3 To-Dos for your New Year’s Resolutions

It’s probably no surprise that losing weight and getting more exercise generally land near the top of our New Year’s resolutions lists every year. But according to the Franklin Covey Co’s survey, two new resolutions broke into the top 10 category in 2013: getting more education and improving career situations.

The two do go hand-in-hand.

If you want a better career, you’ll probably need additional career training.

While starting a new career may seem like a daunting long-term goal, breaking it down into mini-goals can help you get there. Instead of thinking big, try thinking small and following these 3 strategies to find your way to a new career in the New Year:

Reflect

Before you choose a career, consider your own strengths. If you like helping others and really enjoy working with people, you may want to consider a career in the healthcare field where you’ll get to do both. If you’re a problem-solver, maybe a career in Information Technology is just your calling. Or maybe you’ve always imagined yourself working in business. Whatever your interests and natural abilities, there’s likely a career and training available to you.

Research Once you’ve thought about who you are and the kind of work environments that you might like, it’s time to do a little research. Check out careers where top employers are offering the kind of work you might find rewarding.

Did you know:

·         Jobs  in healthcare are amazingly resilient

·          Since 2007, while most industries were losing jobs, healthcare added more than a half-million jobs!

·         Jobs for computer support specialists are expected to grow 18 percent through 2020

·         Administrative assistant positions are expected to see a 12 percent growth through 2020

Inquire But how do you find out more? Asking questions of people already working in the fields you’re considering is one way. Another is to investigate training programs available in your area. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or request information directly from the school. Remember, if you want to set out on the path to a new career, starting with small steps should be your first action. At Quest Learning Centers, you can train for many jobs in healthcare, IT and business in as little as 7 months. We even have a 14-month IT associate degree program. You don’t have to spend years to find a new career. You just need to take that first step.

Career Quest Learning Centers offer an array of career training programs, many of which can be completed in less than 7 months. Call one of our three campuses or contact us here for more information. The beginning to your new career could be waiting behind a Michigan door in Lansing, Jackson or Kalamazoo.

3 Benefits of Working with the Elderly

Careers in the healthcare field offer dependable and rewarding work –especially when you find a focus that’s a fit for you. Working with the elderly provides many intangible rewards that you won’t discover in any other healthcare sector.

Impact

Working in geriatrics gives you the opportunity to make a real difference in someone’s life. Elderly patients and nursing home residents truly need the services you provide. You may need to take your patients’ vital signs, such as temperature and blood pressure. You might help them clean, bathe and dress, or serve them meals and help them eat. By assisting them with personal care and helping them retain their independence, you are providing a vital service to your patients. On the front line of caregiving, you also are uniquely suited to be an advocate for them. You can act as liaison between other healthcare workers and your patient and make certain that your patient’s needs are being effectively communicated and satisfied.

Gratitude

Many of the people with whom you’ll work look forward to their interactions with caregivers as a highlight of their day. Your warm and empathetic presence in their lives can mean the difference between a dismal day and a bright one. Seniors are also more willing to show their gratitude. They appreciate what you’re doing for them and they don’t mind telling you so!

Perspective

Nothing helps you understand more about what’s important in life than seeing others face struggles you do not. Seniors in nursing homes and assisted living facilities have travelled much farther along life’s journey than you and they have a lot to teach about what matters most. As you learn about the aging process and what’s to come, you may be better able to set priorities in your own life and remember to spend time with the people who matter most.

Time Machines

One of the common benefits cited by those working with seniors is how much they learn from their patients. Elders have a wealth of knowledge to share and lots of time to do just that. Their tales can be like a hidden time machine, taking you back to a simpler era. Take a ride and you’ll be fascinated with what you discover.

Working with the elderly as a Nurse’s Aide or Medical Assistant means you’ll be working in a field with solid job prospects. The U.S. elderly population is soaring. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people worldwide aged 65 and older will nearly double by 2025. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that Nurse’s Aides can expect faster than average job growth through 2020 and medical assistants can expect much faster than average job growth.

When you choose to work with the elderly, you’ll not only be providing important care to a deserving population; you’ll be rewarded with sound job security and true gratitude.

At Career Quest Learning Centers, you can train to work in the healthcare field as a Certified Nurse Aide or Medical Assistant and specialize in geriatrics once you are working. Call one of our three campuses or contact us here for more information. Your new career could be waiting behind a Michigan door at Lansing, Jackson or Kalamazoo.

Medical Assistants –5 Skills You’ll Need

If you care about people and have a strong desire to help them, you may already have some of the skills you’ll need to become a Medical Assistant.  A  medical assistant program may be the perfect match for the person you are and the job you could find in in today’s modern healthcare office.

