Achieving the Work, Study and Family Balance

Fewer and fewer people can afford to leave their employment to enter fulltime continuing education. The current financial crisis and increasing unemployment levels throughout the world has left many feeling increasingly insecure. The flexibility of online training enables professionals to continue their employment while developing new skills and certifications to enable their career to progress and to help them achieve financial stability.

Health Care Professionals and Continuing Education

The Health Care Industry is constantly undergoing change as new technology is developed and new knowledge is learned. Healthcare providers have embraced online education as a means of adding new knowledge to their work practices and continuous improvement of their skill base. Some have taken the opportunity to diversify into other areas of practice, using the skills and knowledge they already have and adding new knowledge to prepare for a completely different career pathway.

Legal Nurse Consulting

Legal Nurse Consultants (LNC) are one group of nurses who embraced the benefits of continuing education and transferred their medical skills into the legal profession.

They use the specialized medical training they have received to provide essential under pinning knowledge to legal cases involving medical related situations. The Legal Nurse Consultant provides essential support to the attorney in cases of litigation, by acting as an expert witness.

Continuing Education and Legal Nurse Consultants

Nurses who choose to add a Legal Nurse Consultant qualification to their credentials undertake study which they can do online through a variety of courses offered by higher education facilities. Course options vary from basic to more advanced training, but for those studying online, a major benefit is the ability to continue working while studying.

Opportunities for Employment

Legal Nurse Consultants are just one of many subject choices that nurses and other healthcare professionals can study online to effect a career pathway change. Nurses may study to become Lactation Consultants, Nurse Practitioners or other careers with courses that extend their current qualifications. Other allied healthcare workers may continue to increases their education to enable them to move into higher responsibility and therefore higher paid positions.

Cost of Continuing Online Education

The cost of continuing online education is usually competitive with more the more conventional studies offered on location in a university. Students are usually able to self pace within a set study period. This may enable them to achieve a work-study-life balance that may elude other full time students

Healthcare Professionals And The Need For Continuing Education

As a professional in health care you have already proved your capability and will have already achieved the basic qualification or certification required for your job. But if you are considered an expert in your field, that usually carries with it an assumption that you follow the most modern, legal and certified practices available. And to do that, it’s essential that you stay trained in the latest developments in the industry. That can be difficult sometimes if you work a full week, and possibly have to care for a family, but it is possible with all of the great schools and organizations that will work around your schedule to help get you trained. If you’re a healthcare professional, let’s look at why you should think about updating your credentials, and how to go about it.

Why Continue Your Education?

Your professional organization will require its members to be updated in their qualifications and skills so that they’ll be able to represent the profession well. It may be that your particular profession is governed by a practitioner’s license or certification that requires periodical renewal. Quite simply these are mandatory in order to continue practicing and the renewal will require that you have current knowledge.

In all sectors, there are continuous movements with changing standards, developments, technological advancements and amendments to new governing laws. A professional must keep abreast of the changes and adapt to them as required. This is crucial to the health and medical field because of the sensitivity of the work. Your professional association will keep you up to date with changes and their relevance to you. Or you might want to consider your continuing education because you want to specialize in one area that is related to your field or you may be looking to add additional skills to increase your employability and earning potential.

How To Continue Your Education

Your professional association will provide invaluable advice for what you have to do to be compliant with any required changes, and also will provide the resources you need to advance your skills. Most associations also run regular update courses, refreshers, conferences and seminars. If the on-site academic route is not your preferred choice then you can consider on the job training, part-time or evening courses or even home-based learning. If you want to learn a new skill the method you choose will be dependent on your individual circumstances and what facilities are available to you.

Beyond the Five Stages of Grief: Helping Professionals and Bereavement Counseling

One of the most important functions that a health professionals can provide is counseling and compassion in times of loss. In addition to offering the spiritual comfort that clergy may offer, counselors, social workers, psychologists, physicians, nurses, and other helping professionals can also help a grieving individual or family if they have a deeper understanding of the bereavement process.

While the ground-breaking book on stages of grief by Elisabeth-Kubler Ross was an important step forward, the research into the grieving and healing process continues to add to our appreciation for both the similarities and differences in the stages across different persons.

