The healthcare industry, unlike other industries in today’s economic climate, is becoming one of fastest growing in terms of the job market. With much of the population aging and younger generations having children of their own, the need for healthcare professionals is required now more than ever. Many healthcare professions can be obtained with just a few years of schooling, allowing students to enter the lucrative healthcare job market fairly quickly. Here are some of the best healthcare jobs for new graduates.
1. Medical Assistant
The need for medical assistants is growing at an increasing rate. Medical assistants complete office tasks, such as answering phones and filing records while also assisting with patient care by taking blood pressure or taking vital signs. This profession is very versatile and is perfect for the individual who enjoys multitasking and variety throughout the work day.
2. Dental Hygienist
Dental hygienists are focused on both preventative care of the teeth and removal of stains and plaque from the mouth. This profession can be quite lucrative and is an in demand profession due to the growing population. Recent research has provided statistics which prove that many diseases can be prevented with proper oral care, so dental offices have been busier than ever.
3. Registered Nurse
Registered nursing is becoming one of the most in demand health careers in the healthcare industry. Nurses who have a bachelor’s in nursing are commonly seen in hospitals and physician’s offices, but many are branching out into home health care, nurse management, executive healthcare positions, and healthcare education. Registered nursing degrees are extremely versatile and may open many doors. Once you are a nurse, you can also go from an RN to BSN online and further your chances of a successful nursing career.
4. Physical Therapist
As much of the population ages, the need for physical therapists is increasing. Physical therapists focus on rehabilitation of the body after an injury or illness. This profession typically pays a better than average salary, and it requires about four years of schooling.
5. Pharmacy Technician
Pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists by counting, measuring, and mixing medications. They do not typically consult with patients the way pharmacists do, but the job is still very important due to the constant changes in types of medications. Pharmacy technicians can choose to work in retail pharmacies, hospitals, or other medical institutions.
When thinking about a career path, consider a job in the healthcare industry. These professions can be very lucrative and extremely rewarding at the same time. Additionally, the need for healthcare professionals is expected to grow at an alarming rate, allowing students to find a job quickly.
It is estimated that around half of the households in the UK have a pet. There are more than 7 million dogs alone, many nationalities, including the British love their pets. They are very much part of our family and the health benefits we enjoy as a result are well known. It is proven that pet owners have lower stress levels. An extensive study conducted in 2012 identified that children living in homes with a dog have considerably less respiratory problems and ear infections than others. There are risks however, particularly for children, so it is important that we understand them and take the necessary precautions.
Allergies
The main issues are allergies and the transfer of diseases and infections. Animal allergens are transferred from the coat, saliva, skin and urine of our pets. Such allergens can trigger allergic reactions at any stage in life although allergies usually start in childhood.
It is not advisable to sleep with your animals, allocating pet free zones particularly bedrooms is strongly recommended. Rigorous hand washing after handling pets is important especially before eating. Regular washing of pet bedding will assist as will hard floors as an alternative to carpets.
Infections
The infections that can be passed to us are viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal in origin. To be at risk of infection you need to be in close contact with the animal. On a basic level this is as simple as stroking their fur and not washing your hands. Touching faeces, being bitten or scratched and allowing cross contamination from food bowls are critical risk areas.
Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin; sufferers generally work with animals and therefore have high exposure levels.
Toxocariasis is an infection caused by worms in both dogs and cats, transfer only occurs with direct faecal contact. Similarly toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite found in cat faeces.
Pathogens such as salmonella can also be carried and therefore transferred from an animal mouth, fur and paws.
Professor Paul Dawson of Clemson University (USA) conducted a detailed study in 2006 that involved contaminating surfaces with salmonella. The salmonella pathogen was deliberately placed on ceramic floor tiles, wooden floors and nylon carpet. Microbe tests showed that levels of salmonella were in fact still present on these surfaces 28 days after contamination! The test environment was dry, bacteria however survives for longer in damp and moist conditions. It is clear that any such bacteria brought in by our pets will survive for a long time in our homes.
Not touching our beloved pets is plainly not an option so what can we do to minimise the health risks?
• Ensure that all pets are constantly inoculated and wormed
• Implement a flea protection regime
• Make sure hands are thoroughly washed after touching pets and their feed bowls.
• Get into the habit of not touching animals and then touching your face
• Pick up animal faeces promptly and wear gloves.
