Vital signs are measurements of essential body functions. Part of a physical exam provides a quick and objective way to assess a patient’s health. Taking our vital signs is a simple and speedy procedure we often take for granted without realizing its importance. But for medical assistants and practical nurses, the process has greater significance. Straightforward yet complex, it’s the foundation of quality care.

What Are the Different Vital Signs Medical Professionals Take?��

There are four primary and several secondary vital signs. Primary vital signs are the most essential.��They include:

Body Temperature

Body temperature is a strong indicator of overall health. Normal readings between 97.8 to 99 °F suggest that the body’s internal environment functions appropriately. Fever indicates an immune or inflammatory response.

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Pulse is the number of heartbeats per minute. A direct reflection of heart function, an average adult rate of 60-100 beats per minute (bpm) indicates a working circulatory system. High or low readings point to a range of conditions, from anxiety to cardiovascular issues. Notes should also include an assessment of pulse characteristics, including strength, rhythm, and regularity.

Respiratory Rate

The respiratory rate is the number of breaths taken per minute. Average values range from 12-20. Patients may, however, unintentionally alter their breathing patterns if they’re aware their respirations are being monitored.

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of blood exerted against artery walls. It’s a fundamental reflection of systemic health affecting most major organ systems. Hypertension is a risk factor for heart and kidney disease. Hypotension can lead to fainting, making it a safety concern.

Secondary vital signs are additional assessments that provide a more holistic view of a patient’s condition. Examples are:

Height and Weight

Height and height are used to calculate medication dosages and assess long-term health risks associated with obesity or malnutrition. Sudden changes can also indicate disease.

Pulse Oximetry

Pulse oximetry measures oxygen content in the bloodstream. While not yet considered a primary vital sign, it’s increasingly considered a must-have measurement for cardiac or pulmonary patients.

Level of Consciousness

Level of Consciousness (LOC) is an essential part of neurological exams. Evaluated using the Glasgow Coma Scale, it reflects a patient’s cognitive status and brain function.

Pain Level

Pain level is a subjective measure of comfort. It can, however, affect primary vital signs, so knowing if a patient is in pain helps doctors interpret irregular readings.

Blood Glucose

Monitoring blood glucose levels is essential for patients with diabetes. However, with the higher levels of obesity prevalent in modern society, routine screening for hyperglycemia among the general population is fast becoming the standard. Most practices check it using a glucometer and a fingerstick blood sample.

Capillary Refill Time (CRT)

Capillary refill time is how quickly blood returns to the capillaries after the skin, nail beds, or mucus membranes are compressed. A normal CRT of 3 seconds or less shows circulation is brisk.

Why Are Vital Signs Important?��

Vital signs are among a medical professional’s most valuable assessment tools. They play a leading role in patient care for several significant reasons:

Health Assessment

Changes in vital signs can indicate underlying health issues long before symptoms appear. Early detection helps identify risk factors for chronic conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.

Diagnosis

Many health conditions cause similar symptoms. Doctors must hunt for clues to narrow down the potential cause. Changes in vital signs and other findings can point physicians in the right direction, resulting in a faster diagnosis and quicker care.

Triage

Medical professionals prioritize patients based on the urgency of their conditions. But outward appearances can be deceiving. In a busy emergency room, patients with the least stable vital signs are usually the sickest and are treated first.

Making Treatment Decisions

Vital signs are essential for monitoring the progression of illness and the patient’s response to treatment. Readings show whether a patient is better, worse, or stable, influencing treatment decisions.

Safety Considerations

Vital signs assess health and fitness, ensuring individuals can safely tolerate activity or medical procedures. School sports physicals, for example, may help detect dangerous heart rate abnormalities in children.

Calculating Medication Dosages

Some medications affect vital signs, causing unwanted side effects. Others, such as blood pressure medications, are routinely adjusted based on their impact.

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Vital signs are often analyzed to gain insights into health issues. Only by collecting data, for example, were researchers able to correlate high blood pressure to heart disease risk.

What Do Medical Assistants Need to Know About Vital Signs?��

How vital signs are approached, obtained, monitored, utilized, and reported can vary significantly based on a medical professional’s role. Medical assistants should know:

Which Vital Signs to Take

Medical assistants focus on primary vital signs, plus height, weight, pain level, and oxygen saturation. Level of consciousness and capillary refill time rarely apply in outpatient settings.

Normal Ranges and Variations

Medical assistants should know the normal ranges for vital signs in their age groups. There are wide variations between newborns and seniors.

Factors Affecting Vital Signs

Age, gender, physical fitness, environmental temperature, and stress level may affect vital signs, providing perspective on abnormal results.

Measurement Techniques

There’s more than one way to take vital signs. Medical assistants should be familiar with the most common techniques and their indications, such as using a temporal thermometer instead of a tympanic thermometer for a child with a history of ear infections; scar tissue can affect the reading.

And while most medical offices have digital vital sign equipment, technology can fail. Some tools, such as digital sphygmomanometers, are less precise than manual measurement methods.

Equipment Limitations��

All vital sign equipment has parameters. Cuff fit, for example, is critical for accurate blood pressure readings. And digital thermometers may have upper and lower limits that result in errors if exceeded. Medical assistants must understand the proper use and limitations of their tools.

Safety Considerations��

Vital sign equipment can carry germs. It’s essential to sanitize thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, and other devices as directed.

There are also contraindications and precautions to consider. Blood pressure, for example, should never be taken on a limb with a vascular access port. Cutting off circulation, even momentarily, can impair fragile devices.

Interpretation and Recordkeeping Protocols

Interpreting vital signs is beyond a medical assistant’s scope of practice, but they should be able to recognize significant abnormalities requiring follow-up. Results should be noted in the patient’s chart using universal language and approved abbreviations with notes explaining any concerns, such as an elevated pulse in an anxious patient.

What Do LPNs Need to Know About Vital Signs?��

Taking vital signs is an essential but routine task for medical assistants. Practical nurses, however, perform clinical assessments, so it has greater significance. An LPN should know:

The Indications for Vital Signs

Monitoring vital signs in acute care settings can help detect life-threatening conditions like infection and respiratory failure. Nurses must know which vital signs to take when symptoms emerge and why. Examples include checking oxygen saturation for shortness of breath and temperature for body aches.

Advanced Measurement Methods

Medical assistants work with stable patients, so there are fewer variations in the vital sign process. However, an LPN may care for a dozen or more patients simultaneously, each with a particular need or a potential contraindication. LPNs should be more familiar with the many options available for taking vital signs and the best specialized techniques for some patients.

Nurses will also rely more on CRT, pain, and level of consciousness assessments to gauge their patient’s conditions. Prolonged CRT in a critical care environment can be an early sign of circulatory collapse requiring immediate intervention, while any decrease in consciousness requires immediate evaluation. Pain, while not always an indication of a worsening issue, impacts the patient’s care plan. A post-surgical therapy session, for example, may need to be postponed for 10/10 pain.

