opportunities for dentists entering private practice who don't have the resources to set up their own office. Kochheiser said the average dentist today graduates with $200,000 in debt.
Medical school debt often is cited as a reason not enough medical students select primary care practice, as specialties pay more.
Frank said Aspen Dental takes care of the costs and labor associated with advertising, accounting, information technology and other aspects of running a dental office.
"They are able to really focus on what they love to do, which is practice dentistry, and not get involved in back-office details," Frank said.
It also gives Aspen dentists a better work-life balance by not having the pressure of running an office, he contends.
Aspen Dental began 10 years ago and has since expanded to 150 offices in 12 states, Frank said. The company is privately held and does not release its revenues. Offices provide full-service dentistry and dentures.
Bay City was chosen as a new Michigan location based on an analysis that showed the community is an "underserved market," he said.
According to Kochheiser, the Bay City area has 37 general practice dentists.
The average net income for an independent private dentist owning all or part of their practice was $198,350 in 2005, according to an industry survey, Kochheiser said.
Frank said Aspen offers salaries competitive with private practitioners. The Bay City office will employ a lead dentist and an assistant dentist, and six or seven other employees, he said.
Aspen's offices typically have extended hours and payment plans available to help people who need dental treatment, often on an emergency basis, he said. The company accepts most traditional insurance, but not federal insurance such as Medicare, Frank said.
Frank says Aspen operates similarly to Pearle Vision or Lens Crafters in the optometry business.
"In their industry, they've made eye care more accessible by virtue of their hours and locations, and we're doing that in dentistry," he said. (source)
Dental Assistant training-Dental Assistant job-Dental Assistant salary |
| posted by blogger @ 06:00
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| Fewer students entering IRCC nursing program after 4 professors lose jobs
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There will be 36 fewer nursing students at Indian River Community College this fall because four nursing professors are losing their jobs because of grants totaling $795,000 not being renewed.
The grants — one federal, one state and a third private — had been used to pay salaries and buy equipment for the colleges nursing program. The college had been getting the federal grant for the past three years and the state grant two years. No information was forthcoming on the private grant.
“We will be working diligently to see if we can provide some part-time teaching positions for these teachers,” said Michelle Abaldo, IRCC’s director of institutional advancement.
Abaldo said loss of the state grant was “a reflection of the funding shortfall,” but said she was unaware why the other two grants had not been renewed.
The effect will be a reduction of 25 slots for registered nurses, reducing the size of classes to 140 students.
The current 47 slots for licensed practical nursing students will be reduced by 11. All will be taken from IRCC’s one-year LPN course on the Chastain Campus in Stuart. Abaldo said those students will be given the option of joining the nursing assistant program in Stuart this fall, then being accepted into the licensed practical nursing program at the college’s main campus in Fort Pierce.
The cutbacks come at a time when more nurses are needed in Florida: A study released in April by the Florida Center for Nursing reported that although there was a 3.5 percent increase in the potential workforce of registered nurses during 2007, it probably was insufficient to fill existing vacancies and potential growth. The situation may deepen further in 2008, it stated.
Moreover, the report stated that the workforce of licensed practical nurses in Florida shrunk more than 3 percent in 2007 and that 40 percent of Florida’s nurses are older than 50 and within a decade of traditional retirement age. (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 23:55
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| Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing in New York City
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What is a Nursing Assistant and Certified Nursing Assistant?
Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing in New York City has entered into an articulation agreement with Excelsior College in Albany, NY, which will offer graduates of the school an opportunity to continue their nursing education beyond an associate degree. This agreement between Phillips Beth Israel and Excelsior College, a world leader in distance education, provides the 300 students currently enrolled at Phillips Beth Israel and its 4,000+ alumni to enhance their career opportunities by earning advanced degrees.
“Nurses work many different schedules that often make attending on-site programs difficult,” said Janet Mackin, RN, EdD, Dean of Phillips Beth Israel. According to Dr. Mackin, approximately 70 percent of students at Phillips Beth Israel are planning to pursue advanced education within three years after graduation. “We want to give them as many options as possible,” the Dean said. “Excelsior's accredited and nationally recognized programs will allow our students flexibility in pursuing their BSN degree.” She also believes that nurses at the school’s parent hospital, Beth Israel Medical Center, will be interested in pursuing advanced degrees with this flexible option.
Through this agreement, credits earned in Phillips Beth Israel's associate degree programs will be recognized by Excelsior toward its bachelor’s and master's programs in nursing. In addition, graduates of the New York City nursing school will be able to earn their advanced degrees while maintaining work and family obligations by completing Excelsior's programs at a distance. All of Excelsior's nursing programs are accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). In addition, its School of Nursing has been designated a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing.
“We are excited about this collaboration with Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing,” said Excelsior College Provost Dana Offerman. “Excelsior is all about removing obstacles that may prevent working adults from continuing their education. Through this agreement, Phillips Beth Israel students and alumni will be able to pursue a bachelor’s degree and beyond by taking our online courses, and through independent study and the use of our college-level proficiency examinations."
Phillips Beth Israel was chartered by the New York State Board of Regents in 1904 as Beth Israel Training School for Nurses. In 1985, the school was renamed Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing in honor of its benefactor, Seymour J. Phillips. The School, located at 776 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, awards an associate degree in nursing, and has educated more than 4,000 nurses. It is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).
Excelsior College (www.excelsior.edu) is an accredited, private, nonprofit institution that focuses on the needs of working adults. Its primary mission is to increase access to a college degree for adult learners by removing obstacles to their educational goals. Excelsior's unique strengths lie in its acknowledged leadership in the assessment of student knowledge. It does so by providing working adults multiple avenues to degree completion that include its own online courses and college-level proficiency examinations, and the acceptance of credit in transfer from other colleges and universities.
Founded in 1971 and located in Albany, N.Y., it is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Its School of Nursing is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), and has been designated a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing. For two years in a row it has been named as the Best School of Nursing for Men by the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. It is also home to the Tau Kappa Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing.
What is a Nursing Assistant and Certified Nursing Assistant? |
| posted by blogger @ 22:00
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| State to have 15 pvt nursing colleges
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
As many as 15 nursing colleges would be opened in the private sector at various locations in the state. The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to offer 520 seats for B.Sc (Nursing) in the proposed private colleges and 640 seats in general nursing and midwife (GNM) course.
As per the guidelines governing allotment of college sites to private institutions, the norms of Indian Nursing Council (INC) shall be applicable for having minimum staff and infrastructure so that that the standards of medical education are not compromised.
The government has proposed to allow attachment of these institutions with government health institutions for a period of 25 years in case of B.Sc and for five years in case of GNM. Only a single institute would be allowed to get attached with the government medical institution at one location and no party shall be granted more than three locations for setting up a nursing college. In the two-stage evaluation process for applicants setting up the institutions, building, premises, land and location have been set as parameters.
Four colleges are proposed in Kangra district, three in Shimla, two in Mandi and one each in Chamba, Hamirpur, Solan, Sirmour, Bilaspur and Una.
At present, there are two nursing colleges in the private sector at Kullu and Nalagarh, while six others are being run in the government sector under the IGMC Hospital, Shimla; RPMC, Tanda, and Zonal Hospitals in Mandi, Nahan, Rampur and Bilaspur.
During the past month, the government has withdrawn permission granted by the previous Congress regime to private parties for setting up 36 nursing colleges. Terming the allotments against the provisions of the INC, the BJP government withdrew the NOCs granted earlier. Some persons who were not allotted the colleges, had filed a petition in the court, alleging bias in the allotment process. Now, with the new norms in place, the government is claiming the allotment process to be more transparent and hassle-free.(source)
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
| posted by blogger @ 20:00
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| Cultural Competency and Nursing
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Vocational nurse job
Whether it’s Greek, Arabic or Cantonese, her staff has to be adept at things as complex as medical translation and as simple as knowing when to use eye contact."
As the country gets more diverse, hospitals are getting savvy, hiring people who understand patients’ cultural needs on top of their medical needs. Even big time medical schools like Penn, Harvard and UCSF are getting hip to this concept, changing their curriculum to include cultural training. Youth Radio’s Alyssa Wagner describes how these days, college graduates without strictly science backgrounds are breaking into the medical industry because their mastery of chemistry and biology may be less important than their ability to translate and help patients overcome cultural barriers.
I tell anyone who will listen, that I want to be a nurse. When people find out that I've been majoring in Chicano/Latino studies - I get some pretty funny looks. But cultural competency is one of the new buzzwords in medicine. Take the University of California at Davis, where I go to school.
This is the Chicano Studies department. It's on the other side of campus from the medical school. But professor Adela de la Torre is bridging the gap by planning a new school of public health that incorporates cultural competency.
Torre (on tape)
It means recognizing that when you enter into a patient encounter that you are not the expert in every domain, that there is an opportunity to learn. If you understand the cultural background, the lifestyle of your patient, you can better treat your patient.
Dorcas Walton is a chief nurse executive at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, California.
Walton (on tape)
We can have as many as 40 some languages spoken on one of our floors. It brings an international house here all the time.
Whether it's Greek, Arabic or Cantonese, her staff has to be adept at things as complex as medical translation and as simple as knowing when to use eye contact.
Walton (on tape)
One culture you're allowed to look in the eye, and another culture says no, that's disrespectful. We have to teach staff how to care for the variety of patients they're taking care of.
The latest census data shows 39 percent of Californians speak another language besides English at home. It's part of a larger trend nationwide. Professor Yvette Flores, who introduced cultural competency to me in her psychology class, describes her "aha" moment. It came when she was an undergrad doing mental health work with migrant Mexican families.
Flores (on tape)
and it seemed ludicrous to me that I was hired as a Mexican family expert when I was 18 years old and I was not Mexican and I had one course in psychology. That definitely shaped not only the kind of psychologist I became but also the courses that I teach. Courses like mental health, psychological perspectives on the family, and of course on Chicano psychology. I also teach humanities in medicine.
Humanities in Medicine? It may sound strange, but Flores argues that's where it's all headed. I hope she's right, as I get ready to graduate and use my BA in Chicano Studies to transition into a nursing career.
Vocational nurse job |
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| It is inappropriate to look overseas for nursing workforce relief
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
Overreliance on foreign-educated nurses by the healthcare industry serves only to postpone efforts to address the needs of nursing students and the U.S. nursing workforce," an American Nurses Association policy expert told a Congressional panel.
Cheryl Peterson, RN, MSN, testified, "It is inappropriate to look overseas for nursing workforce relief when the real problem is the fact that Congress does not provide sufficient funding for domestic schools of nursing, the U.S. healthcare industry has failed to maintain a work environment that retains experienced U.S. nurses, and the U.S. government does not engage in active health workforce planning to build a sustainable nursing and health professions work force for the future."
In a hearing on the need for work visas for highly skilled workers, Peterson urged the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law to support funding of domestic nursing schools and increase their capacity through the Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development Act of 2007.
She noted that last year the federal Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program turned away 93% of applicants, and the Nursing Scholarship Program denied 96% of applicants.
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
| posted by blogger @ 16:00
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| Nursing are in high demand all over the United States
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
While many of her fellow new grads struggle to start their careers this year, Rachel Spare snagged a job more than six months ago.
Spare, who graduates Aug. 10 from Brevard Community College's nursing school, already is working full time as a nurse tech with Wuesthoff Medical Center-Rockledge.
As soon as her nursing license arrives, Spare will slip into her new position as a registered nurse at Wuesthoff's labor and delivery wing.
"Nursing seems to be in high demand all over the United States," said Spare, who did a college research paper on the nursing shortage and how it threatens the stability of health care.
According to the Florida Center for Nursing, the Sunshine State may not be too sunny a place to seek health care by the year 2020.
In a recent study, the center noted the state needed 11,000 more registered nurses.
If no immediate action is taken to increase the number of new nurses, the center estimates the need could spike to 52,000, potentially crippling the state's health care system.
The steady supply of new grads that emerge from local nursing schools keeps the field afloat, but it is not enough.
Keiser University's nursing school -- which began at the Melbourne campus in 2005 -- in three years has expanded into nine of the university's 13 campuses across the state, with about 1,000 students in the system.
"We're hoping to double our numbers by 2010," said Mary Jane Moore, associate vice chancellor of academics at Keiser.
Finding enough nursing instructors to train new nurses is a problem.
"Some of the schools have waiting lists," Wuesthoff nurse recruiter Gail Kroen said.
"The number of instructors and the class sizes are being looked at by legislators."
Keiser, Brevard Community College and the University of Central Florida have the advantage of being able to tap into Health First and Wuesthoff's nursing staff for adjunct faculty positions.
"We have been successful because of our relationship with the local hospitals," said Karen Runk, associate dean of academic affairs at Keiser's Melbourne campus.
However, according to the Center for Nursing report, even if the number of new nursing graduates increases by 15 percent annually, Florida will see a growing shortage.
"There won't be a quick fix for the shortage in the short term," said Mary Lou Brunnell, executive director at the Florida Center for Nursing.
"However, if we act now to maximize capacity, improve the work environment to retain nurses and redesign nursing work to accommodate the physical limitations of older nurses, we can avoid a shortage of catastrophic proportions."
Seasoned nurses -- particularly those with specialties in emergency-room and intensive-care unit duties -- are hard to find and expected to become even scarcer to recruit.
In just a few years, aging baby boomers will ask more from health care systems at the same time that older nurses will be hanging up their scrubs for good, possibly unleashing a perfect storm on the health care industry.
"The average age for experienced nurses is 50 to 55 years," Runk said.
"The population that is going to need care is going to explode in numbers," Kroen said.
Although local hospital systems have a vacancy rate that is below the national average, they all struggle to find seasoned workers.
"The issue is finding the nurses for specialty areas," Kroen said. "If a nurse is vested in an organization, they tend to stay there."
Adding to recruiters' woes is the economy.
"Five years ago, when Brevard County was discovered, the situation was great," Kroen said. "Then, there were experienced nurses coming here. At that time, I truly didn't have any vacancies."
Recruiting from abroad
A few years ago, hospitals tried to boost nursing ranks by recruiting from abroad.
"Many of the nurses were from India -- very well-trained and with lots of experience," Kroen said. "English is the language used in the hospitals there, so it was easy for them to work here. Recruiting them proved a tremendous help."
Tightening of the number of visas granted, however, has choked off that supply of nursing labor, although looser restrictions are expected to be put into place this fall.
To attract -- and keep -- candidates, hospitals offer sign-on bonuses, help with relocation, generous educational assistance and flexible schedules.
"We're trying our best to get creative with the way we schedule, so more seasoned nurses aren't being overworked," said Elena Donaldson, senior recruiter for Health First.
Donaldson expects that switching to more job-sharing opportunities that cut shifts from 12 to eight hours will keep older nurses in the work force longer.
"We're tweaking benefits, too," she added. "Younger nurses want more flexible benefits packages and are attracted to the new technology."
Seeking efficiency
If the nursing shortage is not resolved, Donaldson envisions a very different way of health care delivery.