As most know, Kubler-Ross began by defining the five stages of grief for those with terminal illnesses, and then generalized it to all important losses, including death and even loss of a job.

(A recent pundit suggests that even political losses can invoke the grieving process.)

The stages are follows:

1. Denial, in which the person refuses to believe what is happening

2. Anger, which the person recognizes the loss or impending loss and now feels rage and envy.

3. Bargaining, in which the person hopes to negotiate a deal, e.g., postponement of the loss in return for good behavior

4. Depression, which involves understanding the inevitable and loses hope.

5. Acceptance, in which the person comes to terms with the inevitable and becomes more present

It is important to know that Kubler-Ross did not say that these stages were an immutable road that all grieving persons travel down. She does day, though, that individuals will experience at least two. The order and duration varies from person to person, she explained, though many are unaware of that caveat.

Also, simply being aware of the stages does not provide the healer with the perspective or tools for responding to each of them. In order to provide the most meaningful kind of help at times of death or other losses, a well-grounded training is essential.

Courses in thanatology and grief counseling (also known as bereavement counseling) can add immeasurably to the understanding and competence of ministers, counselors, hospice workers, and others who find themselves in frequent contact with those who are suffering from terminal illnesses, impending death, death of loved ones, and other significant losses.

Finances Top List of Stressors in US

What are the top life stressors these days in the United States?

Health care professionals will want to see the results of the new survey from a leading non-profit mental health organization, Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association). Whether you are a registered nurse, a licensed social worker, a psychologist, a pastor, or even a fitness consultant, these data provide a glimpse of stress today.

As the MHA president, David L. Shern observes, “The majority of Americans struggles to find balance in the face of a multitude of challenges in our busy society.

“How they choose to cope – whether it is distracting activities, exercise, talking through their troubles or more harmful measures of smoking and doing drugs – affects their mental health. If inappropriately or inadequately addressed, chronic stress and other mental health problems jeopardize the health and well-being of Americans and of the nation as a whole,” he added

The Top Three Stressors: Finances, Health, and Jobs

In general, despite rating their mental health and well-being as excellent or very good, over half of Americans report feeling stress from financial, employment, and health issues on a daily basis.

1. Finances.

Finances, not surprisingly these days, come out on top, stressing 48 percent of Americans overall. However across demographic groups, a different picture emerges. Over 55 percent of African Americans and Native Americans report feeling stressed by finances compared to 49 percent of Latinos, 47 percent of non-Hispanic Whites, and 42 percent of Asians.

2. Health.

For 34 percent, health issues were listed as significant stressors overall and came in second.

3. Employment

Employment issues, including on-the-job stress and unemployment stress, were named as a major stress by 32 percent of Americans.

More Stress Findings

Interestingly, parents turn out to be the group reporting the most stress. Almost 40 percent experience stress from three or more sources, including family relationships, work, and finances.

The demographic groups overall reported the following degree of stress: Native Americans, 37 percent, and African Americans, 38 percent, Latinos, 34 percent, Asians, 34 percent, and non-Hispanic Whites, 30 percent.

The survey found that college graduates felt less stress overall and were less likely to consider financial issues stressful.

Finally, a high proportion (72 percent) of those suffering from mental illnesses were especially likely to report stress in their close relationships. T percent) and health stress (48 percent).hey also reported work stress (

. People with mental illness also feel stressed by employment, 47 percent, and health, 48 percent.

Given the high percentages of Americans who experience stress, professional health care providers can really benefit from the current training in stress management. Check out your local options as well as distance education courses. You may discover that you can start using the coping principles on yourself as the holidays arrive!

Social Work Case Management: Training for Optimal Outcomes

In social work, case management can involve a wide variety of activities in practice, yet overall is defined by its aim of assessing client needs, and as appropriate, arranging, coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and advocating for services to meet those identified complex needs. To successfully fulfill the goal of providing quality services effectively to “optimize” the client’s life, a social worker needs to keep apprised of the developments in best practices in case management practices through continuing professional development. This may be through online courses specifically developed for health care professionals.

