That is a good question and what only each person can answer themselves. Everyone is different and has different plans in live. Whether it is career related or not, each person has to think for themselves what is most important to them.

If you are currently working as an LPN/LVN and want more money or more responsibility then maybe you should really consider it if you plan to stay in nursing. If you do not plan to stay in nursing then obviously you should decide on something else. But if you do there are several questions to need to consider.

First off will it benefit you relatively quickly? Will you be able to get a new job where you are currently working? Will your current employer pay for you to go to school? If not how will you pay for it? Is financial aid available and do you qualify? These are all excellent question you need to thinking about, writing down and researching to help you decide.

Another great question to consider is do you want to go to a more traditional campus based college or university? Or would an lpn to rn online option be a better choice for you at this point in your life? This brings up some more questions, such as why online? One big reason is flexibility to work at your own pace which can be very important if you work fulltime and/or have a family to take care of. One thing you do want to do is act now as far as gathering information goes. Do not wait as time moves quickly. You do not need to make a decision now, but you can begin to gather the information now so you are prepared when the time comes.

Original Post: Online Schools

Lpn Nursing Career Changes To Earn More Money

Things to do:

• provide real examples of when you've used certain skills - just saying you've got a skill isn't adequate
• take your time when replying to the queries. Ensure you comprehend the question and take your time if you want to think
• ascertain what kind of interview it will be so you can organise yourself
• dress smart, look sparkly and observant, and speak intelligibly and confidently. do not forget that merely 7% of the interviewer's views of you is formed through what you say - the rest is judged by how you look, act and sound
• analyze the person specification and your CV/application form, and imagine what kind of question they may put to you
• prepare replies for the principal questions - e.g., why do you want this placement, what are your strengths and weaknesses, what are the principal jobs in this post
• get feedback on your performance, whether you were successful or not
• make about three or four points for each response
• have your outfit ready the night before

What not to do:
1. don't be late!
2. do not swear or use slang words
3. don't slouch in your seat or do anything else that makes you look bored
4. do not smoke
5. don't lie! The interview panel may see through you. Even if you get the post, your boss can dismiss you if they find
6. don't let your nerves show too much. A few nerves are normal but intense nerves will adversely affect your performance. Use breathing techniques and try to reflect on the fact that it's not a life and death position - there are plenty of jobs out there!
7. do not be bigheaded and assume you've got the placement. Nothing turns off employers more than someone who is irreverent and over-confident
8. do not discuss contentious themes such as religion, party politics and gender relations
9. do not read from your notes or your Curriculum Vitae. You should be familiar enough with your own history to be able to speak about it unprompted
10. do not criticize past employers or colleagues. Interviewers may mark you down as a troublemaker and a gossip
11. do not argue with the interviewer, no matter what. Aim to keep things positive!

These principles apply for most jobs. But, employers in some industries can use more relaxed and friendly interviewing techniques. In some creative fields (design and media for example) it may be expected that you turn up for the interview in casual clothes, as that is the dress code in the office. If you're in any doubt, do some research on typical interview technique in your line of work.

Above all, preparation is the key to performing well in interviews. Research the placement and organization, and prepare evidence and examples of your skills and competencies.

Click here for more info on training for CT interview

Original Post: Online Schools

What You Should Always And Should Never Do In Your Job Interview

Scientists haven’t yet mastered the process of creating specialized cells that form body parts. But they have come a long way since the 1800s when pathologist Rudolf Virchow pioneered the idea that disease starts at the cellular level in his Berlin laboratory.

Embryonic stem cell research got its start in the U.S. in November 1998 when James Thomson, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, was the first to successfully remove cells from spare embryos at fertility clinics. He established the world’s first human embryonic stem cell line. His announcement however, set off a firestorm of controversy that was quickly carried into countries around the world.

At the center of the controversy was a wave of political and religious fervor, with zealots who likened the research to cannibalism, and warned of a dark, science fiction-like future filled with “embryo farms” and “cloning mills”

In truth, every year thousands of unwanted embryos are slated for disposal at fertility clinics around the country. These embryos are smaller than the dot above the letter “i” when typed onto a piece of paper.

