Monthly Archives: September 2012

Child health, Courses, Emergency Medicine, First Aid, Healthcare, Healthcare Information, Healthcare Services, Online, Pediatrics

User Friendly Home Study Now Available For Paediatric First Aid Training

Train Aid has created a brand new home study scheme to be used on their monthly open paediatric first aid courses. The twelve hour courses are usually run over two Saturdays each month at the Selhurst Children’s Centre in South London and the Highgate Road Chapel north of the river. Most of the candidates work full time through the week in childcare roles, and therefore to ease the strain the idea to have one day’s home study was born. This means that candidates only now need to attend the second Saturday, and have as much time as they require too complete the home study work packs.

Work packs are easy to understand, which enable users to research theoretical topics, and then test themselves on them. Puzzles, pictures and multiple choice exams combine to test if a candidate has grasped a particular topic. The packs are then brought along to the practical day of the course where the instructor can make sure everything is in place, and field any questions. Paediatric first aid training coordinator Heather Bennett who designed the pack was on hand to say a little more:

“The concept behind the work packs was to replace the lectures usually held on day one of the training. For example of you take the sample topic of ‘First Aid Kits’, The learner now reads up on the topic instead of having a lecture, and can then test themselves through a puzzle. The material is still learnt in the same way, but there is no need to travel to a training centre”.

The main benefit to the new system is that learners can complete the first day of the course in their own time, and within the comfort of their own home . However this can be extended to anywhere, which means people can fill out their work packs on the commute to work or even on a lunch break. Another benefit is that the second day on the paediatric first aid courses solely focuses on learning hands on practical skills.

Via EPR Network
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Anti-aging, Business of Medicine, Dermatology, Fitness, Healthcare, Healthcare Services, Healthcare Solutions, Medicine, Pharmaceuticals, Society, Weight loss

Boots UK and Macmillan Cancer Support launch new role to help millions access cancer information

According to new research* almost a third of people affected by cancer felt that they had insufficient information and support outside of their healthcare team. Boots UK and Macmillan have specially trained over 500 Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists to help improve the lives of those affected by cancer**. They will be available in many Boots stores to help connect people to information and support in their local area.

The launch of the Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist is the first time that the role of a pharmacist has been extended to include this type of cancer information and support. It is estimated that 2 million people are currently living with or beyond cancer in the UK and this is anticipated to increase to 4 million by 2030***. As the demand for cancer health care is set to rise, the launch of this innovative pharmacy role aims to help the millions of people affected by cancer access the information and support they need, in an accessible and trusted environment.

Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of Macmillan, commented: “The Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists are the next stage in what is already a strong and sector-leading partnership that we both are extremely proud of. Macmillan and Boots UK believe that by sharing expertise and working together, we can reach even more of the millions of people affected by cancer than we are currently.”

The research also showed that nearly three quarters (74%) of people living with cancer felt that the information and support they received outside of their healthcare team made them better equipped to understand their cancer experience:
– 92% felt it had a positive impact on their emotional, physical or financial well being
– 51% felt able to understand more about their cancer and their experience of it
– 48% felt able to make decisions that were right for them

Alex Gourlay, Chief Executive of Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots, added:
“The introduction of the Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist means that for the millions of customers that visit Boots pharmacies across the country, they can access increased cancer information and support. The findings from this research highlight just how important accessing the right information at the right time can be for people affected by cancer and the role it can play in helping them to manage their condition.”

Visit www.boots.com/cancer to find your nearest Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist. For cancer support contact Macmillan on 0808 808 0000 or visit www.macmillan.org.uk.

Via EPR Network
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Assistants, Disabilities, Healthcare, Healthcare Professionals, Healthcare Services, Pathology, Society, Therapies

Half Of Australian Workers Have Considered A Career Change In The Past Five Years Says carecareers

carecareers is a NSW government-funded initiative launched to help job seekers connect with the thousands of opportunities in the care sector, and to provide career advice, including what transferrable skills are useful and what on-the-job-training is available.

Job opportunities in the disability and community care sector are booming; employers in this sector are looking to recruit up to 10,000 people in the next five years – because the number of people who require some form of paid-care is expected to rise to 380,000.