Unlike case management in other professions, a social work case manager focuses both on the client as a whole person as well as on the encompassing social system. Thus the provided services may be provided through a single agency or be diffused across several organizations. The National Association of Social Workers thus describes social work case management as both “micro and macro in nature.” To work at both those levels requires a sophistication particular to the field.

The complexity of the social worker’s professional obligation necessitates thus both a broad knowledge of the service systems as well as a detailed knowledge of individual and family functioning. Being able to create and maintain a therapeutic relationship with clients while connecting them with needed resources requires training, supervision, practice, and continual professional development.

Particularly useful in developing expertise for the licensed social worker are courses in continuing education that offer a thorough grounding in the principles and practices of case management. A thorough program will also include coverage of concepts and theories, with an eye to the legal and ethical issues involved, as well as the definition and measurement of outcomes.

The National Association of Social Workers provides a clear statement of goals that should be at the forefront of case management training for social workers. In striving to create an optimal outcome for the client and the client’s family, the goals, as stated by the NSWA include enhancing client coping capacities, facilitating the delivery of resources, and contributing to continued development of social policy.

As noted by the NSWA, social workers at times fulfills any of a variety of roles, including “advocate, broker, diagnostician, planner, community organizer, evaluator, consultant, and therapist.“ Dedicated social workers find themselves faced with highly complex tasks for which the utmost preparation is needed. Training and indeed certification in case management can prove a valuable support to a unique profession that provides highly valuable services to some of society’s most marginalized individuals.

Four Reasons to Shift to Legal Nurse Consulting

After years of working long hard shifts as a nurse, I finally decided to take charge of my future. I really loved my direct work with patients, but realized that the stress was getting to me.

After researching my alternatives, I discovered a wonderful way to leverage all my hard won expertise that allows me to be my own boss and make a great living doing what I love. How did I do it? I took distance courses in order to become a certified legal nurse consultant.

If you are a registered nurse who is looking for a change, you should take a look at the benefits of switching to legal nurse consulting. Here are some of the benefits:

1. You are your own boss.

Because you are an independent consultant, you take on only the cases you want, when you want them. Imagine getting to choose your clients for a change!

2. You get to set your schedule.

No more tiring shifts, no more working overtime when your family needs you, during holidays, or when you really deserve that vacation. The more you work, the more you earn—and you get to decide.

3. Excellent pay.

Legal nurse consultants can charge $150 to $300 an hour for their expert services. By becoming certified and getting experience, you enhance your earnings considerably.

4. Sense of pride and meaning.

You will be offering important services that are highly valued by your clients—attorneys—and their clients, who rely on your ability to shed light on important medical legal cases.

4. Less stress, more fun.

When you have more control over your work conditions, including your hours, your associates, and your location, you experience a lot less stress and a lot more satisfaction. You will find yourself energized “getting into flow” as you integrate your health and medical expertise in a new way.

If this sounds good to you, then check out the courses or trainings that allow you to make a confident transition. Educational opportunities abound. Distance learning programs on line in legal nurse consulting works best if you have geographic or time restrictions, as I did.

A word to the wise: While certification is not required in order to practice as a legal nurse consultant, you might want to consider it. Going this extra mile shows extra dedication to your profession and will likely pay for itself many times over. I know that it has changed my life, and I hope it does the same for you!

Hypnotherapy: A Versatile Health Care Tool

What do all of these ailments have in common?

· Irritable bowel syndrome

· Tension headaches

· Alopecia areata

· Asthma

· Phobias

· Insomnia

· Addictions

· Bedwetting

· Fibromyalgia

· Phobias

· Labor and delivery

· Skin disorders [such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema (atopic dermatitis)]

· Stress

· Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

· Cancer-related pain

· Weight loss

· Eating disorders

· Warts

· Indigestion (dyspepsia)

Every one of these has been treated successfully with hypnotherapy . For over half a century, it has been a recognized therapy by both the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. In fact, over 10 years ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began recommending

hypnotherapy

as a treatment for chronic pain.

Myths abound about hypnosis

, so let’s dispel a few. First of all, a hypnotist cannot control a person’s mind or free will. When hypnotized, the person is in a state of deep relaxation and a very focused state of consciousness, but it is not some kind of bewitched trance. Actually, through hypnosis, one can learn to master one’s state of awareness and control bodily functions and psychological responses, thus its popularity in treating anxiety and addictions.