"Efficiency within the hospital is going to be super- important," she said. "We may see a redesign in patient care. We'll see a different version of nursing assistants, and increased use of robotics and voice-recognition computer charting. We'll see more shared staff between schools and hospitals."
Jamie Wheeler graduated from Keiser in November, but took a break to have a baby before searching for a job.
She had no problem landing a position at Holmes Regional Medical Center.
"There are plenty of jobs available," she said.
Health First began the recruitment process with Wheeler, while she was still in the classroom, enticing her with its Graduate Nurse Program, which offers additional training in everything from spirituality for nurses to techniques in IV therapy.
Despite all their best efforts, recruiters see the coming years as a struggle.
"From a recruiter's point, I don't think we can catch up," Donaldson said. (source)
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
| posted by blogger @ 14:00
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| Health care is at a crossroads
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Vocational nurse training-Vocational nurse job-Vocational nurse salary
Nationally and in the Pacific Northwest, health care is at a crossroads.
Health care workers are reaching retirement age in parallel with the overall population. The average age of a nurse is 53, while the number of people 65 and over is projected to grow by 147 percent over the next 40 years. The Oregon Employment Department is predicting an additional 1,200 new nursing jobs a year will become available in Oregon through 2014.
This national and regional shortage is putting increased pressure on educational institutions and their staffs. The majority of this demand is being met by community colleges and their regional health care partners.
Both Washington’s and Oregon’s proposed higher education budgets reflect this, providing funding for both staff and facility expansion. For architects and their design teams, allied health and science buildings provide a unique and challenging design opportunity. Allied health professionals typically cover a broad range of occupations that support the medical and dental fields, including nursing, dental hygiene and paramedic training.
Health care partnerships
These projects not only need to serve the general academic needs of the institutions and their curriculums, but they may also be influenced by partnerships with the health care industry.
Most community colleges partner with local health care providers in an effort to provide hands-on experience in the workplace. These partnerships can also come onto campus in the form of clinics that provide free community services, and continuing education opportunities for health care staff.
Flexible design
Community colleges are in a constant state of change. With academic programs designed to serve the local community, the typical projection period is three to five years. The need for buildings that can accommodate academic change is critical.
Establishing a building “planning module” that will accommodate labs, classrooms and offices will give the institution the physical and programmatic flexibility to expand and reconfigure in the future.
The use of multi-disciplinary labs, or “flex-labs,” can also provide instructional and scheduling flexibility. These labs combine functions from multiple academic departments into a single lab, conserving valuable building area and providing collaboration between academic programs.
Green features
With most institutions designing to LEED standards, allied health and science facilities are becoming campus leaders in their use of water, daylighting, stormwater management, and integrated control of mechanical and electrical building systems. The design team, faculty and staff also have the opportunity to collaborate in the development of the sustainability features of the building, integrating academic programs and teaching curriculums with the architecture.
Yost Grube Hall Architecture has a long history of collaboration with the heath care industry and community colleges. Most recently, the firm has been engaged with several community colleges in Washington and Oregon, assisting them with the design and construction of their allied health and science facilities.
In Mount Vernon, Skagit Valley College has a 67,000-square-foot allied health and science building currently under construction and scheduled for completion in the summer of 2009.
As with many community colleges, Skagit Valley’s science and allied health programs were located in an older building no longer capable of effectively serving their physical and programmatic needs. This, combined with the growing demand for health care professionals in the Skagit Valley area, has been the driving force behind their expansion.
Yost Grube Hall, teaming with the Seattle architectural firm of Schreiber Starling & Lane and laboratory planner X-nth from San Diego, began very early in the design process to understand the relationship between the college and its allied health partners, the academic mission of each program, and the sustainability goals of the departments and the institution.
The college has numerous partners in the allied health professions located in the Skagit Valley, giving students the hands-on experience vital to their training.
In an effort to support their continuing education programs and provide better connectivity with satellite campuses, the college is implementing a distance-learning program that will be supported by a state-of-the-art distance learning classroom suite located in the new building.
Having resided in inadequate buildings for decades, the science and nursing program wanted a new building that could grow and change with them. A planning module was established for the lab and classroom areas that would allow classrooms to be converted to labs in the future.
Science labs are separated by shared support spaces, conserving valuable square footage and providing connectivity between labs as well as the flexibility to team teach or expand into the neighboring lab for specific activities. The nursing program also elected to have a classroom built into its lab, combining traditional classroom lecture with lab-oriented activities.
The design team and college staff, seeking a LEED silver certification, identified sustainable goals for the project that would also support the academic mission and daily instructional activities of the science department.
In particular, a grant was obtained to provide for solar photovoltaic panels. These panels were integrated into the architecture of the building at the roof level as visual screening for the mechanical equipment. Power usage and monitoring from the panels will be integrated into the science labs.
Skagit Valley College also has an environmental conservation program that wanted to monitor the stormwater coming off the roof. In response, an exterior courtyard, or rain garden, was created that collects and stores roof runoff so students and faculty can measure and sample the water. This brings principles from the classroom into the field without students and faculty having to leave their building.
Central Oregon Community College in Bend has just completed the conceptual design for its allied health and science building, and will go to the public with a bond proposal for funding this November.
Similar to Skagit Valley College, Central Oregon’s ability to expand its nursing, allied health and science programs has been hampered by the limitations of current facilities. Yost Grube Hall and the Estimé Group of Portland, the laboratory planners, have teamed with Pinnacle Architecture of Bend on the design of the proposed 90,000-square-foot facility.
Partnering with the St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, the college has been able to provide nursing and allied health students with practical experience. But with limited opportunity for this valuable field experience in Central Oregon, the college utilizes more simulation in its nursing lab. Simulation is accomplished with computerized mannequins that can produce real-life ailments and symptoms.
The college also provides free dental service to the community one day a week in its dental lab. Local volunteer dentists work with students to provide basic dental care.
However, with a current lab consisting of three chairs, only 12 to 15 patients can be helped a week, while the waiting list typically is 80 to 100. The proposed new lab will contain 12 chairs and will allow the college to quadruple the community service it provides.
Central Oregon is currently in the process of exploring models of allied health and science education. In the next few months, a series of facility tours are planned to allow the faculty and design team to evaluate different teaching pedagogies and lab designs that will support them.
Although the building is only in the conceptual design stage, the college and the design team have started reviewing sustainable options for the building systems, interior finishes and stormwater management. The state of Oregon has recently implemented a law requiring all state-funded projects to appropriate 1.5 percent of the overall construction budget toward solar applications.
Clackamas
In Clackamas County, Ore., one of Portland’s fastest growing regions, the Oregon Employment Department is expecting a more than 22 percent increase in nursing and allied health-related jobs by 2012.
To answer this demand, Clackamas Community College and regional health care providers formed a committee to analyze how to best serve these needs. The result is the recently completed 47,000-square-foot Center for Health Education located at Clackamas Community College’s Harmony Campus.
The committee included Kaiser Permanente, Willamette Falls Hospital, Providence Hospital and Adventist Health. With input from these partners, the college’s nursing lab has been modeled after a typical hospital, with patient rooms located around a central nursing station. Two identical six-bed labs are joined by a central storage area and simulation control room to accommodate curriculum requirements of each health care partner.
To accommodate growth and change, the design team established a planning module that would allow labs, classrooms, and offices to be interchangeable.
A second planned building will be adjacent to the Center for Health Education, with connectivity provided by a sky bridge.
Several programs in the new building will eventually move to this second-phase facility. The dental assistant and emergency medical technician labs have been designed so that equipment can be disconnected and moved easily.
Through creative scheduling and interdepartment collaboration, a flex lab was also created to serve the needs of the microbiology, dental assistant and medical assistant programs. As programs grow, additional department-specific labs will be added, allowing the lab to be dedicated to microbiology.
The Center for Health Education incorporates numerous sustainable features into its design. Exterior sun screens are combined with lighting control systems to conserve energy and maximize natural daylighting. Interior finishes and casework are constructed from sustainable materials with exposed concrete floors in public areas.
Since the center is located adjacent to a county park, a rigorous stormwater management program was implemented, detaining and treating roof and surface stormwater in planters that are integrated into the design of the building.
health care is at a crossroads |
| posted by blogger @ 12:00
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| Illinois School of Health Careers
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Seeking an occupation with an excellent career outlook? Boasting two campus locations in the Chicago area, the Illinois School of Health Careers offers vocational programs in medical assisting, dental assisting, phlebotomy, and massage therapy to prospective students interested in the fast-growing fields of healthcare and natural healing.
The dental assistant program at the Illinois School of Health
Careers consists of studies in dental ethics, dental assisting, head and oral cavity structures, local anesthetics, lab and restorative procedures, dental radiology, and dental office/insurance administration, among other specialties. Upon successful completion, graduates are awarded a diploma and may acquire entry-level employment as a dental assistant.
If professional certification is important to you, the massage therapy program at the Illinois School of Health Careers offers hands-on training in a variety of natural healing modalities and health sciences including medical anatomy and physiology, clinical and advanced massage therapy, hydrotherapy, pathology, and more.
Once students have achieved necessary education and training, they are eligible to sit for the national certification in massage therapy exam provided by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB).
At the Illinois School of Health Careers, you can choose to participate in its medical assistant diploma program or phlebotomy program. There you can gain the skills necessary to attain entry-level employment in a number of healthcare environments. Medical assistants and phlebotomists typically work in hospitals, medical clinics, laboratories, and other healthcare-related facilities.
Like most healthcare fields, occupational-training programs like those offered at the Illinois School of Health Careers can offer candidates the education and training necessary to acquire professional stability and growth. For example, medical assistants can expect excellent job prospects through the year 2016 due to a growing need for these and other healthcare workers. Likewise, as the demand for natural health continues to increase, natural healing education in fields like massage therapy can be a worthwhile investment for your future. |
| posted by blogger @ 10:00
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| 1 nurse for 220 by 2015
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Travel nurse job-Travel nurse salary
IF ALL goes according to plan, Singapore will have one nurse for every 220 people by 2015.
That is the target that the Health Ministry is working towards, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament on Monday.
Responding to queries from Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC), Mr Khaw said the ratio now stands at one nurse for every 249 people, which is a significant improvement over the ratio of one for every 306 people in 2001.
'Increasing the nurse to population ratio is part of the strategy to enhance the working conditions for our nurses, so that hopefully they will have more time to look after patients, and have better work-life balance as well,' he said.
Having more highly skilled nurses would also help relieve doctors' load so that they, too, would have more time to tend to patients, he added.
Currently, 18,400 nurses are actively practising here. To meet the target, the ministry will have to recruit 40 per cent more nurses, by training more local ones, and hiring more foreign nurses.
It has already increased the number of nurses who are trained here, from 728 a year in 2001 to 1,875 a year now. The annual intake for local nursing courses will be further raised to 2,000 a year.
Foreign nurses now make up about 15 per cent of the total number here.
'There is scope to raise this proportion if necessary, and I think it is necessary,' Mr Khaw said.
The ministry will also work at attracting and retaining people in the profession, by continuing to enhance the image of the nursing profession and getting employers to provide better career opportunities and working conditions.
Pay raises, and broadening nurses' scope of work and training have reduced the attrition rate of nurses in the public sector from 14 per cent in 2001 to 9 per cent last year.
Mr Khaw said: 'Our efforts have seen results, both in terms of increased student interest in nursing, and the reduced attrition of nurses from the health-care sector. But we must not relent in our effort to compete for our fair share of talent.'
Travel nurse job-Travel nurse salary |
| posted by blogger @ 08:03
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| Students help out, learn from clinics overseas
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
Eze,” I asked, “I was just wondering . . . when someone gets injured . . . say, falls from a tree or, God forbid, [gets] shot or stabbed . . . what happens to them?”
“If I found a man shot on my doorstep, I would give him some water and some bread.”
“But what about his life? Is the hospital called? Does anyone take him to the hospital?”
“Oh no, no no no. Calling the hospital will bring the police here. They will beat us, and arrest us.”
“But if there is no hospital care . . . does anyone do anything? Do they . . . survive?”
Eze responded, “Those who are fit will survive . . . ”
Jared Sun ‘09 encountered the grim reality of a South African township’s emergency medical care system on one of his first days with Stanford’s Cape Town, South Africa program. The experience was enough to prompt Sun and other Stanford students to help improve local critical-case response, and after contending with South African norms, the group decided that a community-based EMT system could address the failing government service. Much of the rest of their study abroad experience then focused on establishing the local infrastructure.
Sun is one of a growing number of Stanford students whose interests in medicine and healthcare have fused with an itch to go abroad, either in a University study-abroad program, a summer seminar or a self-driven scheme. Often fresh from HumBio lecture, these students are exploring medicine and healthcare internationally, and they’re finding that being a doctor’s shadow abroad — let alone making an impact — means adapting to an entirely new set of beliefs about human need.
Emily Dansereau ‘10 learned firsthand this summer in Cochabamba, Bolivia that outsiders have to be prepared to let the local institutions they encounter govern what students can do to help.
Dansereau and Brindha Saravanabavanandhan’10 were eager to teach young Bolivian girls about healthy exercise when they first arrived in Cochabamba. They were surprised, however, when they were told to stop a yoga demonstration they were giving at a women’s center. It “went against the center’s philosophy,” they were told, because yoga was not Christian.
Over the next few weeks in the clinics, Dansereau confronted homophobia, conflicting opinions about birth control and teen pregnancy and a wariness towards Americans.
“I was conscious to say that I am opposed to many of the current government’s policies,” Dansereau said. “I sometimes felt that I was actively distancing myself from my identity as an American.”
Regardless of the reservations she faced daily at the Cochabamba clinic, Dansereau eventually found that the materials and infrastructure to make a serious difference existed — it was simply a matter of asking.
About three weeks into the program, Dansereau and a fellow volunteer envisioned a new project.
“Another volunteer and I wanted to start a dental health project,” she said. “We asked at the clinic if they had ideas of where we could get informational material. They told us that they actually already have lots of materials — for dental health [as well as] rabies, maternal health and other projects. All the materials were just sitting there because there was no one to use them.”
Dansereau, armed with 700 toothbrushes and 300 tubes of toothpaste, led demonstrations of healthy dental hygiene to all who would listen, and ended up making the impact she sought to make.
Though Dansereau and Sun reported that the clinics they served struggled with bureaucratic shortcomings, not all aspects of the medical systems that Stanford students have encountered abroad reflect negatively on the infrastructure of the governments there.
Dansereau was impressed by the fact that, in Bolivia, consultations and treatments are relatively inexpensive. A consultation, for example, costs six bolivianos, equivalent to about 85 cents.
Sun saw the most generosity pouring from individual nurses, volunteers and community organizations within the townships he visited. He shadowed a single nurse, and her bravery was nothing like a routine round at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.
“[She was] the only nurse on duty for a hospital condemned with gunshot wounds, stabs, drugs and alcohol,” Sun said.
