Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Is Medical Assistant career worth of your time and money?

Is Medical Assistant career worth of your time and money? I would say it is if you have invested no money at all to learn how to become a Medical Assistant. Even though Medical Assistant has an outstanding job outlook, it pays not enough to pay your bills including your student loan. It’s not a good idea to go to private school and enroll into Medical Assisting program which usually last from 10 months to two years in some schools, ridiculous isn’t it? There are so many ways to screw people up, but this is the worst way obviously.
Some of these schools will probably telling you that Medical Assisting is the first step or stepping stone towards other great careers in healthcare, nursing, rad tech, ultrasound tech etc. Wrong information to misguide you for pocketing profit; don’t believe a single word what the schools are saying for their enrollments. Medical Assisting is an entry level career in healthcare setting, typically work in doctors offices, responsible for wide range of front office and back office functions. Front office duties include appointment setting, telephone medical assessment, minor medical billing and coding. Whereas, back office tasks include assisting in taking vital signs, administering ECGs and Phlebotomy. There are many medical assistants working for years with no progression at their jobs. The only way to advance them is going back to school again with zero credit transfer. Because most of the Medical Assisting classes are not transferable towards nursing or any other healthcare related associate degree programs.

What is your situation? Are you a high school student enrolled into allied health program. Take advantage of learning medical assisting. This will help you to get a job right after you finish the program with at least $9 per hour. You are young, this will help you to taste the water of healthcare industry and get your feet wet. And also you will be able to to pay some of your bills while you are in college studying high demand and high income potential career, nursing or pre-medicine. Read my blog for top 8 health care career (listed at the end) with an associate’s degree. For more information.

If you are a career changer or in a situation where you need a job with at least $20 per hour salary in order to be a provider for your family, then obviously medical assisting is not the way to go. You probably need to go to your community college or a private college with reasonable tuition to enroll into RN, LPN, Rad tech, MRI tech, Ultrasound tech, Physical therapy assistant, Respiratory Therapist, Occupational Therapy Assistant or Dental Hygiene programs. They are in high demand and high income potential. It might be harder to enroll into these programs without completing prerequisite classes. Don’t feel bad about it. Nothing can be achieved following short cut route. The longer route of starting with basic pre requisite classes may be harder, time consuming and challenging, but it can take you to your desired career goal, and thus helping you and your family financially with minimum debt.

How do I become a medical assistant with zero money? You do not need an associate’s degree to become a medical assistant. If you really like to be one, go to your community college and enroll into one of their medical programs. You can probably become a Medical Assistant with very little or no money if you can get financial aid. Do not enroll into a private college and invest $10,000 to become a medical assistant, unless you enjoy taking out student loan and get stuck with a fat bill for no reason.


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Is Your School Accredited? How do I find or verify Accreditation?

When you are searching for a college, how do you verify if your chosen college has the right institutional accreditation. The importance of institutional accreditation is huge. Depending on what the accreditation is, you will be able to advance your education or apply for certain employments. For instance, most of the federal or state employers, fortune 500 companies and fastest growing  companies are looking for graduates from regionally accredited colleges. Tuition reimbursement from employers helps students like you and me to clear our student loans and not get inundated with bad debts, thus saving our credit score and become more financially independent. Most human resource departments of renowned companies set guidelines for tuition reimbursements, which are applied only for regionally accredited college’ graduates. As you can see, the importance of choosing the right institutional accreditation, regional accreditation.


It's not our fault that we do not know how to find the right accreditation. Many times we relied on resources provided by colleges at their websites. Colleges who are not regionally accredited, don’t disclose the information or put it in fine print. Many colleges will tell you that they are accredited. However, your next question towards them should be, “ what type of accreditation your college has? Is it regional?” Many colleges have national accreditation, which is not the same as regional accreditation. You have to understand the difference between the regional and national accreditation. Here is a prime example.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan of Illinois state on Jany, 2012 filed a lawsuit against the national, for-profit college Westwood for engaging in deceptive practices that left Chicago area students with up to $70,000 each in debt for degrees that failed to qualify them for careers in criminal justice.
Madigan’s lawsuit alleges that, through marketing its criminal justice program, Westwood falsely convinced students they could pursue a law enforcement career with agencies such as the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and suburban police departments, even though those employers don’t recognize a Westwood degree due to its lack of regional accreditation.


What is regional accreditation?
Regional accreditation is the educational accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities in the United States by one of twelve regional accrediting agencies. Each regional accreditor oversees the vast majority of public and private educational institutions, both not-for-profit and for-profit, within its region.
The accrediting organizations identified in this directory are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).  