• Wash animal bedding regularly
• Keep pets off food preparation surfaces and table tops
• Use anti-bacterial products on work surfaces and tables
• Clean floors with disinfectant
• Don’t let animals eat from your plates and keep their food bowls separately
• Vacuum carpets regularly, vacuum up to the edges and underneath furniture
• If carpets and upholstery are regularly used by pets consider a deep clean using an extraction method.
Pets enrich our lives, it is inconceivable to many that they become absent from our lives. After all we domesticated them; they quickly became ideal partners for humans. The roles they play in our lives are wide and varied; from a blind dog to a lap dog for a lonely old person they bring us love, joy and devotion every day.
Bio – Written by Karen James, Mother, Grandmother, dog lover and prolific writer for health and
cleaning service companies across the UK
Women are still being dealt with by many of the same standards and methods as men are, but more and more we’re seeing that this isn’t working for women. This is particularly true where pain in concerned.
Medical treatment developed for men often doesn’t work so well for women. For instance, though women respond differently to drugs, many drugs are tested only on men. Men metabolize some things faster than we women. We metabolize other things faster than men. We don’t respond as well to anesthesia or ibuprofen.
According to a review in the Journal of Pain, 2009, women have three times the risk for autoimmune diseases in general than men. Women have twice the risk for multiple sclerosis. We have two to three times the risk for rheumatoid arthritis. We have four times the risk for chronic fatigue syndrome than men.
There are a variety of autoimmune conditions, with a vast array of possible symptoms. One thing that is basic to an autoimmune disease is a tendency toward inflammation. Inflammation can cause pain along with heat, redness and swelling in various areas of the body. Joint pain is common with some autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
The Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health has called autoimmunity a major health issue for women.
Prejudice within the medical community is still entrenched where women’s health problems are concerned.
A 2011 study from the Institute of Medicine called Relieving Pain in America indicated that women experience greater pain, and that a woman’s pain is more likely to be shrugged off by health care professionals than a man’s.
In another study The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women in the Treatment of Pain it was seen that women are not as likely as men to receive treatment that is thorough and agressive. Their stated pain is more likely to be waved away as being emotional, and not considered to be genuine pain.
Women’s treatment can then become mental health treatment simply because a health care provider believed them to be emotional and exaggerating their experience of pain. The actual condition a woman is suffering from never gets treated as she is treated like a malinger by the health care providers she has turned to.
Abdominal pain is still often automatically attributed to “female problems” meaning gynecological issues. This can make diagnosis and treatment for serious health problems like appendicitis or gastorintestinal conditions slow and less effective.
According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) women are three times more likely to suffer from autoimmune conditions than men. Autoimmune diseases are in the top ten causes of death for American women 65 years old and younger. They are also the fourth largest source of disablity for American women.
In 2001, an Autoimmune Diseases Association survey found that almost half of autoimmune patients were quickly labeled as chronic complainers and their symptoms were not taken seriously by health care providers.
The journal Academic Emergency Medicine published a 2008 study which illustrated that women were 13-25 percent less likely to receive medication for severe pain, and when they do get it, they will have had to wait for 16 minutes more on average than a man would to get them.
More than 100 chronic conditions have autoimmune underlying causes. In autoimmune conditions, the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s organs. While women’s immune systems are more effective than men’s in many cases, women are also more vulnerable to autoimmune issues.
Sources:
The Gender Gap in Pain. NYTimes.com. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/opinion/sunday/women-and-the-treatment…
Understanding Autoimmune Diseases. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. NIAMS.NIH.gov. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/Autoimmune/
Autoimmunity: A Major Women’s Health Issue. AARDA.org. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
https://www.aarda.org/women_and_autoimmunity.php
Hormones and Genes Alter Brain’s Pain System. About.com. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/sci/0303/blpain0303.htm
Visit Jody’s website and blog at http://www.ncubator.ca and http://ncubator.ca/blogger
Reviewed May 15, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
On Mother’s Day I sat and reflected on all the fabulous women that have raised me up into adulthood. As I reflected on these women I realized that I am blessed because so many of my “mothers” cultivated healthy aging and long lives. My god-grandmother was 106 when she passed away.
What are the common threads that created healthy aging into their 80s or 90s and beyond? It was their healthy behaviors.
On my grandmother’s ninety-ninth birthday her friends came over to see her and pray with her. As they were sitting around her bed they were laughing and talking about their childhoods.