How to Make Treatment Decisions

LPNs are trained to make limited clinical decisions related to vital signs. An LPN can’t prescribe treatment, but they can, for example, activate standing emergency orders for oxygen based on shortness of breath and low oxygen saturation. They may also withhold medications that could harm patients pending a doctor’s review, such as delaying insulin administration for a patient with hypoglycemia.

Nurses must, however, be aware of their scope of practice and legal responsibilities when making clinical calls. Deviating from physicians’ orders should always be a stop-gap measure.

Documentation Requirements

Vital sign documentation goes beyond numbers for nurses. Their notes should indicate whether critical signs were a routine or an acute intervention and why. Evidence of follow-up with a physician or supervising RN is paramount. Notes should identify abnormal vital signs and which nursing actions were taken in response.

Professional Communication and Collaboration

LPNs work closely with physicians, RNs, and other healthcare professionals. Effective communication regarding vital signs and patient status is essential for continuity of care. Treatments may change rapidly in acute care settings, so abnormal results should be noted and passed on verbally to other physicians. For example, a patient with a sudden fever may require immediate infection control precautions affecting all caregivers.

Continuing Education Considerations

Vital sign ranges and methodologies change over time. Best practices are updated based on research findings. Nursing is an evidence-based profession, so LPNs should stay abreast of developments that affect how they take and interpret vital signs. Professional literature is often the best source of information.

Final Thoughts

Modern medicine is a miracle. Still, with all the technological advancements available, the simplest assessment methods are often the best. Vital signs tell a definitive tale that brings context to an often complex clinical picture. As a medical assistant or LPN, you’ll help write happy endings.

Medical Assistant Program

Ready to start a new career as a medical assistant? Ģ����ý & Institute offers��to gain essential skills and training at multiple campuses from Lilburn, Roswell, and Atlanta/Marietta to Orlando, FL, and Raleigh, NC. The core curriculum at these campuses focuses on the medical assisting skills and training you will need to seek entry-level employment in physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and other medical settings needing the services of associates trained in both front and back-office medical assisting skills. These medical assisting courses will be the first step in starting a rewarding career.

Practical Nursing Program

Are you looking for��in Central Florida that prepare you to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN)? Ģ����ý Institute in Orlando offers a Practical Nursing diploma program that trains LPN students for positions delivering basic bedside care to patients. The Practical Nursing diploma program provides the didactic and skills training needed to take the NCLEX-PN examination.*��

*While Ģ����ý Institute provides test preparation and review assistance to college students, it cannot guarantee any college student will be able to take or pass any type of licensure exam. College students must be mindful throughout their training program that licensure is a prerequisite for employment as a nurse and diligently prepare themselves to meet this important requirement.

today to learn more about becoming an LPN or Medical Assistant at Ģ����ý & Institute.

Physical Assessment Tools, Instruments and Supplies

The physician primarily works with the physical assessment tools; however, the medical assistant must become familiar with their uses to assist the physician during a physical assessment. The medical assistant can also be responsible for disinfecting and sanitizing the instruments and preparing them for the physician before the next physical examination. The physical assessment includes an audioscope, examination light, laryngeal mirror, nasal speculum, otoscope, ophthalmoscope, penlight, percussion hammer, sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, thermometer, and tuning fork.

Audioscope – tool used to screen patients for hearing loss. The audioscope is placed in the patient’s ear and makes a serious of tones which the patient can respond to.

Examination Light – the medical assistant must make sure that all lights in the physical examination room are functioning properly and directed appropriately for the physician to exam the patient’s body.

Laryngeal Mirror – tool used to exam the larynx and other areas of the throat. The laryngeal mirror reflects the inside of the mouth and throat for the physical examination. It may be used to visualize the throat for the application of anesthesia or to remove tissue from the mouth.

Nasal Speculum – tool inserted into the nostril to assist the physician with the visual inspection of the lining of the nose, nasal membranes and septum.

Otoscope – allows the physician to view the ear canal and tympanic membrane.�� The otoscope has a magnifying lens, light and cone-shaped insert to examine the inner ear.

Ophthalmoscope – tool used to examine the interior structures of the eye. The ophthalmoscope has a light, magnifying lens and opening for the physician to view the eye.

Penlight – provides additional light for the physician to examine a specific area of the patient’s body. The penlight is typically used to examine the eyes, nose and throat.

Percussion Hammer – tool used to test neurologic reflexes. The head of the instrument is used to test reflexes by striking the tendons of the ankle, knee, wrist and elbow.

Sphygmomanometer – physical examination tool used to measure a patient’s blood pressure. The sphygmomanometer is composed of an inflatable rubber cuff, a bulb that inflates and releases pressure from the cuff, and use of a stethoscope to listen to arterial blood flow in the patient.

Stethoscope – tool used for listening to body sounds including the sounds of the heart, lungs and intestines. It is also used while taking blood pressure.

Thermometer – tool used to measure a patient’s body temperature. The thermometer can be inserted in the mouth under the tongue, under the armpit or into the rectum.

Tuning Fork – tool used to test a patient’s hearing. The physician strikes the prongs causing them to vibrate and produce a humming sound. Then the prongs are placed next to the patient’s skull, near the ear, with the patient describing what they heard. The physician may order additional tests depending on the results of this hearing test.

Physical Assessment Tools & Supplies

Additional Supplies are needed for a general physical examination. They include cotton balls, cotton-tipped applicators, disposable needles, disposable syringes, gauze, dressings and bandages, gloves, paper tissues, specimen containers, and tongue depressors.

Cotton Balls – used to stop bleeding from minor punctures after injections or while drawing a patient’s blood.

Cotton-Tipped Applicators – used to collect or treat a wound and to apply topical medication to the patient during a physical examination.

Disposable Needles – used to inject medicine, anesthetic or other fluids during a physical examination. Also used to extract blood from the patient for laboratory testing.

Disposable Syringes – added to a needle to extract blood or inject fluids during a physical examination.

Gauze, Dressings and Bandages – used to cover up open wounds. Non-sterile pads can be used to cushion, clean or absorb areas that are at less risk of infection.

Gloves – worn by the medical assistant and physician to keep bodily fluids from being absorbed into the skin.

Paper Tissue – helps keep exam chairs, tables and other areas hygienic. The paper tissue is replaced by the medical assistant between examinations.

Specimen Containers – used to hold blood, urine and other bodily fluids during an examination for later laboratory testing.

Tongue Depressors – used to depress the tongue of a patient to examine the mouth and throat during a physical examination.

Are you ready to learn more about how you can assist a physician with patient exams and assessments? Are you interested in becoming a medical assistant? Ģ����ý & Institute offers medical assisting courses to gain essential skills and training in the healthcare field. The core curriculum focuses on the medical assisting skills and training��you will need to��seek entry-level employment in physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and other medical settings needing the services of associates trained in both front and back office��medical assisting skills.

Contact Ģ����ý College today to learn more about how you can become a Medical Assistant and start your exciting career in the healthcare field!

