Is a Medical Career Right for You?

September 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

 

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It’s a nice dream to become a doctor or nurse, or even a veterinarian, but are those jobs that anyone can successfully do?

Anyone even thinking of having physician careers should know that it’s hard, brain-taxing work with long hours and little time off. So the first requirement for a medical career is to make sure the demands of life don’t interfere.

A person in the medical field may have to see blood, and from time to time it may be a great deal of blood. By the time a doctor or nurse is out of medical school they get used to seeing it, but if someone gets queasy or passes out at the sight of blood, it could be a bad choice of career for them.

Be Honest With Yourself

A person thinking of a medical career needs to be compassionate and gentle-natured. Dealing with ill people takes something that not just everyone has. Patience, tolerance and real empathy along with a desire to help others are required qualities. However, not all medical careers see blood and deal with patients. Some people help others by working in the office, being a tech in the lab, doing hospital laundry, cooking for patients; there are lots of bloodless jobs to choose from.

A phlebotomist position might be good for the person who doesn’t mind seeing blood. A nutrition expert to help people with dietary needs may be a fit. It’s a personal thing that nobody else can decide for you. But, it is something that should be well thought out before jumping into medical school with both feet. What are the strong and weak points of the personality in question, and how do they deal with ill, injured or challenged people?

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Why get a College Degree

May 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many students around the world are matriculating into universities and colleges every year and this puts tremendous pressure on other students to select a secondary education. Before joining any college, students must understand why many choose to join universities and colleges for their secondary degree.

OXFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 08: A student reads...

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Getting a degree from universities or colleges automatically provide students a door to enter the industry and business available in the market. Without a degree, one might find it very difficult to find a position for them in the industries especially in the field of finance, business, academia, and medicine. Also, colleges even prepare their students for the post-graduate programs. The aim of the students can be any, but it is a must for every students to get a basic degree to pursue their dream.

Above all, universities and colleges provide positive energy and links among students. Teachers and even students one may meet in universities might introduce them with new concepts, thoughts, discussions, and even expand their view on any subject. When exposed to more ideas and thoughts, one may become open-minded and highly tolerant to others, and this very important for bright future.

Another important reason to get a college degree is to earn more money. A person with college degree normally earns more than that of a person with high school education. This does not mean that a person with college degree will get jobs with high pay, but they get wide opportunities and exposure. Finally, a person will get some time to think about their future while studying in college.

 

 

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Researching A Class Online

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are interested in taking a certain class online you may want to know a little more about it before you sign up. You can read through the class summary listed in the school catalog and you can read the brief description provided by the teacher but you still may not have a clear idea of what the class consists of and what the requirements are going to be. There are a few ways to find out more specifics before taking the plunge and signing up.

Search for information online. Many times you can type in the name of the class, the name of the school followed by words like syllabus, schedule, or outline. The information provided might be from a previous year and may even be a little outdated, but you can get a feel for what is going to be covered, how many assignments or quizzes you will have and even what projects are going to be required. This will work sometimes, but many teachers password protect these documents and in that case you will not have access.

Firsthand information is usually best, but where should you go to look for it? There are two sources that you may be able to track down in order to find out more. Go straight the the teacher and send an email that asks about the class. Feel free to request a copy of the syllabus or outline. If all else fails you can see if you have any fellow students that have already taken the class and ask them about it. Be aware that different people have different opinions of the difficulty and frequency of schoolwork.

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Highlighting a Textbook

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Reading a textbook is not necessarily anyone’s favorite part of taking classes. For the most part the books are completely humorless, go into minute detail, and lack the interest factor. As you read, you want to make sure that you highlight the important parts so that you don’t have to skim back over each and every sentence looking for the information that you need. How do you determine what needs to be highlighted? It is a fine balance between what is necessary and what is just extra fluff.

You may have seen other students with almost every line of every chapter highlighted. This isn’t going to do much good if you just want to draw attention to a few facts and statements. As you read, think about what information could potentially be on the next test. Look for important dates, discoveries, and people. Look for statements that summarize what the entire chapter or heading is about. If you are working with a math or science textbook you might see formulas or example equations that you know you are going to come back to, go ahead and highlight them.

Choose the color wisely before you begin to highlight. If you really want to avoid taking notes and just want to use the textbook as your main resource for study consider taking an extra step when highlighting. Maybe all of the important dates are marked in yellow, the important people in pink, and the statements or facts in blue. No matter what the subject of study, highlighting can be a helpful tool when used correctly.

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Teacher Certification Online

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

With some areas of the country experiencing teacher shortages, emergency certification has been one way to get someone into the classroom. This certification doesn’t last long and is given in hopes that the person plans to work towards an actual teacher certification. But teaching takes up a lot of time. When you are holding classes for kids you don’t have a lot of time to attend a class for yourself. Today professionals can receive their certification online.

If there are several teachers all emergency certified in the same school or even school district, they may want to work towards their certification together taking online classes. Fit in the reading, assignments and tests outside of the work week and it is possible to take classes while maintaining a full time job. Depending on your experience and level of expertise, you may be able to take a few classes at a time to get your certification quickly.

Read through the class instructions as soon as it starts to find out what is going to be expected of you. Check to see if you are going to need to write out lesson plans that show a certain skill or even plan a class project with a set of students. You may be able to work this into your current teaching curriculum and be able to write about it for your own class.

No matter where you take classes towards a teaching certification you will need to participate in some type of practicum. If you are already in a classroom under and emergency certification you can use these hours spend for those assignments. You may also be able to waive the student teaching portion of the certification process if you can send in documentation.