Somehow they got into a discussion about having to deliver money to pay the families’ bills. They chuckled as they recounted how their moms would give them a nickel to take a cab to go to the corner store a few miles away to pay the bill. They would pocket the money and walk instead.
They grew up walking from necessity but it helped them stay healthy and fit, too.
Even today one of my favorite ladies at 89 walks or takes the bus everywhere. When my grammy was still alive she would walk a mile and half to visit with my grandmother and then walk home after the visit!
In today’s society we marvel at women that live well into old age thinking they have some special gene pool that has prevented them from chronic disease. The truth is they followed the basic principles of health they move their bodies.
There are many benefits walking on a daily basis. Here are just a few:
• It reduces chronic disease like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain.
• It reduces stress.
• It improves sleep.
• It helps with memory.
• It strengthens your immune system.
If you are concerned about healthy aging, consider walking for 20 minutes every day. Not only is it great exercise, you can also do it with friends, family, or your pets.
Such a simple exercise has helped the “mothers” in my family live into their 80s and beyond with minimal medications. I call that a natural cure, for sure!
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Daemon Jones
Dr. Dae’s website: www.HealthyDaes.org
Download one of Dr. Dae’s books: Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living or Stress Relieving Recipes: Using Food to Keep you Calm, @ www.HealthyDaes.org
Dr. Dae’s Bio:
Dr. Daemon Jones is a Naturopathic Physician who treats patients all over the country using Skype and phone visits. She helps her patients cultivate health and feel great, using a combination of safe and effective naturopathic and conventional methods.
Sources:
“Healthy Aging.” NIHSeniorHealth Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/category/healthyaging.html
“Healthy Aging: MedlinePlus.” National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthyaging.html
“Healthy aging – MayoClinic.com.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-aging/MY00374
Oz, Mehmet C., MD, Michael F. Roizen, and MD. “Walking Benefits – Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen on Benefits of Walking – RealAge.” RealAge: Health Assessments & Tips, Health Information – Grow Younger. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
http://www.realage.com/walking/walking-benefits
Reviewed May 15, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
Color is a part of our everyday life. But it does more than add variety and visual stimulation to our life. It can actually affect our mood, health, and happiness. How you may ask? Here are four fascinating ways that color affects us on a daily basis.
Color Affects Our Perception
The military, for example, understands how the greens and blues of uniforms call respect to mind in soldiers facing those uniforms, but greens and blues in the base hospital are calming. Nursing scrubs come in colors dedicated to restfulness and peace. Police uniforms are neutral tans or browns or navy blues. Restaurant uniforms are usually navy blue or tan or black. People wearing these colors are perceived as protective and professional. It’s amazing how much of our lives is actually organized by color without us realizing it. Color does affect our perception, and we should be aware of it.
Color Improves Health
Researchers at MIT know that color affects body functions and illnesses. Colors are being used in treating diseases. Called photobiology, research is showing that colors affect brain waves, blood pressure, respiratory characteristics and circulation. While photobiology remains in the realm of psychological effects, there is some evidence it has a physical effect. Color is known to have an effect on the endocrine system, which is controlled by hormones in the brain and thyroid. Colors are perceived by the brain, which sends messages to the thyroid that something needs healing.
Other examples include Russia, who uses ultraviolet light for their miners. This, they believe, prevents lung diseases. Blue appears to heal many ills. Bridges in England are painted blue to eliminate suicide attempts. Blue light is now used for newborn babies with jaundice.
Color Affects Appetite
Did you know that the restaurants you regularly attend likely use color to make you hungrier? Restaurants have known that the colors red and yellow stimulate appetite, so they will use that to make customers want to eat more of their food. Take McDonald’s for example. Red and yellow are their base colors, and they cover their restaurants in these two colors. So if you suddenly feel hungrier once inside McDonald’s, color may be a part of that.
Conversely, blue and green are likely to suppress your appetite. So if you’re trying to lose weight and eat fewer calories, consider putting yourself in an environment of comforting blue and green colors that are likely to suppress your appetite and help you eat less. You can also paint your kitchen these colors if you are overly concerned about eating too much at meal times.
Color Can Improve Behavior
Research in Canada shows that school children benefit from changes in the color of their classroom. Their classroom was changed from orange to light and dark blue. The children were tested and it was found their behavior improved due to a drop in blood pressure. The darker color stimulated the children, whereas the cooler colors calmed them.