As a massage therapist, you enjoy the satisfaction of contributing to a person’s health and well-being. However, it is important to note that being a massage therapist requires strength, dexterity, and stamina. ��Not sure you have what it takes? Well, the good news is that there are ways you can build up your strength, stamina, and dexterity to become a successful massage therapist.

Why Do People Become Massage Therapists?

In addition to the satisfaction of helping others, the projects that the need for massage therapists will grow by 18 percent from 2023 to 2033. This figure is higher than the average rate for many other professions.

More people recognize the need for a healthier lifestyle, which may include massage therapy as an alternative healing method. Plus, medical professionals are increasingly turning to alternative medicine as a complement to traditional medicine. Many doctors even prescribe massage therapy for their patients. As the demand for more qualified professionals grows, the job market will continue to expand.

What Is Dexterity?

Dexterity is the skill of performing a task, specifically with your hands and fingers. As a massage therapist, you must use acute, slight motions with the hands and fingers. This helps identify tense, sore, or painful muscles and allows you to apply the proper amount of pressure to relieve the stress. You must have strong hands and fingers to manipulate soft tissue to alleviate pain or discomfort.

What Is Stamina?

Stamina is the ability to withstand prolonged mental or physical activity. As a massage therapist, you must possess strength and energy. Treatments require you to stay on your feet for long periods of time, stand in place, and reach and bend. Fortunately, stamina can be built up over time.

How Can a Massage Therapist Prepare for Stamina and Dexterity?

While working as a massage therapist, you may care for people all day. You will need stamina and dexterity to alleviate your stiff, sore muscles, so it’s crucial for you to keep yourself healthy. Staying fit is essential to physical as well as mental health. When you’re healthy physically and mentally, your outlook is more positive. Being healthy makes it easier to face daily challenges and stress. What can you do to increase your stamina and dexterity?

• Go to the gym for a workout whenever possible. Exercise is an excellent way to stay physically fit.
• Take regular breaks to stretch your muscles and get your blood flowing. Standing up and stretching a few times daily can help you avoid lower back pain.
• Take an exercise class. An exercise class keeps your mind fit as you listen to instructions and remain focused. It’s often easier to exert extra effort when exercising with a group.

What is the Proper Technique for Giving a Massage?

You must have the stamina and dexterity to give a client a massage treatment for an hour. To be effective as a massage therapist, you must:

• Learn all the principles of practical body mechanics
• Be able to assist elderly patients on and off the massage table
• Keep from getting fatigued at the end of the day

Effective body mechanics includes making healthy choices about diet and exercise after a long day. Healthy lifestyle choices impact body mechanics. The proper techniques for a massage therapist include stamina, strength, balance, breathing, foot stance, groundedness, and stability.

Technique #1: Stamina

One of the most effective ways to have enough endurance and stamina to treat clients throughout the day is to take care of yourself. The best way to increase stamina is cardiovascular training. It is important to keep your heart rate up for intervals of 30 minutes a few times each week to increase stamina. Proper sleep and hydration are also necessary. Drinking plenty of water and fluids keeps you hydrated and reduces fatigue.

To improve stamina, warm up before you start a massage session to increase blood flow and reduce the risk of injury. Take time for regular stretching of your whole body, including hands and fingers. When you’re treating a client, use the proper stance and positioning. When lifting a client, stay as close to the table as possible to avoid injury.

Technique #2: Strength

Strength training and proper nutrition can help you avoid fatigue. Massages require physical ability. Strength training builds muscle mass, making it easier to manipulate soft tissue. Resistance and weight training also help build muscle mass, offering additional stamina and dexterity.

Technique #3: Balance

A balanced posture during a massage therapy session reduces fatigue and energy loss. Yoga and Tai Chi are exercise regimens that promote excellent balance. Taking a class in either of these exercises teaches you the basic moves to increase stamina.

Technique #4: Breathing

Using the proper breathing technique makes you more adept at pacing massage movements. Proper breathing helps send oxygen to your muscles, which reduces fatigue and makes you more relaxed and focused. Correct breathing technique also enhance physical and mental health.

Technique #5: Foot Stance

How your feet are placed provides a stable base and influences the direction of your massage strokes. It also significantly affects your body’s alignment. Massage therapists use two standard foot stances, bow, and warrior, to provide stability and balance during treatment.

Bow Stance – used when standing at the head or foot of the massage table and applying strokes that proceed from one point on the body to the next. Your feet are positioned at a 30 to 50-degree angle—your lead foot points forward, with the other foot pointing to the side. Your knees should be flexed, and the weight will shift from one foot to the other.

Using the Bow Stance allows you to maintain contact with the client while maintaining a consistent flow of therapeutic touch. To avoid back injury, it’s important to bend at the hips rather than the waist. Bending at the hips also aids in keeping your balance.

Warrior Stance – used when performing short strokes that cause friction on the body, this stance helps you reach the far side of the client while maintaining balance and stability. Using this stance allows you to face the opposite side of the massage table while keeping your feet approximately hip-distance apart. Your toes should be pointed straight ahead, and your back should be kept straight. Your hips should point toward the table to reduce the risk of injuries.

Technique #6: Groundedness

You have a strong connection between your mind and body when you’re grounded. Being grounded is an essential principle emotionally, physically, and mentally. Taking the time to be grounded makes you more compassionate and better at providing healing. You can learn to be grounded by practicing yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation. This groundedness will significantly improve your stamina and dexterity.

Technique #7: Stability

Your feet are the foundation for all movement during massage sessions. Using the lower portion of your body during the procedure is more powerful. This provides more stability than moving the upper part of the body. Standing and applying equal weight to each foot and shifting a substantial amount of pressure to the lower portion of the body reduces the risk of injury.

Final Thoughts

Anyone who wants to enjoy an active lifestyle is an ideal candidate to work as a massage therapist. During a session, you will use your hands, arms, and feet for treatments. Not only do you help clients to heal, but the strenuous activity helps to keep you in excellent physical condition.

If you have the strength, stamina, and dexterity to work as a massage therapist or need to improve your skills through proper techniques, becoming a massage therapist is a great career path. You will be helping others and working in a growing field that is only becoming more popular every day.

Are you interested in learning more about starting a career in massage therapy?��Upon graduation,��Massage Therapy Program��students will receive diplomas and be qualified to seek entry-level positions as clinical, medical, or deep tissue massage therapists in wellness clinics and centers, spa environments including resorts and franchises, and self-employment.

The massage therapy training diploma program consists of a well-planned sequence of courses, each preparing the college student for the more intensive information to follow. The school curriculum includes training to provide college students with scientific knowledge, manual skills, and business mastery to become a professional massage therapist.

Contact us to learn more about how you can become a massage therapist today.

Are you interested in legal work but don’t want to attend University for 6 to 8 years to become a lawyer? The good news is that you have options. Becoming a legal assistant or paralegal is a great way to study the law, help others in the community, and advance your knowledge in legal matters. It’s a win-win! So, what is the difference between the roles of legal assistant and paralegal?

What is the Difference Between Legal Assistant and Paralegal?