Though they have a starkly different set of customs to adapt to, the budding healthcare advocates and practitioners offered the same general wisdom on embarking on a clinical experience abroad. Change, they noted, comes after weeks of shadowing doctors and seeing the unbelievable range of cases that come through a clinic daily. It takes understanding and creativity to assess a clinic community’s needs from the outside.
Sun still maintains contact with the EMT program he helped establish, and it has been one of his greatest undertakings as a Stanford student.
“The idea is community empowerment,” he said. “It is one of the most ambitious projects I’ve ever done independently, and even if it is not fully successful, I know that I am at least making some benefit and that I will learn a lot through the process.”
Dansereau agreed that learning through doing is what makes studying abroad so valuable.
“It’s so easy to get comfortable at Stanford and caught up in your life there,” she said. “There’s the potential to learn a lot from time in a medical setting abroad; there’s also the potential to contribute a lot. But if you want to do either of these, you will have to be very proactive.”(source)
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
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| Texas Tech’s school of nursing
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Amarillo College Texas Vocational Nursing Program
Temple College announced this morning that Texas Tech University has signed a memorandum of understanding to join the East Williamson County Higher Education Center (EWCHEC) as a partner.
Soon Dr. Lee Ogburn-Russell, Temple College associate vice president for health sciences, will work with Tech’s school of nursing to add a nursing program to the multi-institutional teaching center, according to EWCHEC director Chuck McCarter.
Tech’s first step in signing on with EWCHEC could push other major universities that have expressed interest in EWCHEC to join, McCarter said.
The ease of access to so many post-secondary institutions in one place will expand opportunities for children and young people in Central Texas — east Williamson County in particular.
Temple College already has a licensed vocational nurse training program, and if Tech brings more nursing opportunities, students could go on to receive a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree.
“With gas as expensive as it is, and with travel as difficult as it is, it means local opportunities for the communities of East Williamson County,” McCarter said.
In addition to ease of access, area high school students will have the opportunity through EWCHEC to speed up the college process.
Legacy Early College High School, a program available at TCAT and currently in its second year of operation, allows students to get on a fast track toward college success, earning up to 60 hours of college credit before graduating high school.
Legacy will be linked to EWCHEC, to allow students to make an easy — and inexpensive — transition from high school to college, getting a jump-start on higher degrees at partner institutions, according to McCarter.
Legacy and TCAT are joined by Texas State Technical College Waco and Hutto and Taylor ISDs in the effort to push EWCHEC forward, and the new collaboration with Tech proves it is still expanding.
“It’s kind of a one-stop shop for higher education and workforce readiness,” McCarter said. “EWCHEC is meant to be the central hub, and Temple College the managing partner.” (source)
Howard County Junior College District, Texas Vocational Nursing Program
Grayson County College, Texas Vocational nursing program |
| posted by blogger @ 21:10
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| River Falls Chippewa Valley Technical College nursing program
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Medical Assistant training-Medical Assistant job-Medical Assistant salary
A student speaker graduated with honors, less than two years after her mother, Rita Fosterling, graduated from the same River Falls Chippewa Valley Technical College nursing program.
She’s “what every teacher wants,” said Gayle Murphy, a CVTC nursing instructor who attended Chapeau’s wedding, a mark of the closeness often achieved at the small campus. One of Chapeau’s preceptors, Nichole Regan, an R.N. at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, called Chapeau “the best student I have ever precepted and I have precepted a lot of students.”
CVTC President Dr. Bill Ihlenfeldt added that the high regard in which Chapeau is held by her instructors is underscored by the rigor of the community nursing program in River Falls.
The River Falls campus of CVTC is supervised by Dr. Leslie Bleskachek, who presided over the 7 p.m. ceremony held at River Falls High School.
The 24 nursing graduates were joined by a dozen paramedic graduates. Instructor Steve Wolfe told the group as it came to the stage that he had seen compassion in all of the graduates and that “when you lose your compassion it’s time to get out of this business.”
Melanie Nowak and Christine Schwalen graduated with honors in administrative assistant and office assistant programs respectively. Both balanced full-time jobs and full-time families with their full-time studies.
Their instructor, Ann Kiefer, spoke of the changed role of the office and administrative assistant and how outsourcing has made these employees take on more and more management responsibility.
Degrees and diplomas were also awarded to graduates in criminal justice, medical assistant, paralegal and supervisory management programs. In all, CVTC conferred diplomas and degrees upon 54 graduates.
One graduate, Brenda May Frank, completed both nursing and supervisory management programs with honors.
On stage to assist in the commencement were CVTC Board Chair Frank Bucheger, an OEM executive in Woodville, River Falls Police Chief Roger Leque and Nursing Program Director Linda Londre. All are CVTC graduates.
The man who more than any other is responsible for the construction of CVTC River Falls, and the education it has delivered to Pierce and St. Croix counties since 1997, will not return to a River Falls commencement in his current post.
Ihlenfeldt leaves the technical college after 14 years as president and 42 years in technical education. His replacement, Bruce Barker, seated in the RFHS auditorium, will take up the considerable task of providing a trained workforce for west-central Wisconsin when he takes office Jan. 1, 2008. (source)
Medical Assistant training-Medical Assistant job-Medical Assistant salary |
| posted by blogger @ 17:49
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| Texas Travel Nursing Jobs
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With Texas hospitals ranking among U.S. News and World Report best hospitals every year and advanced medical technologies in the state laying a foundation for quality travel nurse job work environments, Texas travel nurse jobs have made their way to top of the preferred travel nursing list.
"Quality of life and lifestyle opportunities are a major component of travel nursing," said Robert L. Bok, CEO for The Joint Commission certified 50 States Staffing, the nation's largest independent travel nursing company. "Cities like Austin consistently rank on lists of best places to live, work and play and the cost of living in Dallas, Houston and other Texas communities is below the national average. Annual earnings for Texas travel nursing jobs can exceed $85,000 with pay and benefits."
Travel nurse staffing experts say more and more nurses are considering economic factors, such as cost of living, when choosing a travel nursing destination. Texas is home to one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit healthcare delivery systems in the United States, with travel nurse pay high and the cost of living low, leaving nurses more disposable income to enjoy their surroundings and contribute to their 401(k).
"In addition to free private housing, free continuing education, full health benefits and bonuses, 50 States Staffing provides for a generous, company-matched 401(k), affording nurses a platform for retirement," said Bok. "Between earnings and benefits, Texas travel nursing jobs can pay as much as $90,000 annualized."
"More practitioners entering the profession have been asking about Texas nurse jobs in cities with easy access to the Rio Grande and Mexico," said Deborah Bacurin of 50 States Staffing, adding that "beautiful Gulf Coast towns like Galveston and Corpus Christi are no longer 'best kept secrets' among seasoned travel nurses."
"Texas travel nursing jobs will be hot for a while," says Hospital Marketing Director, Dennis Urbanski. "Healthcare and high-tech are propelling economies around the state and 50 States Staffing's access to top-ranked hospitals and outpatient centers is bar none. The pay is high and the benefits and housing great for Texas travel nurses."
If you are a Registered Nurse, Physical Therapist, ORT, RT or other allied health professional, 50 States Staffing may have a high paying Texas travel nurse job for you.
About 50 States Staffing:
With years of experience providing hospital staffing opportunities to healthcare professionals, JCAHO certified 50 States Staffing provides travel nursing jobs, per diem nursing jobs, and permanent jobs to healthcare professionals in prestigious hospitals nationwide. They offer high salaries, free private housing, and top benefits to traveling nurses, physical therapists, respiratory and occupational therapists, and technologists all across the U.S. (Source) |
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| Free dental clinic
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LAURINBURG — A free dental clinic is planned for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday at Stewartsville Baptist Church, 10401 McColl Road in Laurinburg.
The clinic will provide free dental treatments to 300 to 500 patients. Treatments will consist of extractions, fillings and cleanings. Patients will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.
The clinic is open to families whose income does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level. As many as 20 dentists, UNC dental students, hygienists, dental assistants and dental assistant students from Fayetteville Technical Community College will volunteer at the clinic. |
| posted by blogger @ 10:26
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| New Nursing Program at Tulare Adult School
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Students practicing taking temperatures, drawing blood and listening to heartbeats of a special mannequin.
Those vital signs reveal that the new licensed vocational nursing program at the Tulare Adult School is up and running.
The 19 nursing students also are juggling clinical work at local health care centers.
"We don't waste any time," said Sylvia Silva, director of vocational nursing education.
The program's October opening marked the end to years of planning and hard work, said adult school director Marie Pinto. The program is a partnership between the adult school and Tulare District Hospital.
"I have paperwork from about 10 years ago that actually shows us doing cost estimates and research for what the community needs are," Pinto said. "It was nice to see it actually come to fruition."
After students complete the 18-month-long classwork and hands-on training, the goal is to bridge them to registered nursing programs, said Tulare District Hospital spokesman Rick Elkins. That way, he said, students would stay in the county and work at local health care centers
"It's self-serving in that it'll help alleviate the nursing shortage that we're all facing in this county and state," Elkins said.
Participants also find the work satisfying. At 46, Rhonda Riedel joined the nursing program because her dream is to become a registered nurse.
"It's just something I really wanted to do," the Visalia woman said.
She now works as a certified nursing assistant and home health aide. She said simple tasks such as helping people drink water out of cups make the work worthwhile.
"They may not be able to say anything, but just from the look of their eyes, they're saying 'Thank you,'" Riedel said.
Tia Christossel knew she wanted to be in the health field when she was 13.
Her mother had cancer, and a nurse was providing her with hospice care.
There was just something about the nurse that gave her a sense of calm, Christossel recalled last week. "I want to have the same impact with patients," the 22-year-old said.
She said the program's workload hasn't been easy, because she is juggling three days of classes and clinical work with about 35 hours of invoice work at a Goshen mill.
"I knew it was going to be a challenge," she said. "You have to stay focused and be committed 100% to keep up the grades and balance your everyday life."
The adult school's licensed vocational nursing program is possible because it has received lots of community support, Pinto said.
"There is such a need for these programs, however, they're so expensive to start," she said, citing a $5,000 mannequin that allows students to find a heartbeat and pulse.
The adult school program has received donated linens and an electronic hospital bed, estimated at $3,000. The program also received a $160,000 grant from the California Wellness Foundation, which helped develop the curriculum. |
| posted by blogger @ 06:20
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| Bay Area School Fills Demand for Nurses
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| Wednesday
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While Asian Pacific Islanders are recruited from abroad to fill the increasing need for skilled health professionals in the United States, schools such as the Bay Area College of Nursing are also responding to the demand by educating homegrown Asian American nurses.
The school, formerly Palo Alto Center for Healthcare Education Inc., offers vocational nursing, anatomy and physiology; acute certified nursing assistant; and nursing assistant course programs in Palo Alto and Daly City.
The nursing profession, the largest health care profession in the United States, is experiencing a severe shortage, which is predicted to continue well into the future, said Rachelle Cagampan Mendoza, founder and president of the Bay Area College of Nursing.
“As our population ages and as our health care system becomes increasingly complex, the demand for nursing care becomes more evident,” said Mendoza, a 14-year nursing professional with practical experience in a hospital, home health and primary care environment.
The college’s students include all races and ethnicities, but Filipinos and Asian Americans of Filipino descent make up 90 percent of the student body. Caregivers and nursing assistants from as young as 17 years to as old as 70 years of age are enrolling in the school’s course programs.
“[Our] students can expect commitment from the institution and the faculty in helping them achieve their goal of becoming a competent licensed nurse. We will teach them how to leave an impact on other people’s lives, through the application of their nursing knowledge in a caring and compassionate manner,” she explained.
But the school also goes beyond churning out skilled manpower for the sake of supplying the demand. Mendoza pointed out that the college seeks to maintain the positive traits inherent from Asian culture, while maximizing the use of modern education and resources.
A sense of family and belonging are part of why the school is unique, said faculty member Mary Ann Revilla Bloyer, a certified nurse midwife at Kaiser Permanente in Hayward.
“Working with this particular group of professional educators is like working with family,” said Bloyer. “Because of its two locations, the majority of inquiring potential nursing students are Asians. Most of the faculty are of Filipino descent, and so the students feel like they are ‘at home’ when interacting with the staff or instructors. This hospitality is extended to anyone interested in entering the vocational nursing program.” (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 22:19
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| A prescription for our nursing shortage
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
Nurses have always been the friendly faces providing comfort and rehabilitation while we and our loved ones recover in the hospital or healthcare facility.
However, over the past decade, the numbers of nurses in the US have been dwindling. According to the American Hospital Association, there are presently over 116,000 vacancies for registered nurses. By 2014, that number is estimated to be 1.2 million.
This shortage not only creates a crunch on hospitals and other facilities trying to administer care, but has also contributed to nearly 24% of hospital deaths and injuries. Dubbed the nursing shortage crisis, this phenomenon has drawn the attention of Congress, where I cosponsored a bill with Florida Representative Robert Wexler.
Known as the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act, HR 5924 will help us solve our nursing crisis in two major ways.
Number one, it will provide immediate relief for hospitals facing shortages by increasing the number of temporary work visas available for foreign-trained nurses. Currently, there are very few visas available for these nurses.
The second, and long-term goal of this bill, is to help universities educate more American nurses to fill the vacancies in our workforce. This assistance would come in the form of a grant program that would increase the quality and quantity of our nursing schools, and in turn, increase our number of domestically trained nurses.
The money for this grant would be raised by charging employers $1500 for every visa they acquire to sponsor an immigrant nurse.
There are a number of factors that contribute to our shortage of American registered nurses. Universities are not able to accommodate the large demand of students wanting to enter the nursing profession, and there is a shortage of nursing instructors.
Additional challenges include non-competitive salaries for nursing educators, the length of time required for a nursing education, and the rapid retirement rate of current nurses. By addressing these factors, the Nurse Supply Relief Act will especially help Wisconsin's 5th district by providing nurses for shortages in our major hospitals such as Community Memorial , Elmbrook Memorial, and Oconomowoc Memorial.
It is imperative for Members of Congress to work together to supply our healthcare providers with the nurses they need, both now and in the future. After all, healthcare is one of the most important industries we have. In order to ensure hospitals continue to keep us and our families safe and healthy, we need to be willing to supply them with the necessary tools. (source)
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
| posted by blogger @ 18:17
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| Penn Foster College prepares students for medical positions
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Online training programs at Penn Foster help students prepare for some of the hottest careers in the medical profession today.
In fact, healthcare remains both the largest and the fastest-growing industry in the nation, even besting the massive growth in business or technology. In 2006, Americans held an estimated 14 million medical-related occupations, with roughly 3 million jobs expected to follow by 2016.
Online training at Penn Foster College prepares students for medical or veterinary positions. Online study at Penn Foster Career School prepares students for dental careers.
Though veterinarians, doctors, and dentists may get the glory, they need highly trained support staffs to support and share in their success. Veterinary technicians, medical assistants, and dental assistants all perform vital administrative and clinical duties that help their facilities run smoothly. These three medical careers are projected to grow by 30% or more.