Regional Accrediting Organizations 2015-2016
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Scope of Accreditation
Associate degree-granting institutions in California, Hawaii, the Territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. (2003)

Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, January 2015
Scope of Accreditation
Degree granting institutions incorporated in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming or federally authorized sovereign nations that are authorized (licensed) by the same state or nation to award higher degrees (associate, baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees (both research and professional)). (2012)

Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
Scope of Accreditation
Degree-granting institutions which offer one or more postsecondary educational programs, including those offered via distance education, of at least one academic year in length in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other geographical areas outside the United States in which the Commission conducts accrediting activities. (2013)

New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC-CIHE)
Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, September 2013
Scope of Accreditation
The accreditation of institutions that award the bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and associate's degree-granting institutions that include in their offerings at least one program in liberal studies or another area of study widely available at the baccalaureate level of regionally accredited colleges and universities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and internationally. (2013)

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Scope of Accreditation
Regional accrediting body for degree-granting institutions of higher education in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Latin America, and other Commission approved international sites, including the accreditation of programs offered via distance and correspondence education within these institutions. (2014)

WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
Scope of Accreditation
Baccalaureate degree or higher institutions in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Basin; institutions that offer programs outside the United States when such institutions are capable of being reviewed effectively by WASC processes. (2014)

How do I find out my school's’ accreditation?



Answer is very simple. Now that you know the accrediting organisation, click at the website and look for the listing of the schools. Here is an example of how  you can find the step by step guide to find out your school’ accreditation.


Jane lives in Chicago, Illinois. She is trying to enroll into Elmhurst College. She wants to know the if Elmhurst College is regionally accredited.
Step 1:


Jane clicked on Higher Learning Commission's website.




The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the North Central region, which includes the following 19 states (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming).
Step 2:


Jane clicked the HLC institution tab and then open up the search page for HLC institutions:


Step 3:
Jane insert ELmhurst College in Illinois and found out that the school is in accredited status with HLC.


Once you conduct a search once, the next search will be piece of cake.


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Monday, May 2, 2016

How to become a Registered Yoga Teacher?

If you are reading this blog, you probably want to become a yoga teacher. Whenever I meet yoga teachers, I can feel how passionate they are about yoga. Nowadays, I know many like you who want to become a yoga teacher. This blog will help you with all the information that you need to  know to find the right program that you are looking for, before you invest your hard earned money with any school that popped up at your neighborhood. 

Your first step is to click the link below to join Yoga Alliance. 

https://www.yogaalliance.org/Credentialing/Credentials_for_Teachers 

A yoga teacher who registers with the Yoga Alliance Registry earns the title of Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT®) and may publish his or her online profile on our Directory. The teacher Registry is not a certification program; it is a listing of teachers who meet our minimum Requirements for teaching experience and have completed their trainings at a Registered Yoga School (RYS®).  

You cannot apply to become a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT®) if you have completed your education with a school which is not a Registered Yoga School (RYS®).

There are several credential available for teachers. The Yoga Alliance offers several credentials that require a minimum of between 200 and 500 hours, with a specified number of hours in techniques, teaching methods, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, and other areas.

Two specialty designations are also available:
  • Registered Children's Yoga Teacher (RCYT®)
  • Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT®)

In order to qualify for one of our specialty designations, a teacher must first register as a RYT 200 or higher.
Here is the link for finding the right school approved by Yoga Alliance:
https://www.yogaalliance.org/Directory?Type=School 

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Is Drone or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Pilot a Booming Career?

There are presently two methods of gaining FAA authorization to fly civil (non-governmental) UAS:
Until recently it was immensely difficult to fly a drone for commercial purposes in the US, at least legally. At the start of 2015 just a dozen companies had been granted special exemptions by the FAA to fly, and most of those were for filming on a closed set. The first half of 2015, however, has seen an eruption of new businesses given permission to fly. Over 900 FAA exemptions to fly drones have been handed out to farmers, railroads, security services, and medical facilities.
Enterprise and large employers are paying up for drone pilots -- about $50 an hour, or over $100,000 a year -- according to Al Palmer, director of the center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems at the University of North Dakota.
Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) is looking for engineers to help test and develop Prime Air, its drone delivery service. Facebook is bulking up its drone team. Amazon has said it wants to use drones to deliver small packages over short distances. And Google acquired Titan Aerospace, which makes high-altitude, solar-powered drones.
A agriculture firm in Michigan, a builder performing roof inspection from Kansas, a company monitoring explosive charges based in Colorado, a security firm conducting surveillance over private property in Florida, these are just a handful of the businesses now allowed to fly drones over US soil.

The Drone Exemptions Database: (Companies Using Drone)

Who is offering Training?
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach campus started only three years ago with about 11 students and that has grown to about 230 students just in that three-year period. Embry-Riddle is one of a small but growing group of colleges and universities offering a degree in unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS. The schools have launched the programs expecting a bump in demand for the engineers needed to design drones and operators needed to run them.
Sources:
http://dronecenter.bard.edu/about/ - Center for the study of the Drone at Bard College
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/

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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Top 8 Healthcare Careers with Associate’s Degrees (Videos and Information)

#1. Radiation Therapist - 2015 Median Pay: $80,220 per year ($38.57 per hour)
Radiation Therapist treat cancer patients by operating machines called linear accelerator, which delivers radiation therapy to patients.  Here is a short video showing Radiation Therapist’ job duties:
Employment of Radiation Therapist is projected to grow 14 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than average average for all occupations. There were 16,600 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 18,900 Radiation Therapist working.