The legal assistant and paralegal need a strong knowledge of legal terminology and procedure. Plus, they must be able to speak with clients, witnesses, experts, judges, and opposing attorneys. However, in many legal circles, these two monikers are used interchangeably. The main differences between the two roles are education and the philosophical approach to work. The differences include:

Educational Program

There are different educational programs for each role. Ģ����ý College offers a Paralegal Studies program for those who want to become paralegals in the legal field. The diploma program is more suitable for legal assistants that want to learn the terminology and procedure that they will be responsible for on the job. On the other hand, the associate degree is a stepping stone for paralegals to learn the ropes of the role and prepare for an entry-level paralegal job at a la firm.

It is also worth noting that Universities may use the term Legal Studies instead. Many legal studies programs at higher education institutions are geared toward preparing students for pre-law programs. Although a student can complete a paralegal program and then decide to start a pre-law program at a University, the legal studies graduate may have completed some prerequisites that apply to the pre-law program.

Philosophical Approach

The legal assistant role may be just that, assisting the legal team and completing what they are tasked by the legal team to do. This includes administrative tasks and other assistance to the lawyer or legal team. The paralegal has a unique role within a law firm. They are typically responsible for the legal aspects of the job. Still, in a small law firm, they may need to complete administrative tasks like answering phones and scheduling client appointments. However, paralegals are an integral part of the legal team and are responsible for many of the functions that entry-level lawyers have previously been responsible for. This allows the legal team to focus more on the client while the paralegal completes much of the trial or case preparation.

How Do You Become a Paralegal?

A great way to build a solid foundation that you can build upon as a paralegal is by attending a vocational school like Ģ����ý College. We offer both a diploma and Associate Degree program. Graduates from these programs learn the technical and computer skills to assist law firms in managing cases of personal injury, criminal law, intellectual property, bankruptcy, immigration, family law, and real estate. With this knowledge, paralegals and legal assistants will join a legal team dedicated to their clients while enjoying a rewarding and challenging career in law.

Do I Need a Certification to Become a Legal Assistant or Paralegal?

While there aren’t mandatory requirements for certification to work as a paralegal, it can be helpful. Certifications like are voluntary, but some employers may require certification before hiring you. They want to ensure you show a keen interest in the law and intend to stay in the field for many years. That way, they can invest in your training and feel like you will give back to the law firm during your career. Plus, certification can help you advance your career.

Paralegal Studies Program

Ready to start a new career as a paralegal? Our Lilburn, Marietta, and Raleigh campuses offer the following degree and diploma training programs in paralegal studies and legal assisting. Graduates from these Paralegal Studies Degree and Diploma Programs learn the technical and computer skills to assist law firms in managing cases in personal injury, criminal law, intellectual property, bankruptcy, immigration, family law and real estate. With this knowledge paralegals and legal assistants will join a legal team dedicated to their clients, while enjoying a rewarding and challenging career in law. These paralegal courses will be the first step in starting a rewarding career.

Contact Ģ����ý & Institute today to learn more about becoming a paralegal.

Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the Western world and needs to be diagnosed and treated early for a patient’s health. With sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and unhealthy eating, . Practical nurses and medical assistants have a significant role in the diagnostic pathways for heart disease, particularly with new developments occurring. Here’s how practical nurses and medical assistants impact cardiology diagnostics.

Trend #1: Rapid Diagnosis

One of the most essential developments in cardiovascular disease is a rapid diagnosis so the correct treatment can begin as quickly as possible. In a heart attack, each minute of delayed treatment causes more damage to the heart muscle. Practical nurses have a significant role in getting patients diagnosed correctly and quickly. They work in emergency departments, doctors’ offices, and hospital departments, so they are part of the multi-professional team caring for the patient. An EKG is one of the most basic tests, something that medical assistants are trained to do. This is fundamental in getting a rapid diagnosis of heart disease. Practical nurses can do blood tests for cardiac enzymes and electrolytes, which also contribute to the diagnosis of a heart problem. With the help of heart disease rapid diagnosis, the practical nurse can be an invaluable member of the clinical team.

Trend #2: Detecting Arrhythmias

A common problem in cardiology is detecting disturbances in the heart rhythm. This is done by taking heart recordings, which a medical assistant is trained to do. They not only perform EKGs but can monitor patients using heart monitoring equipment and remote devices such as telemetry. Patients are sometimes given 24-hour EKG recording devices, which medical assistants can fit correctly and instruct the patient on how they function. Increasingly, more sophisticated long-term recording monitors are being used, such as Reveal devices.

Trend #3: Dealing with Emergencies

Practical nurses and medical assistants have a range of skills needed in a cardiac emergency. They can act as a resuscitation team member by performing CPR or helping with cardiac tests. A practical nurse can support staff in an operating room or angiography department where cardiology testing and monitoring are needed. They can assist in critical care and emergency room emergencies as part of a team. Practical nurses know how to use a defibrillator in an emergency and have training in resuscitation skills.

Trend #4: Health Screening

A growing trend in cardiology is health screening programs, particularly genetic testing for conditions such as cardiomyopathy. Practical nurses and medical assistants have a key role in health screening clinics due to their ability to perform a range of tests. This includes taking blood and recording an EKG.

Health screening is also done as an annual check-up of healthy people as part of a general medical. Practical nurses and medical assistants can support medical staff by recording EKGs and other tests.

Trend #5: Pre-Surgical Assessment

Rigorous pre-surgical assessment is vital to ensure the patient’s safety in the operating room. The medical assistant is significant in providing EKGs and echocardiograms in the pre-surgical departments. This helps ensure that any cardiac problems are detected and treated before surgery. Medical assistants are versatile and connect to several clinical teams for diagnostic testing.

Trend #6: Oncology and Cardiac Testing

Many types of anti-cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, are potentially damaging to the heart. This means that patients undergoing treatment for cancer need to have some baseline tests, including an EKG and echocardiography. Medical assistants are ideal for this setting to perform tests promptly without delaying cancer treatment. Patients also require monitoring throughout and after their treatment, so a medical assistant will be involved in repeating these tests periodically. Some oncology departments have practical nurses embedded in the team as the demand for cardiac tests is so high. With an aging population, there will be an increased demand for cardiac screening within oncology as the incidence of cancer rises, so practical nurses and medical assistants will find an increased need for staff in this specialty.

Final Thoughts

In cardiology, diagnostic tests and treatments have changed dramatically over the last few years and continue to change thanks to research. Practical nurses and medical assistants have a large role to play in ensuring tests are done accurately and in a timely way so that diagnoses can be reached as quickly as possible. Through their ability to work both independently and as part of a larger multiprofessional team, the practical nurse and medical assistant have an interesting future by being at the heart of all these trends and developments.

Medical Assistant Program

Ģ����ý & Institute offers��medical assisting courses��to help students gain essential skills and training at multiple campuses, from Lilburn, Roswell/Roswell, and Atlanta/Marietta to Orlando, FL, and Raleigh, NC. The core curriculum at these campuses focuses on the medical assisting skills and training you will need to seek entry-level employment.