Here's why:
Veterinary Technician (Projected Growth Rate through 2016: 41%)
With an estimated 163 million dogs and cats owned by Americans in 2007, the need for qualified animal care professionals remains strong. Working mainly in private veterinary practices and animals hospitals, veterinary technicians perform a number of essential laboratory and clinical procedures. While duties may vary, most vet techs collect blood and tissue samples, prepare animals for x-rays, and prep lab equipment under the supervision of licensed veterinarians. Experienced veterinary technicians may even diagnose minor medical issues and discuss possible treatments with pet owners.
An online associate degree from Penn Foster College can help students interested in animal care transition into rewarding careers as veterinary technicians. Coursework for this degree includes animal anatomy and physiology, clinical pathology, business and technical writing, laboratory animal science, and more. Students also get the chance to gain hands-on experience at a veterinary hospital through two nine-week practicums.
Medical Assistants (Projected Growth Rate through 2016: 36%)
Employed by hospitals, insurance companies, and private practices, medical assistants help their workplaces operate efficiently. Although tasks may vary from office to office, medical assistants are often responsible for organizing medical records, arranging laboratory services, ordering equipment, and even processing tissue and blood samples. Medical assistants may also work closely with patients and their families to discuss diagnoses and potential treatments.
The Medical Assistant associate degree program at Penn Foster College prepares students to excel at these fundamental and necessary skills. Coursework in this program includes ethics, law, administrative procedures, medical terminology, word processing, and more. Students also learn how to communicate with both colleagues and clients to increase their chances of professional success.
Dental Assistants (Projected Growth Rate through 2016: 30%)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 270,000 Americans held jobs as dental assistants in 2006. Working primarily for private practices, dental assistants support dentists, oral surgeons, and dental hygienists by setting up material for patient treatment, taking x-rays, applying anesthetic, and helping during serious procedures.
Penn Foster Career School helps students enter the dental field with its online dental assistant program. The program begins with an introduction to the unique role that dental assistants play in an office setting. Coursework then moves to oral anatomy, preventive dentistry and nutrition, radiology, and anesthetics. Students may also select a more specialized career path, focusing on orthodontics, pediatrics, or oral surgery.
Distance Learning through Penn Foster Schools
The healthcare programs at Penn Foster College and Penn Foster Career School use the online format, helping students acquire the skills they need in a convenient and comfortable setting. Penn Foster also offers a wide range of Internet-based career services, including resume preparation and cover letter design, to help graduates transition smoothly into one of these fast-growing medical careers. (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 14:55
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| Sixty-two years of nursing make Eureka woman keynote speaker at CR pinning ceremony Friday
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Robust and ramrod straight, Eureka’s Jessie Laurendeau has 62 years of nursing under her belt and no plans to retire.
“What am I going to do?” asked the quality assurance nurse at Pacific Health Care Center. “I’ve worked all my life. I’m not going to go home and sit in a rocking chair.”
Three times, she’s tried to walk away.
“I lasted 4 1/2 months back in ‘93,” she said of her first stab at it. “My husband told me to go get a job when he saw me cleaning the same cupboard I’d done a week before.”
Laurendeau is the keynote speaker at Friday’s pinning ceremony for the graduating class of 31 vocational nurses at College of the Redwoods.
She’s a treasure trove of memories about health care in Humboldt County, a direct link to the vocational nursing program celebrating its 50th anniversary, and a force of nursing nature since starting her career as a nurse’s aide in 1946.
With the exception of three years in nursing school at San Jose College and six in an ER in West Covina, she’s spent the rest of her career in Humboldt County.
“As a student nurse, I was in charge of the San Jose ER,” she said of 1951, when sink or swim was the norm and malpractice suits were not. “Somewhere in that four-story building was a supervising nurse. You learned to manage. You had to.”
Case in point: a terrified man pulled her into the parking lot of the ER, where she handled the delivery of his child. A few years later, she had the sense to snag a doctor for an second delivery in the back seat of a Volkswagen bus.
“I wasn’t scared to go out on the floor my first day at General Hospital,” she said of her return to Eureka.
But she got a start after a call back from lunch one day in the early 1950s. A train severed a man’s leg.
“In those days, the mortician drove the ambulance. We didn’t have EMTs. The leg had been cut off in the boot and they left it at the front door, by the ramp, when they took him up to surgery. I came running up, saw that leg and figured that must be the problem. They gave me a lot of good chances.”
The man went on to open a stationery store in Henderson Center, she said.
Laurendeau has more than her share of county firsts. In 1953, she was among the 17 nurses who gave two weeks notice to General Hospital when it played hardball with nurses by refusing to bump her salary from $275 a month to $285.
“One nurse stayed,” she said of the county’s first nursing showdown. “Most went to St. Joe, I went to county. General ended up bringing in nurses from Canada. I became friends with one. She got $345 a month.”
Polio, syphilis and tuberculosis were major problems back then, she said.
“There was a TB sanitarium behind where General is now with seven or eight cabins and a big building for nurses to get together. Attached was the isolation ward. That’s where polio went when it was rampaging. Any kind of infection went there.”
As for the TB patients in the cabins, Laurendeau said she doesn’t know how they survived.
“That was when they thought cold air was good for TB,” she said. “The cabins only had screens because they didn’t want the windows closed.”
Laurendeau said treatment changed and TB patients were eventually moved to Arizona’s heat. Polio patients weren’t so fortunate.
“That was before the shots,” she recalled. “We saw lot of people paralyzed, in iron lungs because they couldn’t breathe on their own.”
It was harder on the heart than the hands. The vision of a paralyzed McKinleyville woman who typed and painted by holding a brush or stick between her teeth is still crystal clear.
So is the memory of soaking cloth in hot water, running it through the wringer and placing it on the little legs in the pediatric ward.
As for syphilis, Dr. Jacob Reicher’s 1953 arrival from the East Coast changed that.
“He brought penicillin into Humboldt County,” she said. “No one had ever heard of it. All of a sudden, everybody got penicillin — anybody who had anything.”
Laurendeau and Rose Lee Pedersen taught the first 85 students to enroll in vocational nurse training through the Eureka Adult School for 64 hours over a three-month period.
“I did that for about three years,” she said of the training that eventually shifted to College of the Redwoods in 1973.
At the height of the polio epidemic, she became one of 28 nurses from the U.S. and Japan invited to learn modern treatment techniques at Rancho Los Amigos, the largest respirator center in the U.S.
Laurendeau also worked with Dr. Larry Hill, Margaret Thoderberg and Jay Rezzonico to start Humbodlt County’s hospice program.
“Every meeting they had, I was there. Look what it’s become.”
Today, she’s a quality assurance nurse eager to welcome the CR graduates into her life’s work.
“Young people keep me going and on my toes,” she said. “I’ve appreciated and enjoyed every class that’s come along. I’m looking forward to Friday. I really am.”
(Carol Harrison can be reached at charrison@eurekareporter.com or 707-269-7435.)
College of the Redwoods celebrates 50 years of training licensed vocational nurses Friday with an 11 a.m. pinning ceremony in the campus gymnasium.
“We want to welcome back a half century of licensed vocational nurses and faculty and have them bring in their class photos and memorabilia so we can get a head count, scan it, and create a digitized scrapbook to preserve our history,” said Roberta Farrar, a registered nurse on the LVN program coordinator since 1998.
The program began in Eureka Adult School in 1957 and shifted to CR in 1973.
Since then, Farrar estimates they’ve trained more than 1,000 vocational nurses but lost much of the program’s history.
“With all the baby boomers we are going to have, it’s essential we have more LVNs because they traditionally staff long term care and skilled nursing facilities,” she said. “They use a lot of LVNs in corrections, jails and prisons, too.”
She hopes the 31 students have their license in hand in the next three months, after passing a national exam.
CR students passed the exam at a 91 percent clip in 2007 after two straight years at 93 percent. (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 11:10
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| Two new programs to Travel Nurses
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Travel nurse job-Travel nurse salary
NursesPro has introduced two new programs to Travel Nurses which allows them to make 30-40% more money than they would with a conventional agency.
NursesPro has launched 2 revolutionary programs for Travel Nurses which aim to correct what they see as ‘an unfair industry practice,’ whereby nurses are paid only 50% of the amount for which their agency contracts them out. According to industry figures, the average contract bill rate is between $60- $80/hour to the Healthcare Delivery Organization, depending on the region of the country. This translates to an average pay for the nurse professional of only $26/hr, according to national statistics.
Ram Rodriguez, Career Manager with NursesPro said, “When we talked to our nurses, we found out that one of their biggest gripes was that they felt ripped off by agencies taking half of the money they had earned. So we offer our nurses 2 programs, which can result in 30-40% more money for them. With our 80/20 program, we pay our nurses 80% of the contract bill rate for assignments which we find for them. In our 90/10 program, we pay our nurses 90% of the contract bill rate, if our nurse is able to find his/her own assignments.”
Needless to say, NursesPro is finding a lot of interest in its programs – in the first month since the programs were launched the company received over 100 requests for information from nurses from all over the country.
Kashif Aftab, President with NursePro said, “We are thoroughly excited at being able to finally offer something back to our nurses, who work so hard at one of the most demanding and essential jobs in the world.”
About NursesPro: NursesPro, based in Houston, Texas, is an offshoot of SAGA CONSULTING SERVICES, a company originally focused on placing IT Professionals on contract basis with fortune 500 companies.
Travel nurse job-Travel nurse salary |
| posted by blogger @ 07:53
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| Students follow their dreams into bioscience program
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| Tuesday
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Licensed vocational nursing courses to be offered on Saipan
Ask the usual fifth-grader what they want to be, and pro sports athlete, police officer, firefighter and astronaut are the popular choices, even if few children ever follow through on their dreams.
When Timothy Young decided to be a brain surgeon in fifth grade, he made that a goal – one he continues to follow.
Young, a junior at Ellison High School, got a big boost for his dreams Wednesday. Young and about 150 other students from 12 Central Texas high schools were given white lab coats, signifying their acceptance into the Texas Bioscience Institute Middle College Program.
Young chose brain surgery because it is considered among the most challenging and rewarding medical careers.
"This catapults me into the long future that awaits me," Young said. "It gives me a leg up on the competition."
The program offers juniors and seniors in high school an opportunity to receive college credit while in high school by taking college-level science courses.
Jordan Smith plans to use the courses to prepare for a career as a general practitioner. Smith is a junior at Harker Heights High School. Smith, a self-proclaimed Army brat, said her time spent in different countries opened her eyes to the need for better health care.
She hopes to deliver better quality medical care to Central and South American countries as a general practitioner, while nurturing her appreciation for foreign languages.
"I see they need help. I feel like I have a calling to help them," Smith said.
She expects the TBI program to be one step in making her dream come true.
"It's going to provide for me a better future and I think that's really important because we have a lot of kids in this generation that are going to do great things," Smith said.
Walter P. Dyck serves as senior adviser to the Temple Health and Bioscience Economic Development District and as professor emeritus at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. He was the guest speaker at Wednesday's ceremony.
He said TBI and the middle college program were designed to tap into young minds and develop a strong work force for biomedical fields by providing superb research and intensive college-level courses to the strongest minds in Central Texas.
Since the program began in 2006 as an extension of Temple College, it has continually grown and become a magnet for talented students, Dyck said. TBI expects 148 students for this fall, with 38 students returning for their second year in the program. The enrollment for 2007 was 114 students.
For Young, TBI is just another reward for setting and following goals, a Temple College news release stated.
"If anything, you gotta prepare now. It may not work out, but in the end, you've got to have a goal," Young said. (source)
Licensed vocational nursing courses to be offered on Saipan |
| posted by blogger @ 21:46
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| The best-paying careers
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Travel nursing is an ideal career for '50-something
Big opportunities still exist, despite the headlines. The health-care industry dominates both job growth and pay. And computers still pay.
If you listen to the daily news, it's easy to believe the entire job market has ground to a stubborn halt. The truth is not nearly so simple -- or bleak.
Yes, large numbers of workers are rightfully frustrated with their circumstances, as millions of positions have vanished in recent years. But even as certain U.S. employment categories (especially manufacturing) are shrinking, plenty of others are growing. And for job-seekers who are young enough or flexible enough to acquire specialized training or education, the opportunities can be dynamic.
So where are these wonderful opportunities? According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projections, based on data and mathematical models released in February, the simplest, most direct answer is this: health care.
(The Labor Department started these projections after World War II to assist veterans in getting jobs and in choosing good careers, and in general, the annual report has been fairly accurate.)
Of the top 10 occupations expected to post the strongest growth in employment by 2012, eight are health-care related.
The baby boom generation (which starts hitting retirement age in 2008) will start straining Social Security and Medicare as demand for health-care services rises dramatically. For that reason, occupations ranging from medical assistant to physical therapist to home health aide rank high on the job-growth list for the current decade.
Fastest-growing occupations in America
Occupation % change
2002-2012
Medical assistants 59
Network systems and data communications analysts 57
Physician assistants 49
Social and human service assistants 49
Home health aides 48
Medical records and health information technicians 47
Physical therapist aides 46
Computer software engineers, systems software 46
Computer software engineers, applications software 45
Physical therapist assistants 45
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
A call for assistance
Medical assistants are expected to see the biggest increase in jobs from 2002 to 2012, growing 59%, according to the BLS.
Medical assistants perform a range of clinical duties for doctors and other health professionals, from updating charts, drawing blood and answering phones to taking blood pressure -- virtually everything short of examining and diagnosing patients. On average, they earn $24,810 a year, according to the BLS.
Importantly, it's not a dead-end occupation, as medical assistants can move into higher-level medical administration -- or use the experience as a stepping stone for further training in nursing or other medical professions.
The BLS growth projections are borne out by the number of medical assistant schools popping up across the country, according to the American Association of Medical Assistants. The group is seeing more and more post-secondary programs apply for accreditation, according to its executive director and legal counsel, Donald A. Balasa.
Why the surge? It's mainly because medical assistants are versatile, able to manage a wide range of work in today's managed-care environment; they're also able to deliver care in ambulatory or outpatient settings, where there is increasing demand for services these days.
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), representing the No. 3 occupation on the list, also is seeing evidence of the BLS projections.
We are seeing students coming out of programs and quickly finding jobs, said AAPA spokeswoman Nancy Hughes. Most graduates are still in practice today, and the increase in salary is faster than inflation, telling us there is demand out there.
Unlike medical assistants, physician assistants actually examine, diagnose and treat patients, under the supervision of a physician. All physician assistants must complete an accredited course of training, and most have at least a bachelors degree, according to the BLS. Some specialize in areas such as emergency medicine, and all PAs must also pass a national exam.
Helping to make up for all the cost of education is a very impressive average annual salary of $63,490. But since PAs must always be supervised by physicians, the opportunity for advancement can be limited.
In 2003, there were 57,879 physicians assistants qualified to practice in the United States, up from 26,660 in 1996, according to the AAPA census. The aging population is chief biggest driver of demand, Hughes said. But she also noted that the occupation is becoming better known in the health-care community, And with a large number of Americans uninsured, there is a big need to find ways of expanding access to medical care.