1) Honesty & Integrity

Patient privacy will be entrusted to you as a Medical Assistant and you must guard that responsibility with the utmost care. Not only will you be privy to sensitive medical information, but you will also learn much about the personal lives of your patients. Honesty and integrity are also vital in your interactions with doctors and staff. The team approach used in most healthcare settings today demands that each member honestly and openly accept responsibility for his or her role within the organization. 

2) Interpersonal Skills

You’ve got to be a people person. As a Medical Assistant, you’ll spend most of your day interacting with people from all walks of life. You’ll need to be pleasant and helpful to doctors, nurses, medical staff and patients –patients who may be nervous about a procedure, a diagnosis or their overall health. Your ability to offer them reassuring words and a warm smile can be the difference between a good experience and a horrible one.

3) Communication Skills

As a Medical Assistant, you’ll often need to translate complicated medical terminology into a language that your patients can understand. Serving as liaison from patient to doctor, you may be taking patient history one moment and then instructing patients on post-procedure care the next. Your ability to effectively communicate can save your patients unnecessary stress, ensure that healthcare workers in your office do their best job, and increase the level of professionalism with which  your entire facility is run.

4) Fine Attention to Detail

Whether you’re performing lab procedures, doing coding and billing, or intefacing directly with patients, your fine attention to detail is an asset the healthcare field requires. Mistakes in the medical field can cost more than just time and money; they can adversely affect patient care.

5) Ability to Multi-task

If you’re thinking that working in the healthcare field as a Medical Assistant sounds like you’ll be busy doing a lot of different tasks, you’re right. The ability to quickly switch gears and adapt to changing situations is an important skill. As a Medical Assistant in an exciting medical setting, you’ll often be called upon to keep many balls in the air, all the while remaining pleasant and professional.  

At Career Quest Learning Centers, you can train to be a Medical Assistant in as little as 7 months. Call one of our three campuses or contact us here for more information. Your new career could be waiting behind a Michigan door at Lansing, Jackson or Kalamazoo.

Administrative Assistants –More Important than the boss?

While you may have always suspected it, now there’s mounting evidence that Administrative Assistants serve roles in corporate America that are considered even more important than the jobs that their bosses do. According to a social media survey conducted by office giant Staples, almost two-thirds of those participating said office administrative assistants are more relevant than the boss when it comes to holding the office together. 

Good Administrative Assistants do perform a host of above-and-beyond tasks for their bosses and their companies. Often not receiving the recognition they deserve, Administrative Assistants screen calls and emails, organize meetings, manage schedules, handle travel arrangements and track expenses. In smaller companies, they sometimes become ipso facto Human Resource managers. And in big and small arenas, they serve as gatekeeper to the boss, discerning just who gets in and who does not.

In “The Case for Executive Assistants” article for the Harvard Business Review, executive assistant recruiter Melba Duncan points out that good assistants save their bosses time and their companies money. In addition to the roles which are most commonly associated with them, Executive Assistants can be crucial onboarding resources, helping new managers get up-to-speed with company culture, according to Duncan. “In this way, knowledgeable assistants are more than a productivity asset: They’re reverse mentors, using their experience to teach new executives how people are expected to behave at that level in the organization,” said Duncan.

And for a few highly skilled assistants, the roles they initially play within an organization serve as stepping stones to advancement. Because the tasks Administrative Assistants often perform involve direct client communication, project research and vendor negotiations, Assistants are often strategically positioned to understand the full scope of what a company does and where it may be going –and to follow their company’s upward trajectory.

The value of and potential for today’s Administrative Assistants can’t be overstated. They are vital members of any organization. At Career Quest Learning Centers, students in the Administrative Office Professional Program are trained to work in today’s modern office setting. The program offers a wide array of office, communication and computer instruction to help students prepare for entry-level through advanced-level employment.

Homeland Security –IT’s Integral Role

The Department of Homeland Security is burdened with the daunting task of ensuring the safety of the whole country and preventing terrorist attacks within the borders of the United States. And while it employs more than 240,000 personnel and has a wide array of preventative weapons in its arsenal, probably none is as significant as its technology. 

From the pullover stop of front line police officers to the data mining performed by the National Security Agency, Information Technology is an integral part of modern day law enforcement and terrorism prevention. Police officers using laptops in their patrol cars can perform near instantaneous threat assessment about the vehicles and drivers they stop. FBI, NSA and Homeland Security agents can cull through mountains of metadata to tie suspected terrorists to their networks. And behind-the-scenes diligently working IT techs can help to turn raw data into actionable information.

IT defensive strategists need to be more vigilant than ever –because cyber criminals are! The bad guys are harnessing the power of computers, networks and the Internet to be more innovative in their destruction. Terrorists send messages of propaganda and recruitment through the Internet but also conduct real-time operations through cyperspac using an array of technological tools to carry out their sinister missions, while striving to remain undetected. 