Practical Nurse Program

Are you looking for��practical nursing training classes��in Central Florida to prepare you to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN)? Ģ����ý Institute in Orlando offers a Practical Nursing diploma program that trains LPN students for positions delivering basic bedside care to patients. The Practical Nursing diploma program provides the didactic and skills training needed to take the NCLEX-PN examination.*��

*While Ģ����ý Institute provides test preparation and review assistance to college students, it cannot guarantee any college student will be able to take or pass any type of licensure exam. College students must be mindful throughout their entire training program that licensure is a prerequisite for employment as a nurse and to diligently prepare themselves to meet this important requirement.

Contact Ģ����ý & Institute today to learn more about becoming a practical nurse.

Are you ready to become a medical assistant and want to learn more about phlebotomy certification? If so, you have come to the right place. This article will review a medical assistant’s role, job duties, certification, and phlebotomy training.

Phlebotomy Certification and Training: Medical Assistant’s Role

A phlebotomy certification can help you gain a position in a health facility. Plus, certification in phlebotomy will help you advance in your job. It will also offer you a leg up on the competition in the employment market. Phlebotomy certification is part of Ģ����ý College’s Medical Assistant program.

Phlebotomy training can help you gain on-the-job experience and make you more marketable. While it’s not required in every state, it can make you more attractive to employers.

You’ll use your phlebotomy skills in doctor’s offices or emergency care settings in a high-stress environment. In labs, you can specialize in phlebotomy as a career. If you’re interested in a more hands-on career, you should get certification in this field. A phlebotomy certification will prepare you for an entry-level role in a healthcare facility. It is also an excellent entry-level credential for a medical assistant, as it allows you to begin.

What Are the Steps for Phlebotomy for Medical Assistants?

Phlebotomy is the process of drawing blood for medical testing or donation. The steps for phlebotomy include:

Verify the Patient’s Identity

Check the patient’s name and date of birth against EHR records. Lack of identification can lead to serious medical errors. Verification ensures patients receive the appropriate tests.

Review the Requisition

Physicians use requisition forms to order tests. They include instructions on which tests to perform and why. A review will help you pick the right equipment and screen for medical or billing inconsistencies in the request. The safest time to ask questions is before blood is drawn.

Gather Phlebotomy Supplies

Gathering supplies, such as gloves, alcohol swabs, needles, and collection tubes, before drawing blood helps avoid unnecessary interruptions. It streamlines the procedure, alleviates patient anxiety, and reduces the risk of infection.

Prepare the Patient

Medical assistants should explain the process to patients and verify consent to proceed. Making them comfortable is essential. Most patients sit for the procedures, but patients with a fear of needles or a history of fainting may need to lie down.

Wash Your Hands

Handwashing is still the most effective way to protect yourself and others from infection. Scrub your hands vigorously with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before blood draw.

Wear Personal Protective Equipment

The minimum personal protective equipment for drawing blood is a pair of clean gloves. Gloves protect against bloodborne pathogens. When working with challenging patients, wearing a face shield can deflect splashes. Consider a lab coat or apron to safeguard your clothing.

Apply the Tourniquet

A tourniquet above the venipuncture site sequesters blood in the vein, making it easier to find when punctured. Although venous blood can be drawn from any vein, medical assistants are trained to draw blood on the hand, wrist, or near the elbow.

Cleanse the Site

Phlebotomy isn’t a sterile procedure, but cleaning the site with an alcohol swab reduces the risk of infection.

Puncture the Vein

Bracing the vein with the thumb and index finger, use your other hand to puncture it at a 15-30 degree angle. Needles should be bevel-up and suitable for the patient’s size and physical condition.

Perform Phlebotomy

Push the collection tube into the tube holder and draw the necessary amount of blood. Remove and replace the tube to collect the required volume. Tubes are color-coded to reflect additives necessary for specific tests. Depending on the types of tests ordered, you may need to collect multiple tubes.

Apply Pressure

Once the blood draw is complete, withdraw the needle and apply firm pressure to the site with a cotton ball. Applying an adhesive wrap will protect the patient’s clothing.

Clean Up

Dispose of used supplies according to safety and infection control protocols. Needles are put in puncture-proof “sharps” containers. Gloves and gauze, depending on the situation, go in the regular trash bin or a biohazard bag.

Educate the Patient

Phlebotomy can occasionally result in complications. A medical assistant’s role is to teach patients self-care. You’ll advise them to keep the area clean and apply ice to swollen or bruised areas. You will also provide them with contact information for follow-up.

Label and Process Samples

Label the collection tubes with the patient’s information, the ordering doctor’s name, and the time and date of collection. Then, process the collection tubes according to the laboratory’s guide to ensure they’re test-ready. Some may need to be centrifuged to separate the liquid from the solids, and others may require refrigeration or flash freezing.

Document the Procedure

Something is only considered done once it’s fully documented. You’ll note the procedure in the patient’s electronic health records, including the date, time, blood draw site, complications, and education provided.

Medical Assistant Program

Ready to start a new career as a medical assistant? Ģ����ý & Institute offers��medical assisting courses��to gain essential skills and training at multiple campuses from Lilburn, Roswell/Roswell, and Atlanta/Marietta to Orlando, FL and Raleigh, NC. The core curriculum at these campuses focuses on the medical assisting skills and training you will need to seek entry-level employment in physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and other medical settings needing the services of associates trained in both front and back-office medical assisting skills. These medical assisting courses will be the first step in starting a rewarding career.

Contact Ģ����ý & Institute today to learn more about becoming a medical assistant.

Are you looking for more than a job but a career? Getting the training you need to be an effective administrative assistant is an ideal way to start a new career. And the good news is that Ģ����ý and Institute offers an Administrative Assistant program that can prepare you for entry-level positions in many unique industries. So, where do administrative assistants work?

Where Do Administrative Assistants Work?

While many industries rely on administrative assistants, your skillset and interest may help you direct your job search to one of the following fields.

Healthcare

As an administrative assistant in healthcare, you will spend part of your day organizing client files. You will likely be exposed to private information as an administrative assistant so it is important to study HIPAA restrictions, which will give you a deeper understanding of general professional security and patient privacy.

With each task you take on, you will have the chance to build your professional skills. If your job includes answering phones, you will learn to manage patients who are distressed, unwell, or in pain. The ability to be supportive, gentle, and direct can help you in many aspects of your career and, indeed, your life.

You will understand the certifications and licensure requirements of others in your current office. You may work with certified medical assistants, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners. You will also get the chance to work with physician assistants and physicians. Occupational and physical therapists may also be among the professionals you support.

A detailed understanding of the breadth of these positions may be possible to learn over time. If you intend to continue your career in administration, you may be called upon to schedule additional training for any of these professionals so they can maintain their licensure. If you plan to get more schooling in the world of healthcare, these professionals can give you pointers on your educational goals.

Part of your work will be to support the office administrator. By supporting aspects of their work, such as basic bookkeeping, you can increase your skills and make yourself a more attractive employee. Each time you tackle this assignment, do your best to understand better where it fits in the overall framework of the bookkeeping process.