Two winning technology careers
In terms of job creation, second only to the care of people's health will be the care of people's computers. One key cog in this arena is the systems analyst, a computer-data specialist who's able to find or design technology solutions for a wide range of business needs -- analyzing sales or inventory trends, for instance, or improving the flow of raw materials to manufacturing facilities.
The number of systems analysts will jump an impressive 57% from 2002 to 2012, the BLS says. These jobs will surface in virtually all major industries, though the broadest swath of opportunity for systems analysts is expected to come in the technology industry itself.
Within the tech field beyond systems analysts, programmers are also expected to see big job gains. The category occupies the No. 8 and No. 9 spots on the job-growth list. The projected increase in demand for software engineers only slightly trails that of systems analysts, and there are a lot of them. Numbering 2.1 million, programmers are the largest job category in the IT field, according to Bob Cohen, spokesman for the Information Technology Association of America.
Notably, the education requirements for programmers have been growing nearly as fast as the numbers of jobs, the BLS said. In 2002, more than 65% of programmers had at least a bachelors degree. That said, less-time-consuming associates degrees are gaining popularity as a way of gaining entry-level positions.
Finding the green
Health care may be where the jobs of the future are, but is it also where the money is? You bet.
Medical professions dominate the list of top-paying occupations, representing nine of the top 10. Only chief executive officers prevented a health-care sweep in the top 10.
The surgeon's skills are still reaping the biggest bucks. The average annual salary for a surgeon in 2002 was $189,590, according to the latest statistics available from the Labor Department. They are closely followed by anesthesiologists, obstetricians and gynecologists. Internists, pediatricians, family practitioners, psychiatrists and dentists also crack the top 10.
The best-paying jobs in America
Occupation Annual salary Avg. hours per week
Surgeons $189,590 63
Anesthesiologists $181,420 60
Obstetricians, gynecologists $179,640 57
Internists, general $158,350 60
Pediatricians, general $142,360 53
Family, general practitioners $136,260 54
Psychiatrists $135,220 46
CEOs $134,960 Varies greatly
Dentists $133,350 37.6
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Part of the reason these professions pay so well is the skill level needed and the costly training required. On average, graduates emerge from four years in medical school with $110,000 in student loan debt, according to the American Medical Association.
Then there are the hours. Medical school is followed by at least a three-year residency program, which can be grueling. Last year, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved limits on residents' work: an average of 80 hours per week over a four-week period.
And the overtime doesnt stop once the physician is licensed. Nearly all the top-paying medical professions worked much more than a 40-hour week. Only dentists slipped by with less, making six figures and working 37.6 hours per week.
Doctors also have high medical insurance costs to contend with. While cost varies by specialty and state, insurance can run as high as $210,000 per year for an obstetrician/gynecologist in Dade County, Fla., AMA spokesman Robert Mills said.
I got a McJob, but it doesn't pay
At the other end of the spectrum, flipping burgers still pays poorly. McDonalds (MCD, news, msgs) objected to the term McJob making it into the dictionary as a generic term for low-paying, unskilled labor. But fast-food cooks made the least money of any employment category, on average in 2002, with an hourly wage of $7.18.
The lowest-paying jobs in America
Occupation Annual salary Hourly wage
Fast-food cooks $14,930 $7.18
Combined food prep and serving $15,150 $7.28
Shampooers $15,190 $7.30
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers $15,330 $7.37
Dishwashers $15,410 $7.41
Counter attendant food $16,090 $7.74
Hosts, hostesses $16,130 $7.76
Gaming dealers $16,270 $7.82
Amusement, recreation attendants $16,360 $7.87
Ushers, ticket takers $16,490 $7.93
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Food preparation, cafeteria attendants, counter attendants, hosts and hostesses and dishwashers were other food-related occupations among the lowest-paying jobs in the nation.
Casino jobs also got poor marks on the pay scale. While communities ranging from Tunica, Miss., to Atlantic City, N.J., have proclaimed the economic benefits of allowing gambling, most employed in the industry aren't exactly making the big bucks. Card dealers, for example, take home about $7.82 an hour on average.(source)
Travel nursing is an ideal career for '50-something |
| posted by blogger @ 14:44
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| Types of Nurses
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Travel nursing is more rewarding than working as a permanent nurse
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nursing (LPN/VN) 1-2 years (First year is pre-requisites; General Education courses), so essentially nursing programs advertise a 1 year program for LPNs.
Registered Nurses
Associate degree (2 years in length, not including the first Gen Ed year). In 1997, 876 associate degree programs produced 60% of nurse graduates. Program content reflects basic skill preparation and emphasizes clinical practice in the hospital setting and community-based institutions.
Diploma programs (3 years, the hospital-based education programs), Content prepares the graduate in basic nursing skills particularly suitable for hospitalized clients. Diploma nursing programs today produce only 6% of graduates.
Baccalaureate degree programs (4 years in length offered through colleges and universities). The graduate receives a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. These programs emphasize more preparation for practice in nonhospital settings, broader scientific content, and systematic problem-solving tools for autonomous and collaborative practice. 523 baccalaureate programs produced 34% of all nursing graduates.
These are statistics from the National League for Nursing (1997)
ROLES of NURSES
LPN
• Caregiver, teacher, advocate, manager, team member
• Hospital, physician’s office, long term care center, home health agency, hospice, ambulatory care.
RN
• Caregiver, teacher, advocate, expert, case manager, team member, collaborator
• Hospital, physician’s office, long term care center, home health agency, hospice, public health, ambulatory care
NPs
• Nurse practitioners hold a master’s degree and facilitate access to and continuity of care and provides high-quality care.
• Hospital, physician’s office and ambulatory care centers. (source)
Travel nursing is more rewarding than working as a permanent nurse |
| posted by blogger @ 14:40
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| Autotransfusions Increasingly Popular
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Travel nurses can pick where and when they want to work
Platelet gel. It has been around since the 1970s but recently has been gaining in popularity. It is widely used around the globe as an effective treatment modality for various surgical procedures and for chronic, non-healing wounds.
The gel, and intra-operative autotransfusion, although separate procedures, are the use of one's own blood and platelets before and during surgical procedures.
Drew Holsapple is a licensed practical nurse and a certified autotransfusionist. The Florida native, who was born in Clearwater and lived most of his life in Ozona, now is a Dunedin resident. He is a graduate of Tarpon Springs High School and the Pinellas Vocational Technical Institute.
Holsapple, 34, is a youthful, athletic-looking man with a short blond crew cut and ruddy complexion. Wearing blue scrubs, he spends most of his working days in the hospital operating rooms of Morton Plant Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant North Bay in New Port Richey and the Spring Hill Regional Hospital, among others. Also on his 24-hour call list are several day-surgery centers.
He works for Suncoast Perfusion Services Inc. of Ft. Myers for which he also does marketing.
His responsibility as an autotransfusionist is to collect the patient's blood lost during surgery, reprocess it, and return it to the patient during the surgery, a procedure called autotransfusion.
"A suction line is connected from the sterile field (surgical site) to my machine. The blood from the surgery is collected in a reservoir called a cadiotemy," Holsapple says. The blood is spun in a centrifuge at 5,600 rpm to separate the red blood cells.
" The packed red blood cells are collected on one side of the machine and the waste goes into a bag on the other side of the unit. The good blood products are then washed with a saline solution, and sent through an intravenous transfer back into the patient," says Holsapple.
He monitors the process while interacting with the physicians, nurses and the anesthesiologists. He works during the entire surgical procedure, which can run from two to four hours or more, he said.
Most of the surgeries are scheduled in advance, but when Holsapple is called on an emergency, he phones ahead to alert the operating room staff. "I show the nurses how to hook up my machine while I get there. My window sometimes is only a half hour."
A perioperative blood management company, Suncoast Perfusion Services, says autotransfusion eliminates the risk of transmittable diseases and transfusion errors, costs less than blood bank products, cuts blood loss, and eliminates the waiting period for preoperative donation, among other benefits.
Autotransfusion is used heavily during vascular, gynecology and obstetric, and spinal surgeries where blood loss is heaviest.
Holsapple performs another important procedure, processing platelet gel, which is also used during surgeries. Its popularity has been on the rise, he said.
Prior to a surgical procedure, he draws 55cc's of the patient's blood. It is then spun in a centrifuge that separates the platelets from the red blood cells. The cells are then mixed with an activator that turns the platelets into a gel.
"The process (when applied) puts up the first scaffold of the healing cascade, a healing response you get for healing damaged tissue," explains Holsapple.
The gel is applied to the incision during wound closing and sometimes is sprayed directly into the wound cavity. "It reduces post-op bleeding and reduces scarring and adhesions," he says.
It is said to also accelerate healing, fight infection and minimize swelling.
The gel is used often in open-heart surgery, says Holsapple. "It's your body's own natural healing substance. It lessens the chance of bodily (organ) rejection."
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, in one study, wounds treated with the platelet gel were more than 81 percent closed after 17 days compared with 57 percent closure for wounds treated with antibiotic ointment or a dressing.
Platelet gel is also popular with veterinarians who use it during animal surgery.
"It is widely used, you just don't hear much about it," says Holsapple.
Rob Reifert is a business manager at Morton Plant Mease Countryside Hospital. He says the hospital has been contracting with Suncoast Perfusion for quite a few years. He notes the rise in usage of platelet gel that, he says, requires a written order from the surgeon.
Regarding its effectiveness, Reifert says, "We are still looking at conclusive studies of the benefits of it."
As a matter of fact, Holsapple says, the platelet gel has become more popular than the autotransfusion. (source)
Travel nurses can pick where and when they want to work |
| posted by blogger @ 12:26
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| What Diagnostic Medical Sonographer Specialist Do
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Licensed Vocational Nurse Salary in California
Washington Medical Center ,UWMC.
Radiology-Ultrasound Diagnostic has an outstanding opportunity for a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer Specialist.
-This individual independently performs portable exams at the patient's bedsid
-Selects appropriate equipment and transducer for use in ultrasound setup, following exam specifications
-Instructs and assists the patient in positioning for the examination
-Selects a transducer and adjusts the equipment controls according to the organ to be examined, the depth of field and other specifications of test
-Enters test data and patient information into computer of ultrasound equipment to maintain record of test results
=roduces images of internal organs and ensures data gets stored to PACS.
-Obtains permanent record of internal examination by photographing images of organs shown on the display module or removing the strip printout
-Performs calculations of exam data to determine physiologic parameters such as blood flow velocity, spectral analysis, color Doppler flow analysis, as well as embryonic/fetal development, gestational age, and fetal hemodynamics
-Provides needle guidance to radiologists and non-radiologists during tissue biopsy, aspirations, drain placements, and high-risk obstetrics procedures
-Documents exam data and develops reports for physician review and finalization.
-Instructs imaging fellows, residents, and ultrasound interns in the theory, techniques, applications, and analysis of diagnostic ultrasound
-Performs other related duties as assigned.
Licensed Vocational Nurse Salary in California |
| posted by blogger @ 10:11
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| Medical Careers Institute Announces Medical Career Education Expo
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LPNs and RNs-similarities and differences
Medical Careers Institute, the School of Health Science at ECPI College of Technology, is pleased to announce a Medical Career Education Expo Open House to be held at all Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina campus location.
Visitors will be able to explore in-demand careers in the health sciences field.
Admission to the Medical Career Education Expo Open House is free and attendees will have the opportunity to see hands-on interactive demonstrations and speak with faculty and staff about their future education and career goals.
Medical Careers Institute offers degree and diploma programs in Dental Assisting, Massage Therapy, Medical Administration, Medical Assisting, Medical Radiography, Physical Therapist Assistant, Practical Nursing, Registered Nursing, and Surgical Technology (program availability varies by campus).
The Institute recently introduced a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) program at its Virginia Beach and Newport News, VA locations.
LPNs and RNs-similarities and differences |
| posted by blogger @ 09:19
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| LVN Training to Adult Students-Sutter County
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The One Stop Offers Advanced Medical Training to Adult Students!
The Sutter County One Stop was recently awarded a statewide nursing grant to help combat the nationwide nursing shortage. Using this grant, they were able to implement an 11-month
full-time LVN class. Possible candidates were screened and interviewed to see if they could handle the rigorous demands of the course, which entailed 8 hrs. of theory and/or clinical Monday through Friday, along with over 4 hours of homework a night. Fifteen lucky students were selected for the course and the WIAAdult Program assisted with the books, uniforms, medical supplies, etc.
In addition, they used the nursing grant to implement a 12-week RN Refresher Class. The basis for this class is to re-train already licensed RNs in hopes of getting them back into the workforce with updated skills. Generally, if RNs have been out of the nursing field for more than two years, most medical employers will require that they complete a RN Refresher Course.
In a one-year timeframe, the One Stop will have helped 32 nurses (17 RNs & 15 LVNs) get back into the workforce!
This tremendous accomplishment will make a HUGE impact on the level of care that is available to the local economy and surrounding areas
Certified Nurse Assistant Salary in NY |
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| The Average Pay For A Certified Nurse Assistant In California
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$35,647 = Average CNA Salary in San Francisco, CA
$36,037 = Average CNA Salary in San Jose, CA
$23,587 = Average Salary in San Luis Obispo, CA
$27,004 = Average Salary in Santa Barbara, CA
$30,104 = Average Salary in Santa Cruz, CA
More about Certified Nurse Assistant Salary in California |
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| Three generations working together at Liberty Medical
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Angelina College, Vocational Nursing Program LVN
Chelmo, Co-Director of Nursing Services, first became employed at Liberty Medical Center in 1980 as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).
Many families have a business they pass on over the years, but how many families have three generations working in one profession?
Jenni Chelmo, Pat Ludwig and Kari Wicks are doing just that. All three are currently working at Liberty Medical Center.Jenni Chelmo, Co-Director of Nursing Services, first became employed at Liberty Medical Center in 1980 as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).
It was not long after, 1985, when Jenni began her nursing career at our facility. She has put her heart and soul into our facility. She has proven to be a very dedicated and valuable employee at Liberty Medical Center.
Pat Ludwig, Jenni's mother, has been working at Liberty Medical Center since August as a Nursing Assistant (NA). Her job duties include one-on-one time with the patients, assisting patients with meals, making beds and helping out where ever needed.
Kari Wicks, Jenni's daughter, began work in March as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). When you are in school there is not much extra time, however, Kari works ten to fifteen hours per week, picking up shifts after school and on the weekends
This type of family loyalty can only be found in small community such as Chester.
Angelina College, Vocational Nursing Program LVN |
| posted by blogger @ 15:39
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| No patient turned away at Family Health Center
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Certified Anesthesia Technician (Cer.A.T.)
Anesthesia Technician
Certified Anesthesia Technologist
It's barely 9 a.m. and the waiting room at the nonprofit Presbyterian Medical Services Carlsbad Family Health Center is already filling up with patients.