There is a need to recruit people across a wide range of positions including:physiotherapists, speech pathologists, frontline support workers, gardeners, drivers and cooks, as well as executive staff and accountants, marketing, human resources professionals.

Research commissioned by carecareers shows:

More than half of Australian workers (52%) have considered changing careers in the past five years. (57% women, 49% men)

Almost two-thirds of people aged 18-34 have considered a career change in the past five years.

More than half of Australian workers consider the disability and community care sector provides rewarding work. Of the industries surveyed, disability and community care also ranked highest for its respect for workers (35%).

Overview of career changers attracted to work in the sector:

The most common reason given by people looking for a change of career is that they are “looking for a more satisfying and fulfilling career”.

Career changers come from a wide variety of industry sectors with the three largest being retail/sales (23%), administration (12%) and hospitality (14%) industries.

The majority of career changers are women, with an average age of 34.

What has carecareers achieved in the past 12 months?

More than 10,000 job applications for positions have been made through the carecareers service in the past 12 months, an increase of 50% on the previous year.

More than 300 employers across NSW have registered to use carecareers to attract a range of workers in the sector since it launched (January 2010).

The carecareers advisory-service team have spoken personally with thousands of people considering a career in the sector.

What are the benefits of a ‘carecareer’?

There has never been a better time to explore a career in the disability and community care sector. Employment is booming, with 10,000 more people needed to fill a wide variety of roles over the next five years.

Work within the disability and community care sector offers employees flexible working hours, on-the-job training, and employment security, with the demand for staff increasing as the sector booms.

One area of significant job growth in the sector will involve allied health professionals, especially in rural and regional communities. Increasing specialisation of allied health professionals, combined with sector-wide increases in demand for services and a greater focus on recruitment and retention are fuelling demand for these professionals.

Recent research found more than half of respondents recognised the disability and community care sector as providing rewarding work, far ahead of major industry sectors including retail, mining and manufacturing. [Source: Essential Poll, April 2012]

Via EPR Network
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Addictions, Fitness, Healthcare, Obesity, Society, Weight loss

Using Psychology to Lose Weight – Because Dieting and Exercise Alone Don’t Work

MariasLastDiet.com, the website for women who want to lose weight, issued a  white paper today about using psychology to lose weight. The author, Kenneth Schwarz PhD, a psychologist and psychoanalyst and co-founder of MariasLastDiet.com, wrote the paper because of the continuing high rate of weight-loss failure with the current standard formula, Diet + Exercise = Weight Loss.

Dr. Schwarz argues the case for using psychology to lose weight by amending the formula to read, Weight Loss = Dieting + Exercise + Using Psychology, where using psychology is really two factors, adherence and personal change.

Adherence, which research shows is the single-best determiner of weight loss, is sticking to it—the diet or weight-loss program. Adherence is not only sticking to your food plan, though, it is also sticking to what will help you make the necessary personal changes.

Losing weight, especially for women, is never just about the food. It is always about a woman’s psychology as well. Personal change has to do with altering old patterns of behavior and replacing these patterns with new behaviors that are more conducive to successful weight loss.

Dieting and weight loss as they are currently practiced require a lot of self-control and willpower. The use of so much willpower and self-control makes the weight-loss process terribly arduous and ripe for failure. To address this, Dr. Schwarz added another goal to the primary goal of losing unwanted weight, that of using the least possible amount of self-control and willpower to effect change.

Once the goal of making the weight-loss process much less dependent on willpower and self-control is set, what remains is to show how to implement this goal. Dr. Schwarz takes traditional weight-loss issues and, using the principles and practices of psychology, illustrates how to successfully resolve these issues more automatically, and without the need for such self-defeating effort.

Via EPR Network
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Addictions, Clinics, Diagnostics, Drugs, Healthcare, Healthcare Information, Healthcare Services, Medicine, Rehab, Society, Therapies

New Study Suggests Alcohol Abuse Rewires Brain, Impedes Trauma Recovery

A recently published study suggests that heavy alcohol use may interfere with recovery from traumatic situations.