Education

An administrative assistant in the educational field may have the pleasure of working with administrators, teachers, students, and paraprofessionals. Part of your work will include scheduling staff meetings or parent/teacher/administrative meetings.

You can use this time to invest in your skill in greeting “customers” as you may be dealing with busy parents, overloaded teachers, and troubled students. Staying consistent with your presentation will take focus; any organization that serves young people, especially very young people, will require you to remain flexible.

When you work in education, you will take care of filing and document design. You may help teachers design parent notification documents, including documents that need to be viewed, signed off on, and returned to the teacher and school. Tracking tools, such as spreadsheets, will help you ��design effective documentation management, and your skills can be of great help to teachers and administrators.

Employees in education will also need to stay abreast of legal and regulatory changes. Even those who work at private colleges will still need to follow state and federal regulations. Creating a process for storing copies of grades, student correspondence, and syllabi may be part of your workload.

Professional Services

As an administrative assistant, you will support sales personnel or engineers. Accountants and financial advisors also need administrative assistants. Each professional industry serves as a draw for different personality types; if you are a quiet, reflective person, supporting a dynamic sales team in the automotive industry may be challenging. A person who loves action and change may not thrive as an assistant to a tax professional.

Never stop looking for a way to build your skills. Data entry is a simple skill, but helping car shoppers apply for an automobile loan may require you to work quickly and handle detailed information.

Stay open to input, but make sure you check in with your supervisor. Many salespeople are carefully focused on their clients; they may check in at odd times or have tasks that need to be addressed quickly. Clients can also change your work requirements; if a client is out of town when their tax return is complete, you may need to prepare a lengthy fax.

Be aware that your industry may also impact your hours. If you work for a public accountant, March and April will be busy. If you support a team of sales professionals at a car dealership, your days off may not include the weekend. Each of these features of your job will have pluses and minuses; just be aware that flexibility may be required.

Scientific Services

As an administrative assistant for a scientific services firm, you may be given the chance to learn a great deal about the regulatory world. For example, you may work for a lab that supports the petrochemical industry, and you may be tasked with direct communication, such as phone calls and memos, to the professionals in your firm.

Knowing which professional handles what documentation will take time. It will also require you to understand document content to direct it properly. For example, the head of Research and Development may need immediate access to documentary changes in product content. In contrast, the Head of Manufacturing might need all incoming information on regulatory changes in packaging.

If you plan to continue your science education, your administrative assistant position may help you see the scientific process from the ground up. The life of a scientist is one of endless curiosity; after all, the scientific method is all about asking questions and conducting experiments. Part of your job will include taking care of the database where results are tracked. As you work with the numbers and information, the compilation of data can pique your curiosity.

Technical Services

The world of technical services is far-reaching and may offer you the opportunity for tremendous growth. You may work for a firm that does testing for other industries. Your tasks will include detailed tracking of lab work dedicated to measuring fluids, weights, or even measuring tools.

This is the field for those who are detail oriented. If you can work independently, you can quickly become even more valuable to your direct supervisors and your firm. In such cases, you must learn to manage your capacities.

As an administrative assistant in technical services, you will need to learn jargon and acronyms. To avoid an embarrassing or costly mix-up, carry a notebook to consistently remember which acronym or jargon is specific to different clients.

The ability to quickly enter numbers into a spreadsheet is a skill that you can build. You’ll also need to learn the following:

• Asking for a deadline so you can manage your tasks
• Take a break when you need one so you can stay focused
• Coming up with design changes if a database can’t be easily manipulated

As you build your time management skills, you may be given more opportunities to work autonomously. This is an ideal way to increase your skills, support more people, and grow within your firm.

Final Thoughts

A quality administrative assistant will find ways to grow at almost any organization. Keep your eyes open for new ways to learn. If you’ve been assigned a database clean-up that could benefit from an updated layout, go ahead and finish the clean-up task, then offer to create a sample layout change.

Administrative Assistant Program

The trains Ģ����ý College students to seek entry-level positions in the office administration or secretarial field. Graduates may work as a secretary, receptionist, executive assistant, or administrative assistant after coursework is completed. The school’s�� Administrative Assisting program externship will allow Ģ����ý College students to apply the skills learned during the classroom training.

Contact Ģ����ý & Institute today to learn more about becoming an administrative assistant

Are you interested in becoming a massage therapist and want to know more about massage techniques. Massage therapy is a diverse field, and there are many different massage techniques that a professional massage therapist can learn. While some massage therapists specialize in a particular technique, various techniques are taught during a Massage Therapy degree or diploma program. Different massage techniques are administered for different reasons; some are used to treat chronic pain, others alleviate stress, some may promote muscle recovery, and others are designed to induce relaxation.

You will learn the techniques to become a skilled massage therapist at Ģ����ý & Institute. Below are some of the most common types of massage that massage therapists learn during or diploma and degree programs.

What Are Some Massage Therapy Techniques?

Every massage therapist must be able to choose the right type of massage for each client. Clients often seek of massage therapy as part of a medical treatment plan, and sometimes, they may get a massage at the request of a doctor or chiropractor. Some clients will have particular requests, while others may describe their symptoms and ask you to choose the best massage for them.

Throughout your training, you will learn to perfect a variety of massage techniques, including:

Swedish Massage

The classic Swedish massage is one of the most versatile types of massage therapy. As a massage therapist, you learn to glide your hands along the client’s body gently. This helps the client ease tension in the muscles and promote a sense of lightness and relaxation. The official strokes you will learn during a massage therapy program include effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, friction, and vibration.

Swedish massages can be customized to suit a client’s needs and preferences. For example, one client may prefer a faster speed but lighter intensity, while another likes slower, deeper strokes. Although they may be administered differently, all Swedish massages employ the same basic techniques.

Deep Tissue Massage

Deep tissue massages support the musculoskeletal system by applying firm pressure strokes to the muscles and connective tissues. A full-body deep-tissue massage can help relieve tense muscles, especially in the back and shoulder area. It can also work out knots in muscles and help reduce chronic pain. During this type of treatment, your goal is to reach deeper levels of muscle by applying slow, intense pressure with your fingers. This technique is extremely common but requires skill and patience to perform accurately. Being too forceful or moving too quickly can cause clients pain and discomfort.

Myofascial

Myofascial massages help treat chronic pain and ease muscle tension throughout the body. This massage technique also treats myofascial pain syndrome, a condition marked by pain triggered by sensitive muscles throughout the body. A myofascial massage is also called myofascial release; this refers to the technique’s focus on scanning the body and applying gentle strokes and pressure to tight areas.

Prenatal/Postnatal Massage

Prenatal massage therapy helps pregnant women feel more comfortable and even prepare for their upcoming labor and delivery. Prenatal massages are modified Swedish massages with changes made to accommodate the mother’s stomach and protect the baby. This massage technique releases tension and stimulates blood circulation, which can ease back pain and help reduce swelling. Lowering stress levels and relaxing muscles can also help women experience less pain during labor and delivery.

