AU Blogspot

With praise from disability groups and business organizations alike, President George W. Bush has signed into law amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) that will significantly expand the protections afforded to disabled individuals.

The new law, entitled the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”), expressly overturns several landmark Supreme Court decisions narrowly interpreting the definition of “disability” and will make disposing of ADA cases prior to trial more challenging for employers. The changes to the ADA take effect on January 1, 2009. 

Read the full article by clicking here… 

Betty Ray Mydland
Ashworth Student

                 Thanks to inajeep for permission to use this Photo.

For many moms, going back to work after spending so much time with their newborn is one of the most difficult things they will ever have to do. Here are some ideas to make the transition just a little easier.

Before You Return To Work  

Decide when you want to return to work

Discuss with your employer how much time you can take for maternity leave. You might not have the luxury of deciding whether or not to return to work, but you can take as much time as you’re allowed.

Find dependable child care

Leaving your newborn in someone else’s care can be very stressful. Finding a reliable child-care provider whom you trust will ease your worries considerably. Your child-care options range from individual in-home care to a creche. Give yourself time to find the best facilities in your area.

Talk to your boss

Discuss your duties and schedule so you’ll know what’s expected of you when you return. Ask about flexible hours or working from home on occasion.

Once You’re Back At Work

Manage your time well

Balancing family and work responsibilities demands good time management and organizational skills. You need to plan a system to make sure everything gets done. If you are overwhelmed with demands, allow the less important ones to slide.

Stay connected

Find ways to stay connected with your baby when you’re away. Make regular phone calls to see how your baby’s doing or keep photos on your desk. (more…)

In my opinion, the ability to maintain positive “human relations” is one of the most important aspects of modern pharmacy.  We are fortunate that the public has always viewed pharmacy as an honorable profession.  I believe we owe this to our ability to serve our customers well, acting always in their best interests.  For one thing, we are much more accessible to the public than any other healthcare professionals.  Therefore, patients trust us with their health concerns and feel comfortable confiding even embarrassing problems with us.  If we maintain a professional attitude and treat our customers with respect, they’ll return and tell us even more about their conditions, which will help the supervising pharmacist advise them and, in some cases, provide vital information to the attending doctors.

While working in retail, I had many opportunities to practice my interpersonal skills.  Remember, when patients come to you, they may already be sick and may have spent time at a doctor’s office that day.  By the time they get to the pharmacy, they may have run out of patience.  I’ve found that greeting patients with a smile and a pleasant manner puts them at ease.  They don’t mind waiting for a prescription if they feel you are taking good care of them.  Be sure to explain what information you need from them to make the process go more quickly and why you need it.  If there’s a delay or if it takes longer than normal to prepare the prescription, give them updates.  For example, you may have to wait for insurance approval, or a suspension might need time to dissolve.  Information lets customers feel they are part of the process.  When they understand what is going on, they usually remain calm.

Tina Boyd Stacy
Pharmacy Technology Instructor
Ashworth University

There’s nothing better than sharing a great recipe with the people you care about.  In that spirit, I’m providing you with a recipe for making granola bars that are of course very healthy for you, but also taste great as well! 

I encourage all our students out there to share some of your favorite recipes in the comments section of this post.  Thanks everyone!

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, blueberries, etc.)
• 1 cup sliced almonds, walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup natural peanut butter or almond butter
• 1 cup Splenda or Stevia
• 6 TBS sunflower oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 TBS water1 egg white 

PREPARATION 

Preheat oven to 330º.  Line an 8” square baking pan with crisscrossed rectangles of parchment paper, leaving a 2” overhand at 2 opposite ends.  In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts and dried fruit.   

In a small saucepan, whisk together oil, Splenda, peanut butter, cinnamon, and water over low heat for about 2-4 minutes.  Let cool slightly; whisk in egg white.  Pour over oat mixture; stir until moistened.  Spread evenly in bottom of pan; smooth top. 

Bake until top is firm, about 40 to 45 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes.  Lift out of pan, using paper as handles.  Let it cool completely; cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Carla Hardy MS, CSCS
Fitness and Exercise Instructor
Ashworth University

              Thanks to timtinman for permission to use this Photo.                 

