Distance Learning Systems Blog

Alzheimer’s Awareness and Assisted Living Centers

As assisted living centers across the country reach out to areas during World Alzheimer’s disease Awareness Month, care facilities in The Woodlands have one big concept for group members: They are here to help. Autumn Leaves in of The Woodlands Memory Care, in particular, is featuring its childcare and respite care programs, which offer daily stays at its facility from Monday through Friday. The day-stay program is offered to Woodlands-area citizens absolutely free on Fridays, Executive Director Luis Carillo said.

“We are dedicated to individuals that are working with harmful dementia-related diseases day in and day out,” Carillo said. “We focus not only on care-giving for specific types of dementia, but also with actions that help with socializing, exercises and religious actions.” By providing programs like day stays, care providers and close relatives are given a chance to rest and recover. They also allow future residents to ease into the conversion process of moving completely into assisted living centers, Carillo said.

Rina Hanel knows all too well the complications that close relatives and partners face when working with the severe facts of dementia. Her spouse Greg has been at Autumn Leaves in for the past year. “The greatest thing you have to do is agree to it,” Hanel said. “It can start with simple things like misunderstandings, failing to remember things, losing track of things and just advances from there. You really have to agree to what exactly is occurring to the person you love as there are so many people out there in denial.” Hanel said her spouse has adjusted well to Autumn Leaves and has been passionately referred to as The Hat Man because of his many preferred caps. Due to his sickness, he hardly ever talks but usually spends his time cheerful and silently monitoring his environment. Moving him to the service was a huge step, as the two have been wedded for more than 54 years. However, Hanel highlighted that she has no remorse. “I think the important thing is that he may not know me all the time,” Hanel said. “But I know him.”

Healthcare Innovation

Jonathan Bush, found and CEO of athenahealth talked about the limitations to medical care advancement in a vibrant discussion with MIT Technology Review Editor in Chief Jerr Pontin at the EmTech event in Arlington, Boston. Bush described athenahealth, supplier of cloud-based EHR and practice management software, as the “water boy” for the healthcare market that will do work that physicians do not want to do. Their company structure, he describes, is as the physicians do better work, the organization will see a gain on profit. Still, Bush said the organization is designed to do a lot more.

“What we privately think we’re doing, we think we’re developing the healthcare online,” Bush said. “What we think we’re doing is developing the circumstances where there can be enhancements in medical care. Healthcare does encounter advancement with caring and love and support and locations like MIT that spend money on it, but the circumstances are not there. The circumstances are to develop a better online, the circumstances for advancement are not there.” He considers his organization can help offer a better setting in which to innovate and yet, the street to achievements could still be bumpy because of protection issues such as HIPAA conformity.

“The key to medical care online is that it’s got a fiduciary, you know the factor that destroys us is you have to first do no damage,” Bush said. “Well in every other company location organizations burst and sprinkle over the walls all the time and that is where you say ‘oh, look at that guy, those courage actually would be really delightful, we can add that to my organization.’ You cannot really do that when individuals’ lives and protection are at stake, so the healthcare internet is going to go more slowly and be lamer than ‘the dating internet’ or ‘the purchasing for items internet’ but can we make a playground that is secure enough to allow at least some of that purchasing to go on, some of that that rising and falling.”

Barriers of Nursing Education

The demand for nursing staff across North Carolina is growing considerably. But so are the limitations preventing access to the right nursing education. More nursing centers require four-year degrees for RNs beyond the minimum associate’s degree. But higher education programs are turning away qualified candidates for lack of space. It’s a nursing shortage with no simple solutions. And just over the skyline, the healthcare industry can see a trend of as many as 32 million recently insured Americans who will get into the system on Jan. 1, 2014, as part of the national Affordable Care Act.