Postnatal massages are similar to prenatal massages, but they are designed to promote recovery and wellness after giving birth. A woman’s body undergoes tremendous changes during pregnancy and childbirth. A postnatal massage can help new mothers feel more relaxed, lower stress, and promote hormonal regulation. It can also lead to better sleep, which is already in short supply with a demanding newborn. Postnatal massages can help decrease postpartum swelling through lymphatic drainage.

Sports Massage

Massage therapy plays an integral role in sports medicine. A sports massage consists of deep tissue therapy through deep strokes and intermittent pressure that often targets a specific body area, namely the muscular area most affected by a client’s athletic activity. Athletes usually experience muscle strain and injuries requiring targeted messages to accelerate healing. Routine messages for athletes can also help their muscles relax and recover after extensive use or ensure they’re properly relaxed before an event.

Trigger Point Therapy

A trigger point is a sensitive part of a muscle that can form a knot when strained. Athletes often develop muscle knots, but they can happen to anyone. Through a trigger point massage, you can help release these knots by applying pressure to a targeted point. Trigger points that cause pain in the surrounding muscular area can lead to the development of myofascial pain disorder.

Through trigger point massage therapy, clients experience more relaxed muscles, less pain, and a greater range of motion. You must discuss each client’s symptoms in detail to identify which trigger points to address and what pressure to apply to them. The goal is to reduce pain, not increase it. Because clients receiving this type of massage therapy are sensitive, extra caution and a solid understanding of proper technique are essential.

Shiatsu Massage

Shiatsu is the practice of Japanese bodywork, drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture. Instead of needles, you target specific points of the body to ease muscle tension, alleviate stress, and activate qi, the energy force that the Chinese believe flows through every living being. To perform Shiatsu properly, you must learn how to apply pressure at specific points using your thumbs, fingers, and palms. Many people believe that you can release trapped energy through Shiatsu, restore a natural balance, and feel more at ease.

Shiatsu practices have existed for centuries and are still popular today. Those passionate about energy healing and massage therapy may specialize in this form of treatment and earn a Shiatsu certificate.

Where Do You Learn Massage Therapy Techniques?

Ģ����ý & Institute are a great place to start massage therapy training. Our program teaches you the techniques you need to perform massage therapy, including anatomy, physiology, client satisfaction, business practices, and universal safety precautions. You will also be exposed to many massage techniques to build a well-rounded skill set. This will also help you discover your style and determine what types of massages you’d like to specialize in.

Do I Need a Diploma to Be a Massage Therapist?

In most states, practicing massage therapists must have at least a diploma from an accredited massage therapy training program to earn their state license. A diploma and license regulate the industry and ensure that only qualified professionals can give massages. Earning your diploma or degree is the first step toward further specialization. If you dream of starting a massage therapy practice, you’ll find all the resources at Ģ����ý & Institute immensely helpful.

What Are the Benefits of Attending a Massage Therapy Vocational School?

Our program offers a complete curriculum covering massage therapy, from human anatomy and physiology to business development. We help you build a solid foundational skill set that prepares you for work as a licensed massage therapist and potentially a business owner. You can also pursue additional certification in one or more types of massage therapy.

Hands-On Training

We are all about putting theory into practice, so you get the chance to practice under the strict supervision of experienced instructors. In addition to getting one-on-one feedback from giving and receiving messages, you can grow as a professional.

Learn Business Practices

After you have learned the different massage techniques, you take a program on running your own massage businesses or managing a massage spa. Most practicing massage therapists are entrepreneurs and may wish to open studios or offer massages in their clients’ homes.

Career Services

Through career services, you receive individual coaching to help you succeed. Resume help, job placement, and interview practice are available to make finding work that matches your knowledge and passion a reality.

Want to Learn More?

Are you interested in learning more about starting a career in massage therapy?��Upon graduation,��students will receive diplomas and be qualified to seek entry-level positions as clinical, medical, or deep tissue massage therapists in wellness clinics and centers, spa environments including resorts and franchises, and self-employment.

The massage therapy training diploma program consists of a well-planned sequence of courses, each preparing the college student for the more intensive information to follow. The school curriculum includes training to provide college students with scientific knowledge, manual skills, and business mastery to become a professional massage therapist.

��to learn more about how you can become a massage therapist today.

Are you interested in becoming a massage therapist and want to know more about Swedish massage? Did you know Swedish massage forms the basis of many other types of massage, such as deep tissue and chair massage? By learning Swedish massage, you can offer multiple massage techniques and create a unique treatment plan for your clients. So, what exactly is Swedish massage?

What is Swedish Massage?

Swedish massage is a full-body massage that targets the neck and shoulders down to the back, hands, legs and feet. Although Swedish massage has many benefits, the technique involves a few basic strokes.

What are the Basic Swedish Massage Strokes?

Five Swedish massage strokes include effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, friction, and vibration. Each stroke has a unique purpose. Depending on your client’s needs, you will create a unique treatment plan to get the right results.

Effleurage – a series of long, circular massage strokes at different intensity levels of pressure meant to loosen knots and release muscle tension. You use your hands and forearms to perform effleurage strokes. These strokes move toward the direction of the heart to help stimulate blood flow.

Petrissage – the kneading or squeezing of the soft tissue, used to stretch and loosen muscle tension. This stroke has a deeper effect on soft tissue to help improve blood circulation, stimulate joint fluid, and remove muscle toxins.

Tapotement –used after effleurage and petrissage to stimulate soft tissue circulation. During this stroke, you use a tapping motion on the body to stimulate blood flow and introduce endorphins into the body. This stroke can energize the client and invigorate them for the rest of the day.

Friction – massage in a circular motion with cross-fiber movements to penetrate deep tissues and rub the body’s muscles. This stroke uses the ball of the thumb or a pointed object. Friction helps warm the muscles, allowing them to improve blood flow during tapotement strokes.

Vibration – shaking the muscles to loosen and relax the body. Vibration strokes also help improve nerve function and relax the body’s muscles.

What are the Benefits of Swedish Massage?

Swedish massage has many different benefits. These benefits include relaxation, stress reduction, increased blood circulation, removal of metabolic waste and scar tissue, immunity support, better posture, increased flexibility, and headache relief.

Relaxation – Swedish massage increases relaxation by reducing tension in the muscles, sending calming nerve messages to the brain, and producing feel-good hormones like dopamine. Reducing stress and tension in the body helps relax the mind and body.

Increase Blood Circulation – many of the strokes used in Swedish massage are intended to increase blood circulation. For example, effleurage is used to move blood toward the heart to help stimulate blood flow, exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen rich blood, and remove waste from the blood stream.

Removal of Metabolic Waste and Scar Tissue – when a client gets injured, the body naturally creates scar tissue to help heal. Once healed, soft tissue holds scar tissue, lactic acid, and other metabolic waste. Swedish massage strokes can help break down scar tissue and push lactic acid and other metabolic waste out of the muscles and soft tissue to be removed from the body.

Immunity Support – the body relies on the immune system to protect it from outside forces like viruses and bacteria. Swedish massage helps improve mood, reduce stress, and increase blood circulation, which can help boost immunity within the body.