Education and license:



In 2014, there were about 120 accredited educational programs recognized by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. Here is the link for you to explore.


#2. Nuclear Medicine Technologist - 2015 Median Pay: $73,360 per year ($35.27 per hour)
Nuclear Medicine Technologist operates Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Computed Tomography (CT) and Nuclear Cardiology (NCT) scanners to detect tumors. They also prepare radioactive drugs and administer them to patients. Here is short video showing a Nuclear Medicine technologist perform job duties;


Employment of Nuclear Medicine Technologist is projected to grow 2 percent from 2014 to 2024, slower than average average for all occupations. There were 20,700 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 21,000 Nuclear Medicine Technologist working.

Education and license:



Certification is available from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) and the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) https://www.nmtcb.org/ . Here is the link for more information and list of schools.

https://www.arrt.org/Education/Educational-Programs 


#3. Dental Hygienist - 2015 Median Pay: $72,330 per year ($34.77 per hour)
Dental hygienist, who typically remove tartar, plaque and stain from teeth, also examines patients for oral diseases, document patient care and treatment plan, take and develop dental X-rays etc. Below is a one minute video link showing a dental hygienist performing her job; you will get the idea of the job role after watching the video.




Employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow 19 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than average average for all occupations. There were 200,500 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 237,900 dental hygienist working.

Education and license:



Every state needs a licence for a dental hygiene to work. In most states, you need to get an associate degree from an accredited program and then pass the licence test.


Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) which is a part of American Dental Association (ADA) has a list of all accredited programs. If you are planning to attend community college or a technical / career school, please refer to this site and verify school’s accreditation (very important)



#4. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (Ultrasound Tech) & Cardiovascular technologist - 2015 Median Pay: $63,630 per year ($30.59 per hour)
Diagnostic medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists are professionals who can take images or patient's organs and tissue with ultrasound machines. Here is a one minute video showing their day to day task.




Cardiovascular technologist:


Job of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and Cardiovascular Technologist  is projected to grow 24 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than average for all occupations. There were 112,700 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 140,200 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and Cardiovascular Technologist working.

Education and license:



Employers like to hire Diagnostic Medical Sonographers who are certified by The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography® (ARDMS®). Click the following link of  ARDMS site which explains what to look for when you choose a school for to become a Diagnostic Medical Sonographers.


Please click the following link below for more information regarding certification and education relation related to Cardiovascular Technologist career.


Cardiovascular Credentialing International
http://www.cci-online.org/


#5. Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides - 2015 Median Pay: $58,120 per year ($27.94 per hour)

Occupational Therapy Assistants help patients perform therapeutic activities, such as stretches and other exercises. Here is a short video:
Employment of Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides is projected to grow 43 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than average average for all occupations. There were 41,900 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 58,700 occupational therapy assistant and aides working.

Education and License:


In 2014, there were more than 200 occupational therapy assistant programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education, a branch of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Here is the link for approved schools:





#6. Radiologic and MRI Technologist - 2015 Median Pay: $58,120 per year ($27.94 per hour)

Radiologic technologists are expert operating different equipment using X-ray, CT scan and and mammography technology to diagnose patients. MRI technologists are expert in Magnetic resonance Imaging scanners. Below is video link showing job duties:
Employment of Radiologic technologists is projected to grow 10 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than average average for all occupations. There were 197,000 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 230,600 Radiologic Technologists working.

Education and License:


The Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) accredits programs in radiography. Completing an accredited program is required for licensure in some states. An associate’s degree is the most common educational requirement for radiologic and MRI technologists.

#7. Respiratory Therapist - 2015 Median Pay: $57,790 per year ($27.78 per hour)
One of the most critical job duties Respiratory Therapist has is to give emergency help to patients with heart attack, shocks and drowning. In general, Respiratory Therapist help patients who have trouble breathing. Here is a short video showing daily task:


Employment of Respiratory Therapist is projected to grow 12 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than average average for all occupations. There were 120,700 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 135,500 Respiratory Therapist working.

Education and License:
Prospective students need to obtain associate's degrees from schools accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Respiratory Care (http://www.coarc.com/ ).
Respiratory therapists are licensed in all states except Alaska, although requirements vary by state. The National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) is the main certifying body for respiratory therapists. Here is the link: https://www.nbrc.org/Pages/default.aspx

#8. Physical Therapist Assistants and Aides - 2015 Median Pay: $42,980 per year ($20.66 per hour)
Physical therapist assistants help physical therapist provide care to patients. Under the direction and supervision of physical therapists, they treat patients through exercise, massage, gait and balance training, and other therapeutic interventions.




Employment of Physical therapist assistants and Aides is projected to grow 41 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than average average for all occupations. There were 78,700 jobs available in 2014; in 2024, there will be 110,700 Physical therapist assistants working.

Education and License:
ll states require physical therapist assistants to have an associate’s degree from an accredited physical therapist assistant program. There were more than 300 associate’s degree programs for physical therapist assistants accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education in 2015.
Here is the link for the approved schools;
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