Some sit patiently waiting for their names to be called to see the doctor, while others are filling out required new patient forms that ask for prior and current medical conditions and whether the patient has the ability to pay for medical care at the clinic.
According to Stacy Carlile, administrator for the center located on San Jose Boulevard, no patient is turned away from medical care. If the patient has insurance, the clinic bills the company. Medicare and Medicaid patients also are a big part of the equation, as are patients who find themselves in the no-man's land of being unable to afford health insurance, but not qualifying for Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
"We see everyone," Carlile said. "Some people are billed on a sliding scale, meaning they are billed according to their financial status. But the under-insured and the indigent don't have the means to pay anything. Last year, PMS absorbed $500,000 in costs treating that segment of the population. That figure includes the cost of treating the indigent and under-insured at all three of our clinics in Eddy County."
In addition to Carlsbad, Presbyterian operates health and dental clinics in Loving and Artesia. Currently, the Loving clinic is without a dentist. However, Carlile said the group is trying to recruit one.
Rex Wilson, Presbyterian's regional director, believes the medical care patients receive at the clinics is top-notch and the physicians are as well-credentialed as those working in private practice and at the hospital.
"Unfortunately, there appears to be some stigma attached to going to a clinic like ours. Some think it is a free clinic, so therefore the medical care is not as good as they would get by going to a private practicing doctor," Wilson said. "We try to collect fees when possible, and we do everything we can to get patients into programs that pay for medical care, and our doctors are highly qualified.
"Our doctors practice family medicine, so they see people of all ages. If a patient needs specialized medical care, they are sent to the specialist they need to see. All of our doctors have hospital privileges, so they treat their patients in the hospital," Wilson said.
Carlile said that while each of the three clinics is family health oriented, they also offer different services. For instance, the Artesia clinic offers behavioral health services, while Carlsbad offers a school-based clinic at Carlsbad High School where students on Tuesdays and Thursdays can obtain medical care from a medical assistant and physician. The Carlsbad clinic also offers prescriptions drug service.
"The school-based program is working well," Carlile said. "Kids don't miss school because they can see a doctor on-site and get the quick medical care they need. The only problem there is that it is more difficult to collect the fee for their care. Kids don't have the reasoning or knowledge that there are fees attached to getting healthcare. The clinic at the school is an extension of the Carlsbad Family Health Center, which is fee based."
Carlile said the rise in Hepatitis C seen in local patients became a concern for the clinic's medical staff. But now, through a $30,000 grant from the University of New Mexico, Dr. Tetteh Addy, one of the clinic's three doctors, is able to treat and provide the costly Hepatitis C patients the series of treatments free of charge.
"We don't bill them," she said. "Dr. Addy has about 10 patients in the program. Three have successfully completed the program. Dr. Addy has a real passion for that population, and his patients are certainly grateful that they are receiving the treatment without being billed for it."
JoReena Harrell, who has been a patient at the clinic for the past two years, and came in for blood work, said that had it not been for the clinic, she would probably not have medical care.
"I don't have insurance. I can't afford the fees charged by doctors in private practice. What I like about coming here is that they charge on a sliding scale. I pay what I can afford. That is very important for me. I like the doctors and nurses here. My doctor, Jorge Barasas, is great. If you talk, he listens. Everyone is caring here."
Wilson said the clinic accepts walk-ins, which is another reason people choose PMS as their healthcare provider.
Dr. Herbert Ojiaku, a native of Nigeria, completed his medical residency in Minnesota and moved to Houston afterward. He said Carlsbad and the clinic are a perfect fit for him and his family.
"The warm weather here really was attractive to me. Minnesota is too cold and Houston has too many people," Ojiaku said. "My wife and I wanted to raise our two children in a small town, and we felt Carlsbad would be a good place to raise our kids," he said before heading into one of the clinic's exams rooms to see his next patient.
"This is a family health center and I get to see patients of all ages with a variety of illnesses. Being in family practice medicine is really not much different from when I was doing my residency when I saw all types of patients and medical conditions. The only difference is that it's not quite as hectic as when I was doing my residency."
Addressing the issuing of providing health care for patients considered indigent, Wilson said it is a financial burden that the clinic accepts. He said the state and federal funding Presbyterian receives is not enough and the group looks for other funding sources.
He said that when Eddy County cut Presbyterian from its 2006-07 indigent budget to the tune of $150,000, it was a blow. However, he said he hopes the county will consider re-instating all or part of the funding today when the Eddy County Commission conducts its mid-year budget review.
"The county indigent plan is the last resort before we write off the care costs ourselves," Wilson explained.
The county cut the funding due to indigent fund budget constraints. The Eddy County Commission said it would take Presbyterian's request under advisement and make a decision after it has reviewed the budget.
Wilson said Presbyterian Medical Service, not to be confused with Presbyterian Healthcare, has been in Carlsbad since 1991, offering medical care to people regardless of race, creed or ability to pay. Many of its programs are located around the state in federally designated health professional shortage areas.
According its Web site, PMS is the successor to the United Presbyterian Church's medical mission work in the southwest, which began in 1901. In 1969, with church encouragement, a group of area citizens came together to serve on the board of directors for a new entity.
Presbyterian Medical Services became a New Mexico-based nonprofit corporation to ensure continuation of the mission to provide health care services to the underserved communities throughout the state.
Presbyterian's Carlsbad
Family Health Center
Payroll is slightly more than $2 million.
From January through October, the Carlsbad clinic has served 2,584 patients; Loving, 1,607 and Artesia, 2,236.
Funding sources for the Carlsbad facility includes patient pay, 31 percent; insurance, 11 percent; Medicaid, 12 percent; Medicare, 12 percent and other grant, 33 percent.
Presbyterian's Carlsbad Family Health Center is located at 2013 San Jose Blvd. (source)
Certified Anesthesia Technician (Cer.A.T.)
Anesthesia Technician
Certified Anesthesia Technologist |
| posted by blogger @ 11:02
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| New medical and dental areas-Central Nine Career Center
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Triton College vocational course
Central Nine Career Center is finishing up the first phase of a two-part renovation to modernize the vocational school and create a vibrant campus for area high school students.
Hagen's vision for the vocational school in Greenwood is becoming reality.
A new front entrance and medical and dental classrooms greeted students when they returned to classes this week. In Phase 2, the improvements will include adding cosmetology classrooms.
The school serves about 1,000 students and It offers many programs, including health science and dental assisting. Many programs enable students to obtain professional credentials, such as nurse aid and emergency medical technician certification.
Triton College vocational course |
| posted by blogger @ 10:08
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| Inland colleges get high marks in annual report
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Urology medical assistant-What they do?
Cardiology Medical Assistants ~What they do?
UC Riverside was singled out as one of the country's most innovative schools in the rankings of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report magazine.
Altogether, four Inland universities received high marks in the 25th annual rankings. UCR and the University of Redlands each appear three times in the rankings and California Baptist University and La Sierra University, both in Riverside, each get one mention.
The rankings appear in the magazine's Sept. 1 issue, which is due to reach newsstands Monday.
In a category new this year, UCR was rated ninth among "Up-and-Coming Schools." Kenneth Terrell, assistant managing editor, education, at U.S. News & World Report, said he didn't know specifically what earned the ranking for UCR.
When we were surveying the top officials at different universities ... we asked them to nominate schools that they thought were making good improvements and offering innovative approaches to college education," Terrell said in a telephone interview. "And Riverside got enough nominations to be placed on the list this year."
Thomas Baldwin agrees with the listing, although he acknowledged he only recently learned of the school's dynamism. Baldwin arrived at UCR in June as the new dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. He spent the previous decade at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
"All my career I've sort of thought of UC Riverside as being, 'Oh, that's that little bitty school out there in the UC system,' " he said in a telephone interview. So he was skeptical when he was offered the possibility of the deanship.
"I came and took a look and I met the faculty and I said, 'Holy camoly!' Man! This place is much, much stronger than it is perceived outside," he said.
It is not uncommon for improvements such as those happening at UCR to go largely unnoticed for a time, he said.
"Perceptions trail reality by at least 10 years and I think this university is just about to burst onto the national radar screen as being a very, very good place to go to school. I think you're going to see a lot happen over the next five years."
Timothy White, UCR's chancellor, called the listing "very welcome news and very confirming, I think, of what the university is all about these days."
"When I was being recruited for the position of chancellor, what really attracted me, so many things, but one of them was the fact that this is an up-and-coming place. ... I think the word innovation is a word that gets used a lot, but in this case it's an absolutely precise word about all aspects of the institution's activities," White said by phone from Virginia City, Nev., where he was traveling.
The University of Redlands was included in a list of "A+ Schools for B Students," which U.S. News has been compiling for a few years, Terrell said.
"We basically wanted to get the word out ... that there are some excellent schools that offer opportunities to kids who maybe didn't score that high on the SAT or may have done not so well on a couple of classes in high school," he said.
The University of Redlands embraces that listing, said Neil Macready, vice president for university relations.
"We take great pride in the fact that we're ranked in that category because we don't focus as much on the inputs that the students bring with them when they show up on campus," he said by phone. "We're more about the outcomes that they take away from Redlands when they graduate four years later. We're really focused on what the transformation has been because of the Redlands experience."
Brian Bingham, 20, of Riverside, is a junior at Redlands and said he was a B student in high school.
"I think I had the experience a lot of freshmen have -- that everyone around you is overwhelmingly smart," he said by phone.
Another area where the University of Redlands rated high was affordability. Bingham said the university gives him a $5,000 grant each semester.
Mario Godoy, 19, of Riverside, is another junior at Redlands who says he gets good financial aid there.
"I feel I'm paying less there than I would if I went to a UC school because of the financial support they give you," he said by phone. "It does seem like a lot when you first find out how much it is annually, but once you factor in all the financial aid that they offer, it's actually very affordable."
Macready, the Redlands vice president, said officials there take note of the rankings, but do not use them in their marketing or for comparing the university to other institutions. "Typically, we let the rankings speak for themselves," he said.
UCR students Richie Brajas and Daniel Reynoso, both 20 and juniors from Riverside, said the rankings played no part in their school selection, but that they were good for the school.
"It gives them some publicity. UCR's kind of a smaller school, so at least it helps get the name out," Brajas said by phone.
"It's good. They need the press and everything else, trying to get a medical school and a law school over there, so it's probably helping out," Reynoso said by phone.
Cal Baptist was ranked 41st in "Best Universities -- Master's (West). In an e-mail exchange, Mark Wyatt, the university's vice president for marketing and communication, said, "We view the rankings as one of the tools that many families use to help decide which colleges their students will attend."
He said the university uses the "Best Colleges" badge in its marketing and that the rankings help the school "keep track of how others view California Baptist University in the highly competitive higher education marketplace."
Staff writer Vanessa Franko contributed to this report.
WHERE THEY RANK
Four Inland universities made U.S. News & World Report's 2009 rankings of America's Best Colleges. Up-and-Coming Schools is intended to gauge a school's innovation. The category Universities -- Master's includes schools that offer undergraduate and some master's degrees but few, if any, doctorates.
UC Riverside: 89th (seven-way tie) in "Best National Universities"; ninth in "Up-and-Coming Schools"; fifth in "Racial Diversity, National Universities"
University of Redlands: Eighth in "Best Universities -- Master's (West)"; listed among "A+ Schools for B Students"; second in "Great Schools, Great Prices, Universities -- Master's"
California Baptist University: 41st in "Best Universities -- Master's (West)"
La Sierra University: First in "Racial Diversity, Universities -- Master's (West)" (source)
Urology medical assistant-What they do?
Cardiology Medical Assistants ~What they do? |
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| Woman nurses hope for a career
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| Saturday
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Central Texas College, Vocational Nursing Program
Eichelberger, who bounced in between Longview and Mississippi most of her whole life, was trying to get a fresh start in Longview this spring after struggling with drug use down south.
Mitchell, Eichelberger’s former mentor from the Educational Service District 112’s Youth Workforce Program, dropped by the Longview Quiznos sandwich shop where Eichelberger was working and asked if she would like to re-enroll in the program.
Since then Eichelberger has earned her GED high school equivalency diploma, became a licensed Certified Nurses Assistant and got a job at the Canterbury Inn assisted living center in Longview.
“It feels good doing something with my life for once and be able to get somewhere, have my own place and money in the bank,” Eichelberger said.
Eichelberger trained for her CNA license in the ESD 112’s federally funded Youth Workforce Academy, an eight-week vocational training program for low-income and at-risk youth.
ESD 112, a regional agency that serves 30 public school districts in Southwest Washington, launched the CNA track of the academy this spring because there is a demand for CNAs in this area, said Mitchell, a youth workforce specialist.
Other tracks offered in ESD 112 academies —construction, early childhood education, business technology, and health care— are also in demand fields, she said.
The training program not only prepares students for long-term employment, it helps low-income students with immediate financial needs, ESD 112 specialists say.
Students are paid minimum wage to attend career academies with federal dollars through the Youth Workforce Investment Act. Students can also get assistance for travel expenses, work clothes, or post-secondary training, said Christine Katon, ESD 112 youth workforce specialist.
Eichelberger first moved from Longview to her dad’s home state of Mississippi when she was 8. Eichelberger said she was a good student until she started using drugs at 13.
Around the age of 15, Eichelberger said she quit school to care for her grandmother who had Alzheimer’s. Shortly after that her grandmother died and her father went to prison, so Eichelberger came to Longview to live with her aunt and her brother.
“My aunt is amazing,” Eichelberger said. “She has flown me here twice on a day’s notice.”
As a sophomore, Eichelberger enrolled Mark Morris High School’s Monarch Program, an online, after school alternative program.
She also joined the ESD 112’s Youth Workforce Program to get help with schoolwork, as well as career counseling and job training.
As part of the program, Eichelberger was in a health care academy in the summer. “It made me want to really explore the health care field more,” she said.
But continuing to use drugs slowed her progress. Her family, she said, has a history of drug abuse, and ” I followed their path for quite a while.”
“I got messed up in drugs and I could not handle high school. I ended up dropping out a month before graduation.”
After a falling out with her family in Longview Eichelberger went back to Mississippi and found work as a nurse’s aide. That state does not require a license, she said.
“I went back with friends and got strung out on drugs,” Eichelberger said.
Early this spring, Eichelberger said she moved back to Longview from Mississippi to start over.
Eichelberger said she didn’t consider getting CNA training until she reunited with Mitchell.
“I would have never thought I would pass,” she said.
Eichelberger said going through the ESD 112’s CNA academy helped her to stop using drugs when she returned to Longview.
This month she passed the CNA licensing test and has found a job she loves. “I love being an aide working with the elderly and getting to know them,” she said.
She helps residents with daily tasks such as eating, brushing teeth and getting ready for bed.
Eichelberger said she enjoys learning the little things about residents, like if they want their socks on or off when they go to bed.
“It’s hard work but it’s rewarding,” she said. “You have all these grandparents.”
Mitchell said being able to work with youth from the time they are 16 until 21 is an advantage of the ESD 112’s Youth Workforce Program.