Better Posture – many of us work at a desk or stand during the day, which can cause an imbalance in the muscle structure. Swedish massage can help improve posture by reducing the imbalances within muscles. A person with poor posture may rely on one set of muscles over another, and Swedish massage helps restore muscle balance and improve posture.

Increased Flexibility – As we work our muscles, they naturally restrict. Swedish massage helps increase flexibility in the joints, tendons, and muscles by elongating the muscles and improving the range of motion.

Headache Relief – Many people suffer from headaches, whether induced by stress, tension, or injury. Swedish massage can help reduce stress and tension and restore balance to the brain, offering clients relief from headaches and other body aches they may be experiencing.

Are Massage Therapists in Demand?

Massage therapists are in demand. Employment of massage therapists is projected to grow 18 percent annually from 2022 to 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More people are looking to supplemental treatments for pain and injury in addition to traditional medicine. Doctors are even prescribing massage therapy as a part of medical treatment. Massage therapy is mainstream, and more people are becoming aware of the benefits of massage.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know what a Swedish massage includes, are you ready to learn more about becoming a massage therapist? Do you have the time to attend a massage therapy program full-time? If so, start your new journey today. Help others while you build a rewarding career; it’s a win-win.

Are you interested in learning more about starting a career in massage therapy? Upon graduation, students will receive diplomas and be qualified to seek entry-level positions as clinical, medical, or deep tissue massage therapists in wellness clinics and centers, spa environments including resorts and franchises, and self-employment.

The massage therapy training diploma program consists of a well-planned sequence of courses, each preparing the college student for the more intensive information to follow. The school curriculum includes training to provide college students with scientific knowledge, manual skills, and business mastery to become a professional massage therapist.

to learn more about how you can become a massage therapist today.

One of the best ways to become a sought-after employee is to build strong computer skills. Effective use of Microsoft Office can help you make strong connections with co-workers and stand out as a support system for business leadership.

What is Microsoft Office?

Microsoft Office is a collection of software that makes communication within an office possible. Some of the programs under the Microsoft Office umbrella include:

Word

With Word, you can communicate, format letters, create newsletters, and provide other structural support. Word can also mesh well with Excel to run mail merges. Once you learn to create templates and mail merges in Microsoft Word, you can generate mass documents to share information with clients.

As you work in Word, make sure you pay attention to shortcuts. Word will automate a lot of formatting if you let it. Need a numbered list? Create one in the control ribbon. It may be faster to type “1” and start your first point. Word will automatically generate a “2” and continue. Hitting enter can break the numerical formatting chain; using the Tab key can help you build an outline with multiple points within the numeric structure.

Find a printed page that contains a detailed outline and practice. How many ways can you create a numbered list? What if you want to avoid numbers? Can you find bullet points that will help you match the style and produce easy-to-read documents? Coming up with the proper formatting with as few keystrokes as possible is a terrific skill.

Excel

Excel is primarily a spreadsheet program, but even if you never need to generate a single equation, you can get a lot of use out of this program. In Excel, you can

• Sort quickly and effectively
• Pull portions of text from other cells
• Remove duplicates from a mailing list
• Create formulas like vlookup

Sorting is quite simple. If you’ve got a mailing list and want to ensure that old addresses have been pulled, you can sort it by name. Setting up your mailing list with an eye toward detailed sorting is a good idea. Instead of including First Name, Middle Initial, and Last Name in one field or cell, you may get more use out of your spreadsheet if you split this content using “text to column.”

You have many options to pull information from other cells. You can choose to split a cell on spaces or commas. This is the first step in separating the information for more effective manipulation if you have a very long list of consolidated addresses. You can also use the “LEFT” and “RIGHT” commands to remove several characters from an adjacent cell. For example, if you need to review five-character zip codes, you can pull them with this command.

When you’re practicing mailing lists or database manipulation, creating a new spreadsheet and keeping it in your personal work folder is a good idea. You can name it something simple, such as Mailing List Practice. Next, create multiple tabs in your practice spreadsheet to copy, extract, and play with the data until you’re confident.

If you need to learn to use the calculation features in Excel, finding an old checkbook or ledger is a good idea. You can learn to add, subtract, and insert lines with this. As you need more equations, you can practice those skills.

Excel offers many automatic features—practice building a calendar. Type in the number 1, then move right and type the number 2. If you highlight these two cells and pull them to the right, you’ll see 3, 4, 5, etc., fill in automatically. The same will happen on Monday and Tuesday.

PowerPoint

PowerPoint is the flashiest feature of Office and allows you to create presentation projects. Presenters can use PowerPoints and print them into booklets. Each PowerPoint page can be uniquely laid out, though this can be overdone and start to look busy.

Your firm likely has a basic PowerPoint template that includes your logo. The primary template may also include bio information for presenters. Again, save yourself a copy of the document to practice on.

Learn to insert breaks that allow you to change the formatting. Play with the available fonts for quick recognition. Keep your work in visible mode so you can see the page breaks you’ve installed, the layout or text boxes at work in your document, and how the images are formatted.

Find a paper copy of a PowerPoint with a lot of variety and get in the habit of working to manipulate your practice document until making changes in the document is easy. When you’re invited to produce a PowerPoint, you don’t want to struggle to figure out how to change layout features or add a text box. You want the process to be seamless.

Access

Access is another database software. It uses tables like Excel, but that’s where the similarities stop. Access is the ideal place to create a unique database. In your access table, you can make a primary key. This key is unique to the record and cannot be duplicated.

If part of your job is to help arrange bids and each bid has a unique code or number, tracking those bids in Access can reduce the risk that you’ll present a bid to your supervisor more than once. You can also track the materials needed for the bid and the supplier contact information on this database.

It’s important to note that Access doesn’t do calculations. You can import from Excel to Access and do the same in reverse but be very careful when designating your primary key.

Outlook

Outlook is Microsoft Office’s calendar and email feature. The staff members you support may give you access to shared calendars. You can also add group events to these calendars. Take your time as you work through these calendars and do your best to avoid distractions when setting up such events; one poorly booked meeting can create a lot of commotion.

Set up your email folders with care as well. If you get regular notifications from the local Business Journal, create a folder for yourself and move new messages until you have time to review the latest information. The same folders can be used for local office supply store flyers.

Finally, the drag-and-drop feature for specific emails can be used to mark items on your calendar. If you need to print an agenda for a meeting and someone sends you a link to an agenda they’re working on, move it to your calendar and set the notification for a few hours before the event. That way, you can be sure you’ll print off the newest version of the agenda.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft Office has undergone some significant changes in recent years, and updates are continually offered. If you know the basics but are concerned about using the latest tips, it’s a good idea to take a Computer Operations program at Ģ����ý College.

Computer Operations Program

The  provides college students job-related training in various computer fields.  Ģ����ý College students will complete computer training courses on the various Microsoft Office applications relating to word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation creation.  The Computer Operations diploma program also includes administrative office procedures and accounting training.

 today to learn more about our Computer Operations program at Ģ����ý Institute.