The study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience and focused on mice that were chronically exposed to alcohol in doses twice the legal driving limit imposed on humans. Conversely, the control group of mice wasn’t exposed to any alcohol. After administering, and then ceasing, tiny electrical shocks mimicking trauma within humans, the mice chronically exposed to excessive alcohol had a more difficult time recovering from the trauma. In addition, a key receptor within the brains of the alcohol-exposed mice was suppressed and nerve cells within the brain were found to have taken on a different shape.

“This study offers valuable insight into how chronic alcohol abuse may disrupt recovery pathways in human brains,” begins a spokesperson for Mountainside Drug Rehab andAlcohol Treatment Center. “By understanding the correlation between chronic alcohol abuse and anxiety associated with traumatic events, researchers could eventually develop drugs that could assist in recovery for chronic alcohol abusers.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that excessive alcohol use is the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death within the United States, estimating nearly 80,000 deaths annually. If you fear that a loved one may be excessively consuming alcohol, Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center can assist them in getting their life back on track. Mountainside’s comprehensive alcohol rehab program has been recognized as a standout program among their peers.

Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center is a modern drug rehab and alcoholism treatment facility that is skilled in serving a variety of clients with various addictions and in varying stages of addiction. The caring, compassionate team is made up of licensed and certified social workers and counselors who have extensive experience and specialty in the addiction treatment field. In addition, the staff includes a Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Registered Nurse, both of whom also have specializations and experience within the field of addiction treatment and alcohol rehab.

Mountainside also has available services for those individuals who come to them with dual diagnoses and require the services of a Psychiatrist to help conquer the unique challenges that dual diagnosis brings.

For the past 13 years, Mountainside has established itself as an innovator within the addiction treatment field, and the treatment modalities Mountainside utilizes are regarded as among the most cutting-edge approaches in helping individuals to get, and to remain, sober. As a result of their unique, innovative approaches to addiction treatment, Mountainside has become the model for the addiction treatment field.

The program and its professional addiction treatment team have earned national recognition and resulted in Mountainside being invited to Washington by the White House to meet with the White House Drug Czar, John P. Walters, for an in-depth meeting on what makes its program so successful. These accolades did not go unnoticed within the addiction treatment field and resulted in the adoption by many throughout the country of a more holistic approach to drug addiction treatment.

If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol, or if you have any questions, please contact Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Center for a confidential discussion at 800-762-5433.

Via EPR Network
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Anti-aging, Business of Medicine, Dermatology, Fitness, Healthcare, Healthcare Services, Healthcare Solutions, Medicine, Pharmaceuticals, Society, Weight loss

BootsWebMD.com launches Baby Personality Quiz

BootsWebMD.com has launched a new, online Baby Personality Quiz which highlights several key traits to look out for when analysing a baby’s temperament.

With the help of the Baby Personality Quiz* on the BootsWebMD.com Children and Parenting Health Centre, users can identify their baby’s personality by answering a series of simple questions about their behaviour. The results of the quiz can then be analysed to identify their behaviour patterns. Essential information about the best approach in managing a child’s behaviour habits can also be found, with a simple step-by-step guide to keeping in sync with the baby. It could even help users to work in tandem with their child’s temperament and personality to make life easier for both parent and child.

Whether the child is feisty or easy-going, the answer to identifying its personality and behaviour patterns lies in a number of key areas. According to paediatrician Dr William Carey, author of ‘Understanding Your Child’s Temperament’, these include:

Activity/energy level – if the child has high or low energy levels, parents need to look for ways to keep them moving at a pace that’s comfortable for them Approach to newness – a naturally hesitant or shy baby will need extra reassurance and patience to overcome their shyness.

Intensity – if a baby is laid back, they can get lost in the shuffle of family life and vice versa. If the baby is intense they must be taught to deal with the curves of life

Sensitivity – if a baby has high sensitivity to lights, noise or texture, parents must be patient and look for ways to avoid sensory overload such as the lighting and the type of clothes the baby wears.

Regularity – if everything is unpredictable, potty, naps, moods, parents have to let go of their controlling ways and loosen up. Conversely, if a baby likes structure, parents might have to adhere to the schedule they crave

Persistence – puzzles are great tools to lengthen attention span, along with a daily dose of bedtime reading.

Overall mood – parents should take the time to observe their baby’s daily patterns and what makes them smile for a happier baby.

Via EPR Network
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