They have no identifying features, and not even a hint of a nervous system.

To throw them away, advocates say, when the stem cells themselves would be unable to develop into a baby – even if planted inside a uterus – seems an unthinkable waste that they claim borders on immoral.

Some forms of stem cell therapy have been around – and widely used – for decades. For example, bone marrow transplants are used to treat sickle cell anemia. The stem cells in the donated bone marrow regenerate the patient’s blood and immune system.

It works like this – one cell divides, and becomes two. The two become four. And so on and so on, until they multiply into a ball of millions of cells. Similar cells combine into tissues, and the tissues combine into organs. There are over 200 different types of cells that create the human body. And inside each of us are billions of cells, each with a specific job to do.

A stem cell is a cell that matures and has the ability to self-replicate – often throughout the life of the organism. So, the dream for medical researchers is to provide the right conditions – or give specific stems cells the right signals – so that a targeted stem cell will develop into mature cells that could repair diseased tissues or organs. If successful, it would mean the end of crude mechanical devices such as insulin pumps, titanium joints or plastic arteries, and use living, natural replacements.

The potential for stem cell medicine is awe inspiring. Stem cell lines could be used to help burn victims, and those who have suffered spinal cord injuries. It also has the potential to cure many common diseases of today, such as diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer.

Even in the midst of all the controversy, few question the medical promise of embryonic stem cells.

And while the arguments go back and forth, policymakers and governments aren’t waiting for medical answers.

Their reactions – and actions – that have included limiting government funding and the type of research that is allowed are varied.

Germany for example has banned some types of stem cell research. Under President George W. Bush, the U.S. has imposed stern limits on the government funding, but left private funding wide open.

This has meant that the U.K., China, Korea and Singapore are competing with one another to become the epicenter of stem cell research. In addition to providing funding, they’ve set up ethical oversights to encourage and support research in the field, within carefully drawn guidelines.

Despite the varied political climates, scientists too are working furiously to see which techniques will produce viable treatments the fastest.

In the United Kingdom, scientists are allowed to extract stem cells from embryos left over from in-vitro fertilizations, and to clone embryos specifically for study.

With an eye on the future, the U.K. has built the world’s first Stem Cell bank. It is a repository where stem cell lines are kept in cold storage. Researchers can deposit and withdraw both adult and embryonic stem cells. They apply the same rigorous standards to all cells, and scientists hope that eventually they will be able to create batches of stem cells that are as uniform as the drugs created by pharmaceutical companies.

What are embryonic stem cells?

Most embryonic stem cells used in research come from embryos created in in-vitro fertilization.

Each embryo’s inner cell mass has 40 or so stem cells. The mass is transferred to a culture dish lined with feeder cells. As the cells divide and multiply, they are re-planted into fresh culture dishes. If, after many months, the original stem cells have grown into millions of healthy cells without maturing and differentiating into specialized cells, they are referred to as a “stem cell line” and are capable of reproducing indefinitely.

Embryonic stem cells can develop into any type of cell through a process called pluripotency. The challenge for scientists is to keep the harvested cells from maturing and then at the proper time, give them the right signals so that the cells differentiate into the needed tissue. We have not yet figured out nature’s secret – how to tell one stem cell to form blood, another a specific organ and yet another skin.

Scientists know that complex combinations of growth factors, genetic and chemical signals drive the process, but they’re a long way from making the leap to being able to perfect or order the process. Visit Stem Cell Research

What are adult stem cells?

The adult body has a limited number of stem cells in many tissues and organs that are dormant until activated by illness or injury. Adult stem cells aren’t as functional or a multi-talented as embryonic stem cells however. They can’t morph into any kind of cell and may be limited to becoming only the cell types of their original tissue. (So while an adult stem cell in brain can become a neuron or a glial cell (both are neural cells), present research hasn’t provided us with the formula for ordering to change into a liver or bone cell.

