Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Home Safety Tips While Entertaining

Entertaining at home can be a lot of fun. You get the chance to show off your hosting skills, indulge your guests with your fabulous cooking and enjoy their company in a relaxed setting. In addition to the great food and charming company you will offer your guests, you also want to ensure their safety, especially when young children and elderly people are on the guest list.

Whether planning a sit-down dinner in the dining room or a picnic in the backyard, you want the assurance that your home, your yard and your accommodations are safe and secure for everyone.

Ten safety tips when entertaining at home:

1) Make sure your homeowner’s insurance provides ample coverage and your payments are up to date. This is one of the most important proactive and protective measures you can take to protect your property and your guests in the event of an accident or injury.

2) Check your home and property for potentially hazardous conditions. If entertaining outside, check the grounds for holes. Consider installing hand rails at all entrances and stairways. If you have a pool, make sure it is fenced off and locked when not supervised by an adult. If you are entertaining during the winter, make sure all snow, ice and hanging icicles have been removed from walkways and entranceways. Add salt or sand if necessary.

If children are expected, make sure all windows, screens and doors are secured tightly and stairways are gated. Store all sharp objects and tools in a childproof cabinet. Lock up all medicines and cleaning supplies. Remove any top-heavy items that could fall over onto someone. Make sure area rugs and extension cords are secured or out of the way and don’t cause a tripping hazard. Close off all unsafe areas.

3) Limit the number of guests to what you can safely accommodate. Make sure elderly guests have comfortable seating arrangements. If children are attending, they should be accompanied by an adult.

4) Make sure you have ample parking for your guests. If planning a large gathering, check with your town to see if there are limits on the number of cars that can be parked on the road. Don’t block off any fire hydrants.

5) Check all appliances and equipment you plan on using. Check wiring for signs of wear. Don’t overload your electrical outlets with too many appliances.

6) Never leave a stove, fire pit, fireplace or grill unattended and never allow young children near the cooking area. Keep children away from matches, lighters, lighting fluids and propane tanks. If decorating with candles, place them in safe containers, away from curtains and other flammable items. Make sure all cigarette butts are completely extinguished before tossing in the trash. A fire extinguisher nearby would provide an extra element of safety and peace of mind.

7) Make sure all pets are safely removed from the entertaining area. Also request that your guests leave their pets at home. This is for everyone’s safety including the safety of the pets.

8) If alcohol is being served, also offer a full supply of non-alcoholic beverages, bottled water, coffee and tea. Make sure all guests are within the legal alcohol limit for driving home or have a designated driver.

9) Put any cherished family treasures and valuables out of reach or stored away for safekeeping during the event, especially if children are expected.

10) Always have a first-aid kit close by in case of emergency.

Once you have given your home and property a thorough inspection and taken all necessary safety precautions, you are ready to open your home to your guests and thoroughly enjoy the festivities.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Medical Assistant Jobs Tips and Guidelines

The healthcare industry is one of the biggest employers in the USA, as well as many other countries, and this provides plenty of opportunities for those that want to work in it. There are a variety of occupations to choose from and this includes those with a focus on the care of patients, such as physicians and surgeons, and those that assist them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic, and a number of other resources, one of the occupations which is expected to have good future prospects is a

medical assistant and this can therefore be a good career path to choose.

Duties and training

A medical assistant is essentially the person around which the smooth running of the office of a doctor or physician is based. They can work for many different types of medical practitioners, and their duties can vary depending on the size of the office in which they work. However, work will typically include administrative duties such as arranging appointments, greeting patients on arrival, keeping patients records correctly filed for easy access, dealing with billing and insurance and also dealing with office correspondence. In many cases they can also undertake simple clinical duties such as assisting physicians during patient examinations and tests, finding out medical histories and taking and recording vital signs.

Formal education is not typically an absolute requirement of becoming a medical assistant, with some learning and being trained on the job. However, there are courses available and these are usually in the range of 1 to 2 years in length. These teach many of the duties of the occupation and can be useful both in understanding what is required and in terms of searching for and securing a job. Becoming certified by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) can also help in securing work and career advancement.

Job Resources

There are a number of resources that can be used to find medical assistant jobs and information, with the internet being one of the best places to search these days. The following are some of the websites that can be used to find opportunities for those that work in the field.

Health Career Web

Health Career Web is a career information and job search site that covers a variety of different occupations in the healthcare industry. This includes medical assistants and the site has a large number of opportunities around the country. It is possible to browse through a list of available jobs which show brief details, and any that are of interested can be opened to show the full advert. This provides a job description, as well as showing the job requirements and the site also provides the opportunity to apply for the jobs available.

Medical Assistant

The Medical Assistant website can be a good resource for a wide range of information about the occupation and this includes details of job opportunities. Opening the site on the Medical Assistant Jobs section provides a list of many job opportunities. It is possible to browse the list, although there is also a search function in which zip code, city or state can be entered to narrow the list down to a particular area. For the many resources it provides, the Medical Assistant website can be a good option to choose.

Nursing Exams

The Nursing Exams site is more aimed at nursing staff, although many nurses can take up medical assistant positions and the job listings on the site has a specific area for this type of post. The jobs available are from around the USA and a list of these is available to look through. However, for those looking for positions in a particular area, the site has a search function which enables the job listing to be searched by job title and location. This makes it easy to narrow a search to jobs that will be of interest.

Health Care Web

The jobs section in Health Care Web is a decent resource for finding medical assistant jobs. When the page opens there is a search function at the very top of the page, and this allows the listings to be checked by job title and area. Looking under the Allied Health heading also has a link which connects straight to medical assistant job listings. It is therefore relatively simple to find the available posts and there are plenty of opportunities from around the country.

A career as a medical assistant can be an excellent choice and it is expected to an occupation that will have good prospects in the coming years. For those already in the industry and those looking to get started, the resources above can be worth checking out for the job opportunities and other information they have available.
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