Jan 27, 2012
Posted in Jobs and Careers
Are you a student with no idea what you’d like to do for a living, or perhaps you’ve been “downsized” from your corporate job and don’t have a clue what the next chapter of your professional life entails? You may want to look into various allied health jobs, which typically require minimal schooling, one such job is that of a licensed practical nurse, or LPN. LPNs are entry level nurses that report to physicians and registered nurses (RNs), and who only require one year of training.
If you’ve ever thought of joining the nursing field, become an LPN may be exactly what you need, as it will allow you to get your feet wet in nursing without the time investment required to become a registered nurse. You’ll only need to attend classes for 1 year in order to become certified as an LPN, and then you can start work and gain valuable experience and insight into the nursing field at large – specifically, whether nursing is enjoyable and satisfying for you. While an LPN salary might not be as high as that of a registered nurse, think of it as a stepping stone position or a paid internship. That way you won’t feel pressured to make a lot before you even know if nursing is the ideal career for you.
There are several basic steps to getting certified as an LPN. First, you need to complete high school and obtain your diploma. Next, you must join an LPN program, consisting of 4 courses: Practical Nursing I, II, III and pharmacology–then you must complete a clinical hands on session. The clinical session is critical to your development as an RN, similarly to the way an internship or an apprenticeship gives people hands on experience with whatever vocation they are pursuing. During your clinical class, you will gain practical knowledge on the activities and duties that LPNs perform on the job daily.
Lastly, to become an LPN you must become licensed in your state. This requires passage of the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nursing, otherwise known as the NCLEX-PN. There is a similar test for registered nurses called the NCLEX-RN. The licensing requirements are specific to the state in which you plan on working, so be sure to visit your local nurse association to find out exactly what else is required.
Once licensed, the last step is to start your job hunt and gain experience. After one or two years, if you believe nursing is a favorable career choice for you, it’s strongly recommended that you go back to school to become an RN, as you can take on more responsibility, more satisfactory job duties, and of course higher pay. However, like with every vocation, higher pay requires higher training. So you will want to go back to school and get your Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
The field of nursing is extremely attractive as there is always demand and contains the most job security possible. No matter what the economic conditions, people will always have health concerns and need to see the doctor.
Good luck with your new career!
Jan 24, 2012
Posted in Finance
Trading in the direction of the dominant market trend is often said to be one of the most profitable ways in which to profit from Forex trading. But why is this and is there any truth in this age old axiom?
When you look closely at many of the Forex systems on the market you will find, at their heart, some form of trend based strategy. A trend is simply just another way of describing market direction and therefore logic dictates that in order to profit from currency trading then you are going to need to identify the direction in which it is going to move. Currency markets can be likened to a cruise liner in that it can take a long time for them to turn around. Therefore the theory of following trend based strategies is that it is more likely that a trend will continue than fundamentally change.
This is true to an extent. However the basis of this theory rests on the timeframe over which the trend is measured. It is common to make use of a moving average indicator in order to determine the trend with many Forex strategies. These can be configured to display the rate of price movement over a predetermined number of days. If short time durations are used, then the rate of change in the market will be displayed over a shorter timeframe. This will show a greater amount of fluctuation in the markets than if the time duration is raised.
Using a greater number of days in your moving average to find longer term trends provides a much more accurate method of trading trends. The rate of change in price will be much slower making it easier to identify strong trends to trade. Many Forex trading systems will seek confirmation of a dominant trend as a precursor to further market analysis. By trading with this approach it is possible to de-risk the strategy and give the backing of the market to any trade opportunities taken.
Jan 20, 2012
Posted in Jobs and Careers
Becoming an LPN has always been a rather straightforward process, however, with the advent of many accredited online LPN programs designed to help out those with existing full time jobs, or who have family obligations. While online training makes things easier for prospective nurses without much time, online LPN training also has several disadvantages as well.
Let’s first get into the benefits however. For starters, online LPN programs allow students to study and take tests online in a self paced manner, which offers extreme flexibility. Students decide when they study, how long they can study, and when they are ready to take the tests. However, not everyone has the discipline necessary to carry out a responsibility like that. Students must possess a high level of discipline. And if you’re already an LPN, there are several LPN to RN programs available.
Benefits of Online LPN Programs
- Students control their time and can study whenever they want, and how long you can study each day.
- Typically, online programs are much less expensive than physical classes.
- Flexibility. These courses allow you to decide where and when to take your exam courses. You can also keep your day job if you have one, to continue paying the bills, while working to get ahead at night.
- Location – It doesn’t matter where you study, I’ve studied in coffee shops, my home office, at friends houses, in the library, anywhere with an internet connection basically.
Of course, nothing is perfect, and online LPN programs have their fair share of disadvantages.
Here are several of the more obvious drawbacks to these flexible programs that most people haven’t even considered:
- There is a lack of student teacher interaction. Even though email and video is great, there’s nothing like one on one interaction, especially for those students that need after office hours help.
- As with the lack of teacher interaction, students don’t have an interaction with other students, study groups, and the like. While many students enjoy studying on their own, most students like to have study partners or groups and feel this is more effective for learning. This is not possible through online LPN programs.
- There is a delayed response when you have questions that need answering. Email of course is not real time communication, so having to wait for a teacher to respond is a real drag.
In conclusion, online LPN programs are great for the highly motivated individual who just has a lot going on with their schedule and needs the flexibility, but it’s not for everyone.
The good news is that these programs are relatively short, allowing students to get jobs and earning a generous LPN salary within mere months, as opposed to 4 years like a registered nurse.
Jan 18, 2012
Posted in Travel and Leisure
There are a lot of tourist attractions that you can find in the city of Victoria. If you are fond of doing shopping then you can visit the China Town. You can also enjoy variety of Chinese cuisine by visiting this popular tourist destination. You can also visit the inner Harbour. The Inner Harbour is also a popular place in Victoria. The Inner Harbour is filled with artists who are selling their artworks and crafts. Hence, if you are an art collector then the Inner Harbour should be included in your itinerary. However, before preparing your itinerary, you should first look for a hotel accommodation. Most, if not any, of the Hotel in Victoria have picturesque architectural designs. You can also find a lot of websites over the net that could provide you with the idea on which hotel is the best to stay at. Most of the websites have picture displays of the hotel thus giving you an idea of how the hotel actually looks like.
Jan 15, 2012
Posted in Diseases, Conditions and Treatments
What happens when you go to a party, someone has too much alcohol, and faints? Well, after checking the poor person, you realize that he or she is not actually breathing. Perhaps this would be a good time for CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation)? Probably. The problem is, you know how to perform CPR well enough, but you are afraid of being exposed to any diseases that he or she may have, by way of fluid transfer through the mouth.
Well, in order to avoid this scenario, one simply has to ensure that an ambu bag is always present in every CPR kit, to save the one who is doing the saving. An ambu bag is basically an impermeable layer of plastic, with an elongated, one-way valve that is put into the victims mouth. The saver then places the other end of the valve into his or her own mouth and can save the victim!