Adult stem cells have been found in the brain, the blood, the cornea, the retina, the heart, in fat, skin, dental pulp, bone marrow, blood vessels and skeletal muscle and in the intestines.

Generally adult stem cells have two main drawbacks for researchers. They are scarcer in the body and harder to culture than embryonic cells. Since large numbers of them are needed, it makes their viability for wide spread use somewhat questionable.

How many stem cell lines exist today?

Right now, the U.S. still leads the world in the number of embryonic Stem Cell Research, even with the restrictions on funding imposed by President Bush, which prohibit government funding for any embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001. But the U.K. and Asian countries – most particularly South Korea and Singapore, are working hard to become the new world leaders and are aggressively providing the facilities, funding and oversights into therapies and are beginning to attract some of the brightest scientific minds.

There are a total of 155 embryonic stem cell lines in the world today. 78 of them are approved for U.S. federal funding, and of those, 22 are approved for U.S. funding and suitable for research. Sweden has 33, South Korea has 24, India has 10, Singapore has 7, Israel has 5, the U.K. has 3, Spain has 2 and Iran has 1.

What progress has been made?

So far however, only adult stem cells have been tested on humans, although research on both adult and embryonic stem cells continues at a fast pace. Some of the results to date show promise in being able to treat heart disease, leukemia and other cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s Disease, and Type I diabetes.

Preliminary results however are exciting, and this century could mark the beginning of a revolutionary transformation in the practice of medicine, as we know it. Stem Cell Research

Original Post: Online Schools

Stem Cell Research

We have usually heard jokes about medical degrees earned by doctors in third-world countries and how they are prime candidates for a lawsuit. Or maybe we hear about such higher institutions of medicine as Caribbean medical schools as places to work on one?s tan. But there are legitimate Caribbean medical schools, those which are accredited, those which have high standards, and those which turn out some fine male and female doctors.

One of my community college students was a brilliant poet and at the same time a young man adept in the sciences. I imagine he was one of the rarer right/left-brained individuals, able to do logical and creative work equally well. He had a huge following as a slam poet. Then, in his second or third year, he decided to apply to a number of Caribbean medical schools. After the traditional wait, and much self-searching and occasional doubt, he was accepted at one of the finer Caribbean medical schools. I was incredibly proud, as he was my student, a fellow poet, a friend, and he had come to me for one of his recommendation letters to the Caribbean medical schools. What impressed me even more was that the school that accepted him wrote me a separate letter of thanks, and invited me to visit their satellite and main Caribbean medical schools if I was ever in the area.

But Caribbean medical schools have more qualifications than just my knowing someone who was accepted and who is now attending or more value than the graceful efforts made to thank mentors and invite them for a tour. Caribbean medical schools have rigorous programs of study and internship and maintain quality and high-bar standards. These institutions work students in the core sciences, through the pre-med steps, and through the medical practical and clinical phases, as well.

Here are some of the schools, those considered the top Caribbean medical schools:

American Global University School of Medicine (in Belize)
American International School of Medicine (in Guyana)
American University of the Caribbean (in St. Maarten)
Central American Health Sciences University (in Belize)
Grace University School of Medicine (in Belize)
International University of the Health Sciences (in St. Kitts)
Medical University of the Americas (in Nevis)
Ross University School of Medicine (in Dominica)
Saba University School of Medicine (in Saba)
Saint Theresa's Medical University (in St. Kitts)
Spartan Health Sciences University (in St. Lucia)
St. George's University School of Medicine (in Grenada)
St. James School of Medicine (in Bonaire)
St. Martinus (in Curacao)
St. Mary's School of Medicine (in St. Lucia)
Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine (in Mexico)
Universidad Iberoamericana (in Santo Domingo)
University of Health Sciences (in Antigua)
University of Saint Eustasius Medical School (in St. Eustasius)
Windsor University School of Medicine (in St. Kitts)

Original Post: Online Schools

Caribbean Medical Schools