“We can continue to offer support,” she said. Even though Eichelberger already completed the CNA academy and got her license, Mitchell will continue to mentor her until she is 21.
Eichelberger said she likes knowing Mitchell will be there checking in on her for another year. “There’s someone to give you a little extra boost to get you going in the right direction,” she said.
“I’ve never really had parents to help me make my goals,” Eichelberger said. “In (ESD 112’s) program you’re constantly making goals and having rewards if you make the goals.” (source)
Central Texas College, Vocational Nursing Program |
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| Careers in transition-clinical medical assistant
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Grayson County College, Texas Vocational nursing program
Job Link offers training and other services for workers, employers
Genevieve Brown thought she'd found her dream job when she was hired at Medtronic in Santa Rosa eight years ago.
Brown, who immigrated to the United States from her native Cambodia at age 13, had held low-paying retail jobs and even done embroidery to help support her family.
Now, she was working for the world's largest medical device company, making advanced technology for treating vascular disease.
Brown assembled coronary stents, tiny implants that keep blood flowing in heart patients' arteries. She also worked in quality control, packaging and labeling. Soon she was training other Medtronic employees.
"I liked learning different things," she said. "I liked moving around."
But her job ended last year when the biotech giant shifted much of its Sonoma County manufacturing to Galway, Ireland. More than 100 workers were laid off.
Today, Brown, 37, is preparing for a new career as a clinical medical assistant. She's part of a government-funded retraining program for Medtronic's displaced Santa Rosa workers.
"These are skilled workers, but their skills were specifically designed for their jobs at Medtronic," said Patrick Henning, director of the state Employment Development Department. "They need additional training to help them find new jobs with comparable wages."
The demand for retraining has soared with job losses because of the faltering economy, said Karen Fies, who oversees Sonoma County's employment and training programs.
More than 1,100 new clients contacted the county's Job Link service in July, compared with an average of 204 during a typical month last year, she said.
"We've seen a huge increase in the number of people seeking help," Fies said.
In response, Job Link is offering additional job-search workshops and one-on-one counseling.
The retraining for former Medtronic workers is backed by a $205,000 state grant to Job Link. Many of the workers aren't fluent in English, so the program offers classes in English as a second language.
There also are GED classes for workers who haven't received high school diplomas.
Participants attend workshops on job search skills, resume-writing and interview tips. Clients then meet with a counselor to discuss their interests and abilities and adopt a training plan.
So far, 22 former Medtronic workers have received training, while six others have signed up.
Genevieve Brown is enrolled in the medical assistant program at Empire College in Santa Rosa, one of Job Link's partners. She chose medical assisting because it will keep her in the health care field.
"I want to help people," she said. "And I want to get good pay and benefits for my family."
Jesse Villarreal, another ex-Medtronic manufacturing employee, is taking accounting classes at Empire College through Job Link.
Villarreal, 59, worked at Medtronic in Santa Rosa for eight years before the 2007 layoff. Job Link helped him find a new career, he said.
"I really wanted to look at all my options before I jumped into something," Villarreal said. "I like working with my hands, but I'm getting too old for that."
Villarreal had lots of job experience, but not enough education, he said. The accounting program will give him a professional degree in a field where there are lots of jobs, he said.
Brown and Villarreal are collecting unemployment benefits while they train for their new careers.
Not all former Medtronic workers received training, according to Job Link coordinator Kathy Young. Some just received counseling or help with job searches. Others left the area or found new jobs on their own.
Earlier this year, 47 of the workers returned to Medtronic as temporary employees. About 1,200 people work for Medtronic in Santa Rosa, the headquarters for its global vascular business.
Nearly 80 percent of all laid-off workers who used Job Link over the past year have found employment, according to the program. Of those, 94 percent were still employed after six months.
The health care, business services and hospitality sectors still offer good prospects for job seekers, Fies said.
Laid-off workers who are serious about finding new jobs shouldn't delay contacting Job Link, she said.
"We recommend people come in while they still have unemployment (benefits)," Fies said(source)
Grayson County College, Texas Vocational nursing program |
| posted by blogger @ 12:59
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| Teens learn more about options in medical careers
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San Jose City College Registered Dental Assisting Programs
Not everyone who works at Winchester Medical Center is a doctor or nurse.
That fact was a revelation for many youths in the the hospital’s first Camp W.M.C.
The 18 rising sixth- through ninth-grade students explored nearly 20 professions in the facility on Amherst Street this week
I didn’t even know half of these professions existed,” 13-year-old Scott Zerull said Friday.
He and eight other students were finishing a trauma call simulation in which they treated a 14-year-old patient with severe injuries from a 4-wheeler accident.
The activity was one of the group’s last as the four-day camp concluded Friday afternoon. It began Tuesday and lasted from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day.
After completing his role as an emergency medical technician for the trauma call, Scott waited outside with his mother Lisa Zerull — a registered nurse and academic liaison to Valley Health, parent company of the medical center.
“The purpose of the camp was to introduce them to the health-care profession and health-care staff,” Zerull said. “If you look at their eyes, they’re like, ‘Oh, my God!’”
WMC joined the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association in Glen Allen to partially fund the program through a grant. The association’s contribution covered half of the camp’s cost. For the other half, each participant paid a $136 registration fee.
Despite the fee, just two days were needed for the camp to fill up. “We sent out an e-mail and within a day and a half, we had 20 e-mails of interest,” Zerull said.
Most of the campers have relatives in the medical field. Zerull said a pre-camp survey showed that seven campers wanted to become nurses, five wanted to be physicians, and six were seeking other careers. “Truly, they have been engaged all six hours every day,” she said.
While Scott knew about some health-care jobs from his mother, he was surprised by some of them. “I thought it was nurses and doctors,” said the rising ninth-grader at James Wood High School. “I didn’t realize it is forensics and babies.”
Another camper shared Scott’s amazement at the range of medical careers.
“I didn’t know they had forensic nurses who work with people who have been in a crime,” said Hannah Adams, a rising ninth-grader at Sherando High School. “It looks really difficult. I don’t know if I would be doing that.” Instead, she wants to work as a nurse or in pediatrics. “I want to do that because I’m good at it,” the 14-year-old said.
Hannah added that she has placed intravenous lines in practice patients during activities with no problems. With his new knowledge of medical professions, Scott is still deciding where his future might take him. “It’s 50-50 chance,” he said, referring to the medical field. “It’s between this and baseball.” (source)
San Jose City College Registered Dental Assisting Programs |
| posted by blogger @ 11:19
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| Urgent-care clinics
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Amarillo College Texas Vocational Nursing Program
When a heavy metal door swung over her 14-year-old son's foot, ripping the nail almost completely off his big toe, Tina Mobley didn't want to take her chances in a crowded hospital emergency room or wait for an appointment at the pediatrician's office the next day. Instead, she drove to an urgent-care clinic inside a Wal-Mart in Yulee, Fla., near her rural home. Within minutes, the doctor on duty numbed the pain with an injection, removed the nail, and cleaned and bandaged the injury.
Patients who need immediate care for injuries and illness, be it a nail-gun puncture or a severe stomach bug, are increasingly turning to walk-in urgent-care clinics.
These facilities aim to fill the gap between the growing shortage of primary-care doctors and a shrinking number of already-crowded hospital emergency departments, with no appointment necessary and extended evening and weekend hours.
Urgent-care clinics are staffed by physicians, offer wait times as little as a few minutes and charge $60 to $200 depending on the procedure -- a fraction of the typical $1,000-plus emergency department visit. Some offer discounts and payment plans for the uninsured; for those with coverage, co-payments vary by insurance plan but may be less than half the amount of an ER visit, which can range from $50 to $200.
While the Yulee clinic that treated Ms. Mobley's son is one of three operated inside Wal-Mart stores by Jacksonville, Fla.-based Solantic, urgent-care centers aren't to be confused with the new crop of retail health clinics popping up in drugstores, which are run by nurse practitioners who prescribe medicine for minor illnesses and provide vaccinations.
Urgent-care-center physicians and other medical staffers can put casts on broken bones, sew up lacerations, provide intravenous fluids for dehydrated patients, and deploy advanced life-support equipment for both adults and children. They often have equipment not available in physicians' offices, such as X-rays.
There are currently more than 8,000 urgent-care centers around the country, including about 1,200 affiliated with hospitals, and that number is expected to expand. By contrast, between 1995 and 2005, the number of emergency departments decreased to 3,795 from 4,176, while the annual number of visits to ERs rose by 20% to 115.3 million, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But as the number of urgent-care clinics has grown, so have concerns about their quality and safety, as well questions about the risks of patients substituting urgent-care centers for an ongoing relationship with a primary-care doctor who coordinates care and follows them over time.
While physicians who work at clinics must be licensed like any other doctor, clinics aren't typically licensed or regulated by states and can vary widely in the services, hours, staffing and equipment they offer. Some have undergone voluntary accreditation programs to evaluate quality and safety, but no national standards exist to determine the range of services an urgent-care clinic should offer or the steps they should take to ensure safe, high-quality care.
Recently, the Urgent Care Association of America, a trade group representing 3,141 urgent-care professionals, struck an agreement with the Joint Commission, the non-profit group that accredits hospitals and other health-care organizations, to take over accreditation and publish national quality standards by 2010.
Lou Ellen Horwitz, executive director of the association, says the aim is both to avoid future regulation and to establish guidelines that can help patients and health plans evaluate urgent-care centers. She also stresses that patients should always have a relationship with a primary-care doctor and use urgent-care clinics when they can't get an appointment during office hours.
Some urgent-care clinics say they don't see the need to pay the thousands of dollars the accreditation process can cost. But a standard accreditation program developed by the Joint Commission could make it easier for urgent-care clinics to strike better deals with insurance companies and health plans.
Though insurers are increasingly including clinics in their networks because of the cost savings, they tend to reimburse the clinics at lower rates than urgent-care clinics say they need to cover costs of longer hours, larger staffs and expensive equipment.
"We'd look far more favorably at an urgent-care clinic that was accredited than one that wasn't," says Troy Brennan, chief medical officer at insurer Aetna. By undergoing the rigors of an evaluation, "it means an organization is taking a hard look at a variety of safety issues that should be involved in caring for someone who is acutely ill," he notes. While Aetna says patients shouldn't seek treatment in an urgent-care facility if their condition requires emergency services, and encourages them to call their doctor first, "if it is a good high-quality urgent-care center that can keep someone out of the emergency department who doesn't need to be there, that is a good thing."
Efforts are now under way by members of the urgent-care trade association to develop urgent care as a recognized subspecialty of family practice or emergency medicine.
Several teaching hospitals are now offering post-graduate fellowships in urgent care to medical interns, and two medical journals are dedicated to urgent-care issues. The Orlando-based American Board of Urgent Care offers to certify physicians in urgent care for a fee, but it isn't formally recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Urgent-care centers first appeared about 20 years ago, but didn't catch on widely among consumers, who preferred to see their own doctor or seek care in a hospital ER. But the industry began resurging in the mid-1990s, and demand has increased in recent years as more consumers experience long waits in the emergency room, or wait weeks to get an appointment with their own doctor, says Robin Weinick, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital's Institute for Health Policy.
Urgent-care centers have most frequently chosen busy intersections or strip malls, but they are also opening in rural areas with few other medical providers. In addition to chains such as Solantic and Mesa, Ariz.-based NextCare Inc. clinics are being opened by physicians and hospitals looking to expand their business or ease crowding in their own ERs.
Of the 115.3 million emergency-room visits in 2005, according to the CDC, only 5.5% needed to be seen immediately, with 9.8% triaged as needing to be seen within 14 minutes, 33% within 15 minutes to an hour, and 21% as "semi-urgent," needing to be seen one to two hours. About 14% were evaluated as "non-urgent," meaning they could be treated in anywhere from two to 24 hours.
But Linda Lawrence, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, says the majority of patients who show up in the ER belong there until their conditions can be evaluated. Overcrowding, she says, is due to hospitals' practice of "boarding" patients for hours or days in the ER when they should be admitted to the hospital -- a problem urgent-care clinics won't solve. "One of our concerns that people can't recognize when they have an emergency or don't," says Dr. Lawrence. "A patient who says they are having indigestion and goes to an urgent-care clinic may really be having a heart attack."
"We don't encourage patients with chest pain to go to urgent-care centers, but the reality is that we need to be prepared for anything that walks through our doors," says Lee Resnick, president of the urgent-care association and director of University Hospitals Urgent Care, a five-clinic urgent-care group in suburban Cleveland.
The clinics are affiliated with University Hospitals Case Medical Center. In many cases, Dr. Resnick says, urgent-care clinics diagnose more serious illnesses like cancer for patients who come in for a seemingly lesser complaint, and recognize heart attacks or strokes in time to get patients by ambulance to an ER, where they can be fast-tracked through the admission process.
Transfer to Hospital
Recently, for example, 24-year-old Carly Solomon arrived at one of Dr. Resnick's clinics with a pounding headache, dizziness, nausea and blurred vision. Julie Keller, the physician on duty, determined her condition was more serious than a bad migraine; though the clinic had the equipment to do a brain scan, she summoned an ambulance. By the time it arrived, Ms. Solomon had begun having seizures, the beginning of a blood clot in the cavity at the base of her brain that resulted in a nine-day hospitalization. Ms. Solomon says she was impressed by how quickly she was seen and transferred to the hospital, and with Dr. Keller, who later went to check on her in the intensive-care unit.
Stephen Kovacs, the medical director and co-owner of Urgent Care of Green County, with several clinics in Owasso, Claremore and Bixby, Okla., urges patients to "research a facility first to be sure they are going to be seen by a physician and that the facility will be able to provide all of the necessary services that might be required," such as X-rays, scans, intravenous fluids for dehydrated patients and advanced life-support equipment. His clinics also work closely with patients' primary-care physicians, sending records from urgent-care visits and coordinating care with specialists in the area.
Some patients use the urgent care centers often enough to strike up a long-term relationship. Shelly Rogers says Dr. Kovacs has treated her kids for accidental burns and broken bones, and diagnosed her husband Doug's sore throat as a benign cyst on his thyroid. After he cared for her during several episodes related to her own complicated medical history, Ms. Rogers has started to think of him as her personal physician. At times when both spouses were out of work or had trouble getting insurance to cover treatment, Dr. Kovacs didn't charge them for care, or helped them set up a payment plan. "They really get to know you, and they pay attention," she says.(source)
Amarillo College Texas Vocational Nursing Program |
| posted by blogger @ 11:02
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| Weak economy spurs growth for community colleges
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Howard County Junior College District, Texas Vocational Nursing program
Two-year community colleges are seeing record enrollment as families squeezed by tough economic times steer high school graduates away from more expensive four-year universities.
While the shift solves one funding problem, it potentially raises another. Community college officials in some states, including Texas and Virginia, are concerned the precarious nature of their own finances — brought about by rising costs and state government budget shortfalls — could limit their ability to handle the anticipated influx of new students.