Now, universities and nursing centers are working together to fix the problem for themselves. Health care is changing in many ways. In the future, nursing centers will be the last resort for the most seriously ill people. Nurses will cure a variety of diseases, help manage such serious problems as diabetes and even recommend medicines for many conditions. Greensboro’s Cone Health utilizes about 3,000 nursing staff across five nursing centers. And based on revenues or new jobs, it can hire hundreds of nursing staff every year. Some 65% of the nursing staff now at Cone has four-year higher education degrees, bachelors of science in nursing. Cone wishes to boost that to at least 80% by 2020, under suggestions from the national Institute of Medicine.

Cone has mentioned a decrease of death rates after surgery for sufferers handled by nursing staff with bachelor’s degrees and even individual fulfillment ratings are higher, said the center’s top health professional, Theresa Brodrick, RN, Ph.D., executive vice president and primary nursing official for Cone Health. But getting that nursing education is not simple. Students have two routes to become certified nurses: They can start out in a four-year program without a nursing certificate or they can get into an associate’s level system at a community college. Both are extremely competitive. In some cases only 50% of candidates are accepted. Another program that allows a nurse to earn a bachelor’s degree may provide more nursing staff with bachelor’s degrees.

The Child and the Respiratory Therapist

Think about strolling into the ER with your 2-year-old who has croup, and the process to reduce the serious situation is a respiration therapy with a respiratory therapist. But your kid is scared of the mask and whenever the respiratory therapist and medical team put it on, he or she fights them while trying to take it off. Nothing you do to distract the kid seems to work. Get into the kid life specialist. Qualified in distracting and relaxing kids who are working with terrifying medical center situations, they can redirect your kid’s interest and help to calm any worries.

This is the world of Lutheran Hospital’s Tammy Else. She works with both inpatient and out-patient kids to make their ER visit or extended stay a little bit simpler for both them and their parents. She is an experienced and qualified expert who can help youngsters deal with the solitude of a long stay in the medical center or provide enjoyment and diversion for the young, before, during or after a procedure. She knows how to describe a procedure to a kid in ways that make it not so terrifying. Starting this fall, when the new Lutheran Hospital Pediatric ER opens, there will be two full-time child life experts to deal with the caseload. Else has also been working with the new pediatric ER medical team to familiarize them with the methods she uses. Each ER space has exclusively made purses of child-friendly distractions like bubbles and horns to blow to distract the kid from a shot or stitching.

For sufferers Anissa Bredenmeyer, 15, and sis Alena, 11, Else has become more than a medical care service provider. She is a friend. The two siblings have Crohn’s disease, which has allowed many visits to the ER, stays in the medical cent and come back visits to the out-patient clinic for infusions every five weeks. She knows the ladies well enough that the last time Alena was in the medical center, Else realized just what type of creative products to give her as a present to keep her interested during her four-hour out-patient infusion therapy.

Senior Care Hybrid Model

The variety of elderly living options are growing as the years go by, reviews the New York Times, as new models of senior care are designed in reaction to demand for solutions to conventional ones. “As millions of middle-agers reach retirement age (and in many cases care for seniors parents), families and the pension industry have modified old lifestyle types and designed hybrids,” says the content. In addition to conventional pension areas, the aging population can also choose from family-style group homes, “villages” that connect individual houses with neighborly assistance, or aging in place-specific house renovating.

“We used to think that a person lived in their own house, and if they got weak, they moved in with a relative or to a seniors care facility,” Jon Pynoos, a lecturer of gerontology, policy and planning at the University of Southern California, told the New York Times. “People need more choices.” Most individuals prefer to age in place, according to an AARP study where almost 90% of individuals said they recommended staying in their current residence as they got older.

While house renovating is not always genuine and can be costly, the content points out, there are a lot more ways seniors people can live at home, whether it’s with the help of a home health aide, through the use of programs such as Meals on Wheels, or with remote tracking devices. Long-term care insurance, Medical health insurance, State Medicaid programs and Veterans Affairs benefits cover only some of these charges. Beyond price and their wellness needs, individuals should consider the weather, the location, how much socializing they want, the accessibility to close relatives and transport, experts say.