Also, no swinging pendulum is necessary to achieve a hypnotic state, although some people may prefer to do it in the classic fashion by the grandfather of hypnotherapy, Franz Anton Mesmer, an 18^th century Austrian physician, from whom we get the word “mesmerized.” Since 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended hypnotherapy as a treatment for chronic pain.

Hypnosis works by helping us revisit events that may have caused unhealthy psychological reactions, some of which then have physical components. The therapist presents images or words than lead you to become very physically relaxed while your thoughts become more focused. In this highly alert state, many become very responsive to suggestion, e.g., that you now abhor the taste of cigarettes. Or those with panic attacks may be given the relevant suggestion that they will now be able to relax at any time. While some people respond well to hypnotic suggestion, others may not react as well.

Hypnotherapists generally teach their patients or clients the basics of self-hypnosis, often with audiotapes for home use, so that the learning can be reinforced at home. This can enhance the sense of control, which is especially important in cases of chronic pain.

Therapy sessions generally last about an hour, and many see results in four to ten sessions. Children may respond even faster. Hypnosis is used in a variety of settings by health care professionals in places such as emergency rooms to dental offices to outpatient clinics. Clinical studies suggest that hypnosis may improve immune function, increase relaxation, decrease stress, and ease pain and feelings of anxiety, e.g., before medical or dental procedures.

A number of health care service providers find hypnotherapy a useful tool for helping their patients. Hypnotherapists include physicians, registered nurses, social workers, psychologists, counselors, as well as dentists and podiatrists. Training and certification in hypnotherapy is available from a variety of reputable institutions for those who wish to offer this ancient yet very modern healing strategy.

The Who, What, When, Where, Why & How of Case Management

With the increasing concern throughout the country over cost-effective health care, qualified case managers are very much in demand in health care services. This is true in areas ranging from nursing to social services. Accordingly, here is an introduction to the Who, What, Where of case management and the How of becoming a certified case manager in health services.

Who. The term “case manager” applies to anyone whose role in health care services includes coordinating the program of care from inception to termination of care. This includes not only experienced nurses, but also social workers, geriatric counselors, occupational and respiratory therapists, etc., with a more programmatic approach to case management theory and skills.

What. Case managers function much like project managers in non-health industries, with responsibility for coordinating the delivery of health care services. Given the intricacies of health care systems, effective management requires an understanding of systems, reimbursements, legal issues, and professional practice issues. Anyone who has dealt with Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and commercial carries can appreciate the importance of expertise in these areas.

Where. Case managers work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, out-patient settings, and even homes. Case management involves identifying specific health care needs, designing a treatment plan, and implementing it to produce cost-effective outcomes for health care.

How. Additionally, given the ethical issues and dilemmas that can occur in providing services that involve serving human needs, case management involves an understanding of legal issues and risk management. Special attention is usually given to the processes of team work groups, discharge planning, disease management, and outcomes management. Case managers must be involved in the quality improvement process, both definition and measurement. Advanced training may involve learning about complimentary health care and its modalities.

Why. The “Why” in case management should be clear by now. Through deliberate planning and integration of services, the needs of health care consumers and provider systems can be better optimized.

How does one become a case manager? While some health care professionals may have learned to do this on the job, there are now several training options. Educational programs in case management have been designed to offer certifications and even master’s degrees. For busy professionals, online courses provide greater accessibility to the material that will allow them to add evidence-based structures and objective outcome goals to the planning and implementation of health care services.

Those wishing to pursue a credentialing or degree program in health care case management will find many continuing education events, seminars, courses, independent study programs, and other opportunities, both face-to face and through distance learning. Checking into the stability and reputation of the educational providers can help ensure that it is a quality program that will open further career opportunities.

7 Tips for Evaluating Continuing Education for Health Care Professionals

With the explosion in knowledge and the demand for better trained professionals, many health care and mental health care professionals seek continuing education opportunities to better serve their patients and clients.

Psychologists, counselors, social workers, physicians, nurses, as well as related professionals often find that they need to broaden their base of expertise, to receive certification in a particular specialty, or to get recertified.

