Becoming a nurse could be one of the most rewarding decisions you have ever made in terms of career choices.  Nurses are in  demand world wide and the breadth and depth of opportunity is no less then amazing.  When it comes to becoming a nurse, your options are nearly unlimited.

Nurses work in what are probably the most diverse settings in the health care industry.  If you can name a field of medicine, there are nursing positions in that field.  Being a nurse is not merely emptying bedpans in a hospital.  Nurses work on medevac planes, in emergency rooms and critical care units and in some rural areas, may actually be a practitioner.

If you love to travel, there are a whole fleet of options for traveling nurses as well.

The point here is that nursing offers almost unlimited advancement and work setting opportunities.  The career is stable and pays very well for the most part.

It’s also worthy of mention that you do not necessarly have to commit yourself to a 4 year degree program, although a BSN will open many more doors for you.  There are nursing assistant programs as well as vocational nursing programs that can get your foot in the door to this worthwhile profession.

If you have the slightest interest in becoming a nurse, check out the great training resources on this page.  These schools will get you headed in the right direction for becoming a nurse.

From: heeryae.com

Becoming a surgical technician is considered to be an outstanding career choice these days.  Health related careers are still doing very well in terms of openings and career stability.  Anyone who trains to be a surgical technician should find themselves in a very good position.

Surgical technicians assist in all manner of operating room procedures.  They set up the surgical suite with the appropriate equipment and instruments.  They work as part of the surgical team to ensure an efficient, safe and effective surgical process.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics  has a very positive outlookfor the surgical technician career:

“Employment of surgical technologists is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations. Job opportunities will be best for technologists who are certified.

Employment change. Employment of surgical technologists is expected to grow 24 percent between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations, as the volume of surgeries increases. The number of surgical procedures is expected to rise as the population grows and ages. Older people, including the baby boom generation, who generally require more surgical procedures, will account for a larger portion of the general population. In addition, technological advances, such as fiber optics and laser technology, will permit an increasing number of new surgical procedures to be performed and also will allow surgical technologists to assist with a greater number of procedures.

Hospitals will continue to be the primary employer of surgical technologists, although much faster employment growth is expected in offices of physicians and in outpatient care centers, including ambulatory surgical centers.”

Here are a few web sites that will provide you more information about this outstanding health field career:

• Techconnect
• Association of Surgical Technologists
• American Academy of Physicians Assistants
• ASA
• YourSurgery.Com
• Or-Live.Com
• Medscape
• Regent Medical

The sites above are just a starting point for you.  It is important to do as much research as possible  while making a career choice.  We are dedicated to helping you get on the right path by putting you in touch with some great schools.

The number of outpatient surgical centers is rising around the country.  These “day surgery” facilities can provide an excellent level of service at a lower cost than their hospital based counter-parts.

This means that opportunities will continue to grow for those who are trained to be a surgical technician.  Get started today by asking for school information from one of our surgical technician schools.

From: Royal Devon and Exeter NHS UK

There are certainly a lot of jobs in the medical field that provide a challenge and a great degree of satisfaction.  Respiratory Therapy fall in this category.  A respiratory therapist expertly helps patients handle their breathing needs.  A respiratory therapist helps to administer medications and operate the wide variety of devices and machines that help patients breathe easier.

This exciting profession also is involved in teaching patients with breathing difficulties how to properly self administer medications and how to use the various devices that the patient may have in their home.  While many respiratory therapists work in a hospital setting, that is expected to change.  The government  is forecasting that a growing number of openings are expected to be outside of hospitals, especially in home health care services, offices of physicians or other health practitioners, consumer-goods rental firms, or in the employment services industry as a temporary worker in various settings.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics Outlooka growing number of openings are expected to be outside of hospitals, especially in home health care services, offices of physicians or other health practitioners, consumer-goods rental firms, or in the employment services industry as a temporary worker in various settings. report: “Faster-than-average employment growth is projected for respiratory therapists. Job opportunities should be very good, especially for respiratory therapists with cardiopulmonary care skills or experience working with infants.”

It’s very clear:  Now is an excellent time to begin your training in the respiratory therapy field.

Click over to the tabs on the left side of the page and get great information about how to begin training for this field.