CLEP Exams Coverage

CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program. This method consists of consistent assessments of college-level proficiency in a range of subject matter. Many universities in the United States grant course credit to learners who make high enough scores on CLEP exams. High-achieving kids are typically the heaviest users of the CLEP program, but it can be very useful for older learners who have accumulated information through their job, learners who are house trained and even international learners. The price of a CLEP examination is generally far less than the price of getting an equivalent college level course.

Students who are house trained must often demonstrate to universities and colleges that they achieved a level of proficiency in certain subjects despite not having joined a traditional university. This is sometimes true even if the college student does well on the SAT or ACT. Picking a CLEP test for each core topic is a fantastic way for house trained learners to show their skills and information while simultaneously earning college credit. Just because you haven’t been in high school for several years doesn’t mean you have stopped studying. Many adults returning to school successfully generate college credit through CLEP exams. This is a huge way to save your time and effort when it comes to seeking a degree and at an average price of $80 per CLEP test, it’s a big cash saving as well. If you’re an adult who has continued studying on your own or for employment or other purposes, it is definitely worth your time and effort to check out CLEP eligibility.

The price of higher education and studying has risen much faster than the rate of inflation and many learners graduate with lots of cash in education and studying loan debt. When you consider that the common college degree costs around $700, compared to around $80 for the common CLEP examination, it’s easy to see how valuable this program is. Don’t think that CLEP is only for kids. People from every walk of life can benefit from the program. It is a fantastic way to get your degree quicker and to reduce costs on the price of your education and studying.

NLN’s New Program for Nursing Students

The National League for Nursing or NLN declared the release of an important initiative of the NLN Center for Academic and Clinical Transitions. The center is reinforced by grants from Laerdal Medical, the innovator in healthcare education and studying equipment, and Wolters Kluwer Health, marketers of Lippincott nursing material. This unique collaboration of not-for-profit and private business will create collaborative programs to better prepare nursing staff for the progressively complex requirements of nursing practice.

“The requirements placed on modern practicing nursing staff are accelerating, with more sick sufferers, more complex treatments and digital medical records all including new levels of complexity to basic nursing care,” said Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO of the NLN, whose members consist of more than 38,000 health professional staff and 1,200 educational institutions of nursing. “This center will build a link between those providing nursing education and studying and those guiding nursing staff in practice. Together, we can create the alternatives and resources modern learners need to succeed in this challenging field.”

NLN President Judith Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF declared that the NLN Center’s first program, Accelerating to Practice, will focus on building relationships to enhance the conversion of new nursing staff from education and studying to practice. A team consisting of major health professional teachers and medical center nursing directors will draw on active research to determine the specific capabilities that new nursing staff need to ensure job success. Then, together with Laerdal Medical and Wolters Kluwer Health, the NLN will create an Accelerating to Practice programs and material, which will be available for implementation by 2015.

“Together we can make a consistent, affordable, and motivating way to help nursing staff be as successful as possible when they enter practice,” said Clive Patrickson, CEO, Laerdal Medical. Wolters Kluwer Health and Laerdal Medical have previously joined on product that incorporate digital health record studying resources with individual cases and manikin simulator, helping learners master the skills of patient record presentation, individual care and follow up certification. The integrated items link to Lippincott books, referrals and eLearning material, to enhance clinical knowledge and verdict, and make engaging student experiences.

4 Key Things to Look For in Distance Education

Here are the 4 things you need to look for in distance education.