To meet this growing need, numerous certification programs have sprung for such specialties as hypnotherapy, grief therapy, legal nurse consulting, forensic nursing, stress management,

and even spiritual counseling. Before you invest your valuable time and money, how can you evaluate any particular program? How can you be sure that it is a recognized, quality program that meets your needs? Here are some recommended ways to check.

1. Investigate the quality of the institution itself. Do a Google search or other web search with the name of the institution in quotation marks. See what kind of hits you get. Does its name appear with other known entities, e.g., academic institutions, professional organizations, conferences, government websites, news media, etc? Make note of any forums where it may be discussed. Is it listed in any recognized publication as a provider of continuing education?

2. Verify any institutional affiliations. If the institute claims, for example, to be recognized by relevant bodies, you can generally verify that by an email or call to the latter as misuse of logos does happen.

3. Check out the faculty. Who is doing the teaching? What kind of professional education do they have? Do they have the highest recognized degrees or certification in that field? Where do the faculty work, e.g., at reputable medical centers or institutions? Do internet searches on the persons you plan to study with--and look for the same kind of data as above. Look for any of their publications as well.

4. Ask for references and recommendations. Ask for contact data of prior graduates who have received certification who would be willing to share their opinion about the instruction, benefits, and so on. You might also ask persons in the field that you already know if they have any knowledge of the institute(s) you are considering.

5. How long has it been operating? While new institutes may offer excellent programs, you do want to make sure that the one you choose has been in operation long enough to show the stability necessary to finish any program you start and to give you continued recognition afterward.

6. Ask how the education is delivered. Make sure that the courses are offered in a format that works for you. Some may be internet based, others may be teleconferences. Ask about class size, homework, required materials, etc.

7. Be smart about money. Make sure you know the total price of everything necessary for an individual course or for certification before you start. Payment should be through normal channels (e.g., credit card information via secure internet sites or fax, checks sent to domestic address payable to the institution, etc.). Ask about any satisfaction-money back guarantees—how do they actually work?

When you find an institute that passes your inspection, you are more likely to have a valuable educational experience that contributes to your professional expertise.

Legal Nurse Consultant: An Exciting New Career for R.N.s

If you watch television courtroom dramas, you’ve probably seen numerous cases where a bearded, bespectacled physician takes the stand is asked to give his opinion on a case. While that certainly occurs, there are also other professionals who offer their expertise to the legal community in real life in the interest of justice.

Among them are legal nurse consultants, or LNCs. An LNC is registered nurse (R.N.) who has received special training to serve as a consultant for medical-related legal cases. R.N.s who practice legal nurse consulting

assist in understanding the medical records, medical terminology, and health care issues in service of their clients, both plaintiffs and defendants.

While attorneys are the legal experts, the LNC contributes his or her knowledge on nursing and health care

systems and issues. Thus they are in a better position to evaluate the merit of a potential case, review relevant records, identify the standards of care, as well as prepare reports regarding extent of injuries or illness. Though most work behind the scenes, they may also serve as expert witness or help identify appropriate experts.

Other types of clients include insurance companies, healthcare facilities, government agencies, and private corporations designing strategies for risk management and other legal-health issues.

When there are complicated cases involving medical issues, the legal nurse consultant forms part of the necessary litigation team that the case attorney assembles. Certified Legal Nurse consultants may charge fees of $125 to $150 per hour, which is very cost-effective for attorneys. They may work in urban or rural areas, and most work independently from home. This is a profession that allows many nurses options for a flexible, profitable, and satisfying either part-time or full-time.

To perform the work requires training, and indeed there are educational and certification programs for LNCs. While certification is not required, it is highly recommended. Courses of study include health care and nursing law, coverage of dominant kinds of cases, legal issues of practice, ethics, case analysis, report writing, preparation for expert testimony, and other topics for preparation as an independent consultant. These programs are generally offered through distance learning.

Legal Nurse Consultants may join the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC), a not-for-profit membership organization “dedicated to the professional enhancement and growth of registered nurses practicing in the specialty area of legal nurse consulting and to advancing this nursing specialty