That’s where cybersecurity comes into action. Cybersecurity and the IT specialists behind it are the very first levels of protection for our nation’s critical infrastructure, economy, power grids and security systems. 

And cybersecurity isn’t just the backbone of national security; it’s a multibillion dollar industry with ever-expanding growth potential. The more hackers work to attack, the more security needs to be intensified to prevent and respond.

The Information Technology Professional program at Career Quest Learning Centers trains students to work in the Information Technology industry by teaching the fundamentals of computer hardware and software troubleshooting, networking technologies for local area and wide area networks and a host of real world professional development skills and customer relations.

5 Benefits of Small Class Sizes

Students often feel like they’re just a number at large universities with big classes. Sometimes, smaller truly is better. Here are 5 benefits to smaller class sizes:

1) Instructors who care

In a small class, you are not just a number. Your instructor will get to know you and your skills, strengths, passions and learning styles. You matter! Isn’t that a great feeling? Instructors in small class settings are more likely to offer individual attention and guidance. They have a lot of information to share and they want to share it 

with you. They actually like their jobs and enjoy interacting with their students!

2) Peer Interaction

Did you know that you could learn a lot from that person sitting beside you in the classroom? Your peers today will be your colleagues tomorrow. Maybe it’s time you started teaching each other. In small class settings, you will get to know the people with whom you’ll be sharing a work environment and a world in the future. Small classes give you the opportunity to speak up and be heard among your peers. Interactions at school can help you build self-confidence and public speaking skills. You will also be able to share your knowledge with your peers. And they’ll be sharing with you. Listen closely; the lessons they teach may be invaluable.

3) Positive Attention

The personalized attention you receive in a small classroom setting allows you to get individual critique, focus and feedback. Because your instructors are not trying to evaluate the work of hundreds of students, they can more effectively judge how you’re doing and communicate it directly to you. You’re not lost in the shuffle –and neither is your good work.

4) Varied Assignment Opportunities

In some classrooms, students are judged on a few widely spaced exams –and that’s it. Small classes often give you the chance to demonstrate your knowledge in ways that best fit your learning style. Group work and projects are common. In a small setting, you’re more likely to be judged by your hands-on skills, interactive abilities and willingness to put a good effort into your work.

5) Creativity

In smaller class settings, your teacher is more likely to measure the class, understand the learning styles of the students and think outside the box with regard to lessons and classroom time. Creative instructors like teaching to all kinds of learners, including you!

The Career Quest Learning Center staff prides itself on giving students the attention and opportunities they deserve. One way we do this is by limiting our class sizes to offer students individualized attention and instruction. We’re as serious about your career training as you are. Whether you’re looking to change careers or simply step up your game from where you are now, we can help. Contact a Career Quest Learning Center representative now for more information. Programs start every six weeks.

How Pharmaceuticals Make It to Market…

And where pharmacy technicians come in.

People use pharmaceuticals every day without giving much thought to where they come from. This article explores the pharmaceutical development process and provides insight into how today’s most frequently prescribed drugs make it from early development to your local pharmacy.

Step 1: Research

This is often the stage where initial breakthroughs happen. Whether companies want to develop a drug to fight cancer or cure the common cold, research and laboratory studies are where all drugs begin. *

Step 2: Determine safety and effectiveness

When manufacturers or potential marketers are thinking about bringing a new drug to the commercial market, the first questions they need to ask are: “Is this safe and is it needed?” From there, they will begin collecting data and necessary information to establish the drug’s safety and effectiveness. This typically happens through some form of animal testing.

Step 3: Submit an application to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

In the United States, pharmaceutical companies must gain permission from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to further develop and test potential drugs. This includes submitting an Investigational New Drug (IND) application and explaining the need for the drug, the animal pharmacology and toxicology studies, manufacturing information, clinical protocols and investigator information.

Step 4: Clinical trials

After submitting the IND application, pharmaceutical companies must wait at least 30 calendar days for the FDA to review it and give the go-ahead to begin clinical trials. At this stage, human testing can begin.

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Step 5: Review and approval

As soon as they conclude the clinical trials stage, pharmaceutical companies can begin examining the results. If the drug is determined to be safe and effective, the company will then submit a New Drug Application, which outlines the manufacturing specifications and other important information needed to bring the drug to market. After this review process is complete, the company may proceed with marketing its new drug for commercial use.

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Step 6: At the counter

This is where pharmacy technicians come in. They work on the front lines of distribution to the public. They ensure that proper medication, dosage and critical information about the drug are delivered to consumers to protect their safety.

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