Decide your major. This should be the first filter in deciding. This research should be along with information about a college’s academic popularity. The organization should be domestically approved to guarantee that applications will transfer and that the levels earned will be recognized by all other organizations of college. Other essential concerns are graduation prices, internship opportunities, positioning prices and assistance for technology.
Be sure there is participation from regular, full-time staff. The dedication of full-time staff contributes validity and reliability to your degree while also enhancing your fulfillment and achievements. Knowing how the program in distance education is developed and evaluated will help you create an informed choice about programs. Preferably, faculty who design and provide programs online are well-connected with the organization, are devoted to its objective and educate in its conventional types. Heavy dependency on adjunct staff, who provide applications designed by others, makes a detachment in the studying and educating process. The accessibility to services that support student learning such as exclusive work hours, on the internet training and help desk assistance is vital to guaranteeing college student achievements in online programs.
Examine guidelines and methods. Take a good look at guidelines, particularly those, which illustrate the dedication of the organization to the achievements of its online learners. Versatility and knowing about the circumstances of life that occur and guidelines that illustrate this understanding are critical! What happens when you need to get rid of your studies to attend a sick child?
Seek universities that definitely motivate participation. Engaging on the internet learners in essential customs, events and festivities improves your overall academic experience. Nothing better shows the importance of online learners to the objective and future of an organization than including them in the events that make up its material and tell its story!

Hospice Care and Oncology Patients

Why do doctors have such difficulties adopting hospice care and using it to benefit sufferers, particularly oncology patients? The Dartmouth Atlas Project recently revealed that the amount of melanoma sufferers who are passed on to a hospice program in the last 3 days of life increased by 31% from 2003 to 2007. The total share of melanoma sufferers even getting hospice care was only about 61%. David Goodman, co-principal investigator for Dartmouth Atlas said more sufferers are being admitted to hospice care in the last 3 days of life “when it’s too late to offer much comfort” and that “many sufferers are getting more competitive in-patient care and less effective hospice care.”

There are many wonderful oncologists who take pleasure in looking after for their sufferers until the very end. But there are growing concerns with the doctors who do not utilize hospice care properly and once they do refer the individual, they don’t want to be involved with the care anymore. For example, the Dartmouth Atlas study mentioned the unsuitable use of feeding pipes in dying sufferers. We are all aware, or should be, that feeding pipes do not make dying melanoma sufferers live a longer time, cure injuries, put on weight, or reduce aspiration. They more likely cause aspiration, diarrhea and feeling sick. But family members and doctors continue to force PEG pipes on sufferers without asking them their desires and without full disclosure of the threats and lack of advantages.

It is a natural procedure to quit taking in nutritional value that can no more offer the advantages they did in a recuperative state. Offer food without pressure and never make the individual feel accountable for not eating. It can be challenging for family members to watch as a loved one stops eating and in our community, they often expect the individual to pass away very quickly when they don’t eat or drink. Patients can be kept completely comfortable, but for families, it is a difficult vigil.

College Credit By Exam

The most popular examinations provided by credit by exam companies fall into the type of “general education and learning,” enabling learners to get credit for subjects such as college geometry and calculus or English composition and literature by passing standardized examinations, rather than participating a brick-and-mortar 101 class.

Between these significant players and other credit by exam resources, there are actually a variety of core/introductory, course-distribution and even significant need programs that learners can check off by passing an examination vs. seated through the comparative course at the school in which they are enrolled. Given that examination prices are a portion of educational costs, credit by exam is an attractive choice for learners looking to reduce costs by finishing a four-year degree program in just three years or less. And universities are starting to work with learners enthusiastic about discovering solutions to four years of tuition-paid registration as a means to bring down the increasing cost of higher education.

Students considering this choice should keep in mind that CLEP and other college equivalence examinations are much like a complicated final examination that comes at the end of a well-taught course. So, learners need to get ready (ideally by actually studying the content vs. just cramming) through separate study or registration in an online classroom. In theory, one could get an entire degree by just taking examinations (with some companies providing to help you get around your way through the thicket of who provides and who allows what with respect to college credit). But, credit by exam does illustrate an opening for getting more MOOC classes associated with authentic college credit (presuming some advanced MOOC company, examination designer or other business owner can find a way to make this a practical option).