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Starting an Online Class

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you aren’t sure whether or not getting a degree online is something you can do, the best thing to do is try out a class. Start with something simple; maybe a prerequisite that you would need before taking some of the higher level course. You can get a feel for how the classes are set up, what is expected of you, and how much time it is going to require.

Most online schools begin the process with you applying to the school. Go through the process and find out what documents you need to submit and find out if you need to send in any transcripts. Then, browse through the list of classes and find something that has to do with your field of study. Go through the sign up process and get all of the important details you will need like the name of the required textbooks and assignment due dates.

When the class starts, read through the syllabus. Most will tell you how the class is set up and give you a guideline for getting in assignments, class projects (if applicable), and the final exam. You can begin to pace yourself to make sure that you can keep up with the work or begin to work ahead if you feel comfortable.

Some classes will require that you have tests and quizzes proctored by a local school or some other professional place. Find out what you need to do to get the materials sent there and how long it will take. If most classes require that you do this, it might be a good idea to keep all the information on hand for next time.

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Benefits of Getting a Degree Online

March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today many people just don’t have the time in their busy schedule to attend traditional universities and colleges. It takes a lot of time to drive down to the campus and spend time listening to a lecture and still have all of the homework and reading that is traditionally required. More and more professionals are looking to get a degree online because of all of the benefits it offers them.

Time is an issue. For most people time is a hot commodity. It is tough to fit in all of the regular responsibilities that life has without trying to squeeze in a class or two. When you take classes online, you decide what you take and when you take it. It is possible to fit school into your schedule because so many of the decisions are up to you.

Unlike traditional schools, vacations and time off are manageable. If you want to head out of town for a three day weekend, you can. There is no need to worry about missing out on one of the class meetings or not being able to turn in a homework assignment. You can work ahead to make sure that you are caught up and leave without any type of worry or anxiety. Many classes are completely self paced, so if you want to sprint through the work early, you are more than welcome. Or if you are more of a procrastinator, you can wait until the week before it is all due.

Flexibility is the main reason that people look to get their degree online. They don’t have to spend as much time in a classroom getting and education. While you are given some flexibility you are having to sacrifice the quality of education. Many of the teachers are professionals themselves so you are getting a chance to learn from their personal experiences.

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Study Sessions with a Friend

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are lucky enough to be taking online classes with a friend you have someone that you can study with when it comes time to get ready for a test or quiz. The two of you can meet somewhere and compare notes, assignments and even information. But there may be a few pitfalls that can get in the way if you aren’t careful. You want to make sure that you maximize the time that you have with your friend to study.

Find a time that works best for both of you. This can be tough if both of you are currently working or taking other classes. The time that you have available may be difficult to try and coordinate. Do the best that you can to work with each other to find some time. It doesn’t have to be a marathon study session. The two of you can just get together for a short one half hour or one hour interval to catch up and ask each other some questions.

Stay on task. If you don’t have a lot of time, don’t waste it by talking about things outside of class. This can be tough if the two of you are friends and don’t get to see each other often. If you are meeting for coffee and planning to study for an hour, see if you can get there early, order your coffee and have all of your study materials out before the time that you have set up to work. This way you can use most of the time working our problems or creating study sheets.

Come prepared. There is nothing worse than attempting to study with a person that is not caught up on the reading or assignments. Be sure that if you are going to work on the midterm project that you are caught up to the midterm assignments.

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Staying Organized While Taking Online Classes

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are taking several different classes online it can be difficult to keep each one straight. One of the best ways to make sure that you keep everything organized is to give each class its own binder, folder and other materials. This way, there is no confusion when it comes time to look for the class syllabus or the latest assignment that is due.

Start out with one binder per class that you are taking online. You don’t have to purchase the huge, 2 inch binders. If you don’t already have one, purchase a three hole punch. Every paper that you print off, make a copy of or even receive by email is going to be placed in the binder. If the class needs tabs for each part you can add those as well. When it is time to work on an assignment, complete a project or even do some reading for one class, make sure that the binder is out on the desk or table. If you are taking notes, be sure that they are going in the binder as well.

When you are done with one class’s work for the day, put the binder away and move on to the next one. While it may seem like a lot of upfront cost remember that as you switch over to new classes you can reuse the same binders. You probably don’t want to throw any of the class materials away (especially if there is a chance that you are going to need it for future classes). Make a file folder when the class is complete and place all class materials in it. At this point no matter what information you need, whether it be for a current or past class, you know just where to find it. There is no reason to lose or misplace anything.

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Forming A Virtual Study Group

February 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When you commit to taking classes online you give up on some of the benefits of more traditional schooling. You can miss out on the idea of class discussion, hearing other people’s questions and struggles and even face to face contact with a teacher or peers. However there are way to make up for these interactions. You can form a virtual study group that can give you a chance to work with other people that are learning the same information and pool together your knowledge to achieve a better understanding of the materials.

If you are going to form a virtual study group, there is going to be a little extra work on your part. But if you are taking all of the same classes with the same people it might becomes easier as you continue your schooling. Begin by letting everyone know what you are planning. You can email them or if you have a way to post messages to the class you can do that too. Let everything know that you want to be able to interact with people in class. You may end up meeting in a chat room, corresponding by instant message or even just sending emails back and forth.

When you find that classmates are interested figure out a time that will work best for everyone. This might be one of the most challenging tasks as most of you may be taking online classes because you don’t have a lot of extra time for other things. Do the best you can to set something up. You may need to download something to your computer (like add messaging software – which is usually free).

Because you are all adults you don’t necessarily need a moderator. If you were the person that put it together everyone may want you to open things up and get them started the first time. Use this to your advantage.

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