Preliminary reports from community colleges across the nation, which had overall enrollment of 11.5 million last year, show summer enrollments increased, a trend predicted to extend into the fall, according to Norma Kent, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Community Colleges.
Kent said the trend is in line with other economic downturns. Community colleges see increased demand for their workforce-training programs from people who have been laid off or are in search of additional skills.
Nineteen-year-old Whitney Daniels of Mathews, Va., had hoped to attend a four-year state school this fall, but the recent stock market downturn diminshed her family's college fund, making Rappahannock Community College a better alternative, at least for the short term.
The Daniels family had $20,000 in a college fund for Whitney, but the account's value has fallen enough that a four-year school would be out of the question without student loans — an option that was unappealing to her mother, Debbie.
"We're approaching retirement in the next six to seven years," Debbie Daniels said. "I don't want to get heavily in debt."
It costs $2,585 in tuition and fees annually for 30 credit hours at RCC, compared with an average of $14,841 for tuition and fees plus room and board for an in-state student at a public four-year school in Virginia.
Nationwide, the average annual cost of attending community college is $2,361, compared with $6,185 in tuition and fees for an in-state public school. Average annual room and board at a public four-year school is $7,404, according to the most recent figures from the College Board, which tracks average tuition costs.
It's figures like these that are driving more students toward community colleges.
• In Virginia, community college officials anticipate more than 160,000 in-state students will enroll in the fall, up from last fall's enrollment of slightly more than 157,000 students. Two out of every three new undergraduates will enroll in community colleges, said Jeffrey Kraus, a spokesman for the Virginia Community College System.
• In Cabarrus County, N.C., where Philip Morris USA Inc. is preparing to shut down a tobacco plant in three years, nearby Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is working with the company to let employees take classes in computers, Spanish and other fields to develop skills to find new jobs, according to Jeanie Moore, the school's vice president of continuing education.
• In Texas, the state's 50 two-year schools are seeing more students mainly because of population growth, said Steven Johnson, a spokesman for the Texas Association of Community Colleges. The state's economy is somewhat more insulated from the current downturn because of the booming oil industry, he said.
The bulk of federal higher-education funding goes to four-year schools, yet two-year schools enroll almost half the nation's undergraduates, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Salaries and infrastructure costs are higher at four-year schools, but community college officials say they've long been expected to do more with less.
At least 30 states have budget shortages, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the rising costs of energy and other operating expenses will likely make education funding tougher.
Community colleges on average get 60 percent of their funding from state and local sources. As a result, if states are having trouble, community college funding could dwindle, Kent said.
"It's a perfect storm in a negative sense," she said.
Virginia's General Assembly allocated $396.5 million for the state's community college system in the 2009 fiscal year, up just 2 percent from $387.2 million in the current fiscal year. It allocated $24.4 million for financial aid for community college students. But Gov. Timothy M. Kaine this week warned legislators that worsening state finances require deep budget cuts by early October — including to areas traditionally off-limits.
In Texas, state funding hasn't kept up with enrollment growth, Johnson said. Community colleges in Texas receive less than 30 percent of their funding from the state, down from 60 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Central Oregon Community College in Bend is seeing a 31 percent enrollment increase, but officials expect that to moderate, saying they are running out of classroom space and faculty to meet capacity.
Because two-year schools are intended to be open-access institutions, it's anathema to turn students away. But "if there's not enough faculty, not enough courses, we have a de facto enrollment cap," Kent said.
Sarah Turcotte, of Gloucester, Va., says she's attending RCC while many of her friends are leaving or have left for college. While she admits feeling a bit left out, she hopes to join a couple of them at the University of Virginia as a transfer student in a couple years if she keeps her grades up.
"The school that I want to go to is a state school, but it's $17,000 a semester" for tuition and fees and housing and dining, she said, compared with $800 for RCC, and living at her parents' home.
A study released Wednesday by educational loan provider Sallie Mae shows that many people fail to consider post-college income in determining how to pay for school, but Turcotte is already looking ahead to after graduation, when many people are saddled with repaying student loans.
"With the economy the way it is, college grads are finding a hard time finding jobs, so it's best to keep my education costs to a minimum," she said.
Howard County Junior College District, Texas Vocational Nursing program |
| posted by blogger @ 05:48
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| Triton College's vocational courses
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The shaky job market has helped boost registration for Triton College's vocational courses --enrollment has increased 30 percent in the past year.
"People are looking at investing themselves, improving their resumes and going into vocational training for short-term certificates to help them in the job market," said Paul Jensen, dean of continuing education, the department overseeing the vocational courses.
The percent of job seekers in the Chicago area reached a five-year high this summer. The unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in June, the highest since the end of 2003, according to data from Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The continuing education department went from offering five certificate program last year to now offering 23 certificate programs, Jensen said. Overall, the Triton offers more than 300 vocational courses, including courses Jensen categorizes as personal enrichment.
While vocational classes -- like real estate, project management, massage therapy and home inspection -- have "gone to the roof" in enrollment, the personal enrichment classes -- like art, music and the humanities -- have stayed the same compared to last year, Jensen said.
Beth Luparello, 54, is a student in Triton's 11-week pharmacy technician course. She recently closed her floral business in Oak Park after 25 years.
"Everything was costing too much," Luparello, an Elmwood Park resident, said. "It was time for a change." Luparello's sister is a nurse and suggested she go to pharmacy school, which Luparello said she is planning to do.
Another Triton student, Tom Zimmerman, 29, said he hopes the continuing education class will help him find work in a hospital pharmacy. He said he wanted to gain some work experience before applying for medical school.
"(The work experience) gives an edge on the application," Zimmerman said.
Jensen said the offerings of the continuing education department can vary widely, depending on student demand. The school relies on surveys and in-person feedback from students to determine where the demand lies, Jensen said.
"At the end of the day, (students) vote with their enrollment," Jensen said. (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 10:13
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| Program trains students to become caregivers, nurse's aides
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In a portable classroom on the Mountain View High School campus, students are preparing for careers as doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
One way they're doing this is by learning how to transfer an elderly patient from a bed to a wheelchair, although they don't practice on real patients yet. During a recent exercise, high school seniors from area schools used a mechanical lift and gait belt to transfer each other to a wheelchair in a career and technical education class.
Students in the Amphitheater, Flowing Wells and Marana school districts are enrolled in a Joint Technological Education District, or JTED, course that provides caregiver and nursing-assistant instruction.
"This is my first experience with teenagers, and I have to say this is probably my favorite job in my whole career," said instructor Marlene Grace, a registered nurse. "Watching their accomplishments is magical. I'm so proud of them."
Forty-three students take two classes a week from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Mountain View.
Next year they'll spend some of their Saturdays completing clinical training at long-term care facilities, where they will work with patients.
Certification possible
In all, students will spend 240 hours in training. When they complete the program, they can work as certified caregivers or take the Arizona State Board of Nursing's certified nursing-assistant test.
"I figured it would look good on my résumé because I want to go to medical school," Flowing Wells senior Arsalan Ahmed said. "This would be pretty good practice."
The three school districts contracted with the Direct CareGiver Association to offer the classes.
The training is free for students. Tuition and supplies cost about $1,100 per student, paid through the technological district.
Each student received a kit that included a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, watch with a second hand, gait belt, scrubs, textbooks and a voucher for a pair of white shoes.
"It's free and that's really good," Marana High School senior Mariessa Perez said. "I was going to take this class over the summer, and it was $3,000" at a vocational college.
Perez and her classmates will be expected to know 22 state-mandated skills when they take the nursing-assistant exam near the end of the school year.
Students will randomly be tested on five skills and will have 35 minutes to complete each skill, which could include measuring vital signs, bathing or feeding a patient.
"Not only do they have to be good, but they have to be speedy," Grace said. "So that's why we practice over and over again."
A lot of learning
Classes started the last week in October, and the students — who attend Canyon del Oro, Flowing Wells, Ironwood Ridge, Marana and Mountain View high schools — say they already know a great deal.
"I've learned a lot of new things," Ironwood Ridge senior Torie Remme said. "l've learned how to check blood pressure and temperature, and how to lift people and care for the residents."
Instructors Grace and registered nurse Debbie Weber can't stress bedside manner enough.
Though the students practice on each other right now, they still are expected to introduce themselves, greet the "patient" and demonstrate that they're washing their hands.
Because of the demand for medical professionals, students will have no trouble finding work in long-term care facilities, hospitals, clinics and in private homes.
"It's a good college job," Marana senior Michael Engen said. "It's a lot more than minimum wage, and you can work anytime you want."
Most of the students will pursue a college degree after graduating and say the opportunity at Mountain View will benefit them.
"I plan on going to school to become a traveling nurse," Marana senior Olivia Sanchez said. "This is a jump-start to get me into the career that I want."
But one of the more valuable lessons the students will learn is an appreciation for what some of the lower-level medical professionals do.
"Some of the things you do are really humbling," Mountain View senior Philip Segura said. "If you have to change a diaper or bathe someone, you can't back off at the last second." (source) |
| posted by blogger @ 05:04
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| Student nurse charts the course to success
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| Thursday
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Student Nurse of the Year, Alexa-Gail Woolery, is a picture of studiousness. - Contributed
It's a simple story of holding on to a dream, no matter what life throws at you. It's the story of a young lady called Lexi, who did not allow the challenges of life to ruin her.
Born on January 8, 1986, Alexa-Gail Woolery has six sisters and three brothers, and is the last of 10 children.
This 22-year-old final-year student at the Cornwall School of Nursing in Montego Bay has chalked up a major recognition - 2008/2009 Student Nurse of the Year.
Woolery readily admits that her initial tertiary years of study at the Montego Bay Community College and the University of the West Indies (UWI) were not geared towards the profession of nursing.
"I decided that this was the way to go. It is a very dynamic profession. There are many things that you can do and I have a caring heart," she said. "I have a soft spot for children so I decided that being a nurse and, later on, a paediatric nurse, would help me to self-actualise."
Woolery was born in Yallahs, St Thomas, but moved to Montego Bay at the age of six when her mother decided to relocate, with all her children, in search of better economic conditions. After attending the Corinaldi Avenue Primary School then Mount Alvernia High, where she passed seven CXC subjects, she set her sights on entering Montego Bay Community College.
"The time spent at Mount Alvernia High School was very good. I participated in a lot of activities, quiz club, the choir and I was a member of the prefect body," she boasted.
"Before I entered Montego Bay Community College, I worked for one year to support myself, because my family could not support me as much and, being the last one, there were financial constraints on the family," she said as her expression pointed to some of the hardships the family faced.
After experiencing the working world, the drive to further her studies was greater than ever and Woolery embarked on her original plan. She registered at the Montego Bay Community College. There, she studied Business Management. Sociology, Caribbean Studies and Communication and on successful completion, she entered UWI.
It was while studying international relations and Spanish at the UWI that Woolery discovered her real passion - nursing.
Unwittingly, she registered with a nursing school with a long tradition of excellence, one that boasts some eight first-place winners of Student Nurse of the Year over the last 10 years.
Senior tutor in charge of the Cornwall School of Nursing, Verona Henry-Ferguson, explained that for an individual to be nominated for the Student Nurse of the Year competition, that individual must exhibit academic, attitudinal and clinical excellence. That person is usually nominated for the national competition by his or her peers.
Contestants for this competition are nominated from some five nursing training schools across the island.
81 registered students
Ferguson pointed out that there were approximately 81 registered students at the Cornwall School of Nursing.
Woolery said she was humbled by the nomination from her peers and credited her hard work and dedication to love of the task at hand.
The challenge to serve the sick drives her to work harder at being great at her profession.
"In another five or 10 years, there are basically two or three main things that I want to do. Paediatric nursing is very close to my heart, so I would love to specialise in that.
"I would also like to do nursing research because it is the backbone for nursing practice. I also want to do nursing education," she said.
Woolery identifies her relationships with God and, her mother, Isolyn Woolery, as the main motivators in her life.
"She has made the most of life. She has provided beyond her means financially, psychologically, spiritually," the nurse said of her mom. "She has impressed on me to believe in God and believe in myself. 'You can be any thing you want to be, she told me'."(source) |
| posted by blogger @ 11:18
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| Hot Medical jobs' in tough economy
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| Tuesday
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......The health care jobs on the Top 10 lists included dental hygienists, medical assistants and physician assistants, physical therapists and assistants, fitness trainers and aerobics instructors, as well as veterinary technologists.
With the growth of the health care industry, the demand for medical assistants should continue to grow over the next 10 years with each ranked in the top three on both lists. The demand for medical assistants is expected to grow by 54 percent to 60 percent, while it increases by 50 percent for physician assistants.
Medical assistants usually perform administrative and clinical tasks for physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and other medical practitioners. Programs in medical assisting are offered at Owens Community College and Professional Skills Institute (PSI) in Toledo.
Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of physicians, performing diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive services. All states require physician assistants to complete an accredited, formal education program and pass a national exam to obtain a license to practice.
The physician assistant program at UT is a 27-month graduate-level program leading to a master's degree in biomedical sciences with a physician assistant concentration.
Dental assistants and hygienist salso are in demand with opportunities in that field growing by 42 percent in the next 10 years. Dental hygienists must be licensed by the state and graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program or school.
Owens has offered a dental hygiene program for several years and has placed many graduates in local dental practices, according to school officials.
The demand for physical therapist assistants will continue to grow by 44 percent in the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Under the supervision of physical therapists, assistants work with patients to record their responses to treatment and report the outcome of each treatment.
The physical therapist assistant program at Owens accepts only 25 qualified students per year for enrollment in the fall semester.
The PSI offers associate degrees in medical assisting and physical therapist assisting with diploma programs in medical assisting, medical secretary/transcription, medical insurance and front-office specialists that can be completed within two years or as little as nine months.
Medical records and health information technicians were ranked as the fourth fastest growing field on one list. With the rapid growth of medical tests and procedures, job prospects in those areas are expected to increase by 47 percent through 2012.
Veterinary technologist and technician careers are projected to increase by 44 percent in the next four years, according to one source. These positions typically perform medical tests, as well as diagnosing and treating medical conditions in animals.(source) |
| posted by blogger @ 20:43
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| Getting adults on the path to education-Laconia's Adult Education
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Adult Ed offers pre-nursing courses for people who want to pursue a career as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, or in radiology or as a dental hygienist.
Hospitals and other health care facilities in the state are so short of nurses that they are hiring on a per diem basis prompting some nurses to come from as far away as Canada.
Among her proudest moments Selig said is when she watches Academy participants walk across the stage during graduation en route to pick up their diploma.
During the most recent ceremonies, Selig recounted one graduate arrived dressed in his fatigues after joining the military.
"He was so proud. His chest was out and when he shook the mayor's hand and was congratulated before getting his diploma he said, 'Thank you, sir.' The pride and the respect was so neat to see," she said.
Selig's office at Laconia High School is crowded with memorabilia from the 36 classes that have graduated from the academy that has awarded 1,068 high school diplomas since its' founding. (source)
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| posted by blogger @ 11:05
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