Even though you massage only one body part at a time, it’s critical that you keep the body’s “wholeness” in mind.  The book explains this concept well.  For example, when someone has a headache, you know that they will benefit from a head massage.  That’s obvious.  But if you have a good understanding of the body’s wholeness, you’ll know that you need to massage the neck and shoulders as well.  As we’ve discussed in previous lessons, it’s all connected.  Everything!  I know you’ll be absolutely amazed as you begin to experience for yourself the interconnectedness of bodily regions and parts.   

You’ll probably find that the majority of the massages you give focus on relaxing the neck or back.  These are the two most common “problem areas.”  Both of these regions affect posture, which can be dramatically improved with massage.  I’m sure you know someone who spends a good part of the day sitting hunched over a computer or desk.  Prolonged sitting with a forward head position is by far the most common cause for bad posture.  Again, consider the body’s wholeness.  Work the neck and back, but don’t forget about the chest.  By loosening up the chest and the front of the shoulders, you can “open up” the upper body, bringing shoulders and neck back into proper positioning.  Stretch the neck, shoulders, and chest on a regular basis, and you will improve posture. 

Kristy Carter
Massage Techniques Program Instructor
Ashworth University

For some mothers, making sure your children eat nutritious meals is a daily battle. One child may prefer only fried chicken, while another may be a bit more adventurous, but won’t touch any fruits or vegetables. Sometimes you may feel that it would be easier to let them eat whatever they want, just to avoid all the stress and hassle.

The good news is despite the fact your children are constantly besieged by ads promoting fast foods, junk foods, sweets and carbonated drinks, you have a greater influence on their eating habits than the media does.

Numerous studies have confirmed that parents do affect how their children feel about food. Here’s a few advice you can follow to lead your children in the right direction.

Lead by example

Research has found that when parents eat more fruits and vegetables, their children will follow suit. The opposite is also true - if parents don’t eat a lot of fresh produce, but they pressure their children to eat it, the children are less likely to comply. The conclusion: healthy eating rubs of on your children, so you don’t have to be a food bully.

Keep healthy food in sight

Keep less-than-healthy foods out of reach on high cabinets . Arrange your home so that high-calorie foods cannot be seen and healthier foods are more visible. This health-based food storage approach lets your cupboard enforce the house food rules for you, helping to make snack time less of a problem. (more…)

These days, with an estimated 60% of the US population being overweight, it seems as if everyone is trying to lose weight. When I ask my friends about strategies for shedding pounds and healthy living, most of them say, “I don’t eat bread, sugar, rice, or pasta. I’m cutting back on the carbs.”   

Weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than what you burn off during the day. So should you cut out carbs to lose weight? Hmmm…It depends on which dietary sources of carbohydrates you eat. Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy so trying to cut them out completely is unhealthy. Carbohydrates are found in grains, fruit, vegetables, most dairy products, and sugary desserts. Most foods that are good for you contain carbohydrates and are fundamental to a healthy diet.  

So what carbohydrates should you take out of your diet? Cut carbohydrates that add extra calories with little or no nutritional value.  These include candy, soda, sugary desserts, and fruit drinks. Drinks that contain 100% juice have some nutritive value. Fruit drinks that are made with mostly sugar and water, such as Kool-Aid or Hawaiian Punch contain little nutritional value and add empty calories that should be avoided if you’re trying to lose weight.  

So go ahead, eat your whole grain bread, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta without guilt! Most foods that contain carbohydrates are important sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Carbohydrates do not make you gain weight. Overeating and lack of exercise does.

Carla Hardy MS, CSCS
Fitness and Exercise Instructor
Ashworth University

It’s June and I’m seriously ready to restart a fitness and wellness routine. It’s always nice to know you can get a fresh start at the beginning of a new month. I’ve been putting it off for way too long, and I’ve constantly felt like I need to really change for way way too long. I’ll admit, I’m really not happy with how I look, no matter what anyone else says to me otherwise. 

I recently read some tips for starting and sticking to a fitness/wellness plan and here are some of the ones that I felt applied to me (and may apply to someone getting back into it all, too). 

1. Prepare

I think this is the most important because just like anything in life, it’s better to plan. You can think of this as an appointment in your calendar, like a doctor’s appointment or an important meeting. Mark it on your calendar or planner. Create an alert on your cell phone so you can’t forget. 