The training that you will receive when you go to EMT school can be very intensive.  There is a lot of book learning to accomplish as well as hands on skills that must be mastered before you can be eligible to take the State or National examinations.

The book learning is not particularly difficult but there is a lot of it.  You need to learn about the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System, communications, taking patient histories and everything else related to the non-medical side of being an EMT.  Of course there will be a great deal of time dedicated towards the learning of human systems, anatomy and physiology and the different disease processes.  There is also much to be learned in terms of how traumatic injury affects the body.

The practical skills that you will learn are critical to acceptable performance on the job and to good patient care.  You will spend a lot of time practicing these skills in the classroom with your fellow students.  You will also be given scenarios that combine several of the practical skills as well as patient interaction and communication.

Don’t be intimidated by how all of this sounds.  Desire and drive go a long way in this field and if you just apply yourself during EMT school you will do just fine.

For those of you considering a career related to anesthesiology, here are some sites with some great information about the field.

1. Anesthesiology & Surgery Center — Martindale’s Virtual Medical Center
2. Hardin MD - Anesthesiology and Pain
3. American Society of Anesthesiologists
4. Canadian Anaesthetists’ Society (CAS)
5. Global Regional Anesthesia Website
6. The Virtual Anesthesia Textbook
7. A Guide to Spinal Anesthesia for Caesarean Section
8. LARA-L - A discussion board
9. GasNet
10. Anesthesia & Analgesia News from Doctors Guide
11. Anesthesiology News
12. AnesthesiaLinx.com
13. Anesthesia News from CAS
14. Topix.net Anesthesiology News
15. Science Daily News - Anesthesiology
16. Update in Anaesthesia
17. Anesthesiology
18. Anesthesia & Analgesia
19. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology
20. International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia
21. Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
22. The Anesthesia Gas Machine
23. The Global Textbook of Anesthesiology
24. Redbook-The Anesthesia Resident’s Handbook
25. Vascular Thoracic Anesthesia Manual
26. Anaesthetist.com -The WorldWide Anaesthetist
27. American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
28. American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
29. Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
30. International Anesthesia Research Society
31. International Trauma Anesthesia & Critical Care Society
32. obAnaesthesia
33. Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia
34. Society for Computing and Technology in Anaesthesia
35. The Royal College of Anaesthetists
36. Ophthalmic Anesthesia Society
37. Society for Pediatric Anesthesia
38. Emergency Airway Management Video
39. Webmedtechnology Online Educational Videos: Conscious Sedation
40. Airway Evaluation Tutorial
41. Anaesthesiology Case of the Month Archives at Berne
42. Vienna Virtual Museum of the History of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine
43. Penn State Anesthesia Patient Information
44. Patients’ Guide to Local and Regional Anaesthesia
45. Information for Patients:Anesthesia & You
46. American Society of Anesthesiologists Public Education
47. Anesthesia Internet Resources Directory at Karolinska
48. MedWeb Anesthesiology Internet Resouces
49. Australasian Anaesthesia
50. ICU and Anaesthesia Website

Your Medical and Nursing Training site has information on Anesthesiology Schools.  It’s worth stopping by and getting information if this looks like the career for you.

After being an EMT for two years, in 1982 I decided to go to paramedic school.  I was living in Los Angeles at the time and being a paramedic was still a relatively new career.  I chose a local school that was affiliated with the start of Emergency Medical Services in the Los Angeles area.

I chose the school I did because of it’s reputation and because it was an intensive, every day school.  I preferred the immersion method because I knew it fit my learning style.  The course consisted of classroom training 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for two months, followed by a month of 12 hours every day of clinical rotation in local hospitals.  That training was followed by a two month internship working as the third member of the paramedic crew at a local fire department.

It was a tough 5 months.  Everything else in life gets put on hold and your focus is entirely on the training.  With that said, if I had to do it all over again I would do it exactly the same.  I will always remember the sense of pride at my accomplishment.  I remember even now, 25 years later, driving the Paramedic Ambulance and looking down at my left shoulderand seeing the crisp LA County Paramedic patch outlined against the crisp sky blue of my uniform shirt.  Even to this day I’m proud.