2. Start Slowly

Just because you know you’ve ran 3 miles before doesn’t mean you can do it as simply if you’ve been out of it for awhile. It’s probably better to start out slowly and gradually build up your distance and even speed. 

3. Be Positive

Think about the gold at the end of the rainbow. Preparing and making a goal, and sticking to it is really hard! I know because I’ve been there, and I personally battle with this myself. Hard work reaps great reward and you should constantly remind yourself with that. (more…)

Let’s face it, not everyone is an effective communicator.  Some people are more reserved and must put forth a great deal of effort to be sociable and interact with others on a daily basis.  For other people, it’s not difficult at all to put on a smile, chat with, and listen to others. And although sometimes it’s tough to listen to the problems of others, especially when we’re distracted by our own troubles, the bottom line is that as health care workers, our own needs and desires take a back seat to those of our patients.  Put yourself in their shoes:  When we’re not feeling well, or must have a procedure performed, we certainly don’t want to encounter a grumpy, rude, or disinterested medical office employee.  We want to be considered important, and we want to be able to interact  with caring medical staff members who act as though they truly are concerned with our well-being.  Therefore, as a medical assistant, it is imperative that you keep your own expectations and requirements in mind when you are dealing with patients.  Remember, you represent the physicians and the entire office staff.  The attention and impression you give will improve or detract from the quality of the patient’s encounter, as well as the overall success of the health-care facility.

As the key link between the office and the patient, you must learn to give patients the individual care that they require and deserve.  You must learn to assess a patient’s needs quickly so that you can address their problems and concerns effectively. Part of this process is being able to tailor your response to each individual.  For example, you certainly would not communicate with a sick child the same way you communicate with an 80-year-old patient.  Think about how would you deal with a patient who speaks little or no English.  Would you greet a patient coming to the office for an immunization shot differently than you would treat a patient coming in to be treated for HIV?  Throughout your Medical Office Assisting program, we’ll consider the answers to these critical questions.

In learning how to individualize your approach to helping each patient, you will also learn about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in this program.  As well as being able to assess the needs of a patient, you must also understand how those needs can be met.  To determine this, you must decide where you perceive those needs falls in the hierarchy of needs.  Maslow believed that basic, physiological needs must be met before higher goals can be reached.  For example, if a patient is homeless, his primary concern will be that he has something to eat and a place to sleep tonight, not that his blood pressure is elevated and he may have a stroke someday.

With respect to terminally ill patients, we will focus a lot on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five Stages of Dying.  You should take note of her highly insightful theories.  The chances are very good that you will at some point manage patients who are terminally ill (these five stages also apply to patients suffering from grief).  Knowing the emotional state of the patient makes empathy and communication easier.  The stages also explain why a patient might be cooperative and pleasant one day and angry and combative another day. 

Remember, it’s a privilege to work in a medical office.  I never take this privilege for granted and encourage you to demonstrate the same kind of pride when dealing with your patients.  At the end of the day, we’re here for the patients and are held to standards of excellence that should never be compromised.

John E. Long
Medical Office Assisting Program Instructor
Ashworth University School of Health Care

From Hannah Waight of Experience:

No longer is healthcare confined to doctors and nurses - now more than ever jobs are available for people with all types of interests within this highly diverse industry. Although you may not look forward to that trip to the dentist or those yearly shots from the doctor, no one can deny that healthcare is an essential aspect of all of our lives.  People who are willing and able to work in the health industry will always be in demand.  In fact, healthcare has long been one of the biggest industries in the nation, and now, because of the aging population of the United States and advances in medical technology, the need for qualified workers is only going to increase.  Your ideal job is within your grasp as long as you have the appropriate background and inside information.

As an industry, healthcare offers a diverse range of jobs for many different types of people.  You can work in the traditional health provision sector as a doctor or nurse, or in a wide variety of medical fields.  Preventative medicine and recovery is getting increasing attention from insurance companies looking to keep their costs down: dietitians, counselors, and physical therapists all play key roles in keeping people healthy. Research in academic medicine and biotechnology provides opportunities for professionals interested in discovering the next generation of treatment.  The people- and paperwork-oriented are needed to run the business and administrative side of the industry.

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To read more of Hannah’s great article, login to the Ashworth University Career Center through the student portal and click here.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University