Benefits of Aseptic Techniques Training: 5 Points

Aseptic techniques' training is mandatory for hospital employees and specially those who work in surgical fields. This includes doctors, nurses, and others who are regularly in contact with infected patients. Training teaches you the procedures and measures that you must follow in prevent spread of infections.

Even if your work doesn't involve being a primary care-giver to patients, it is always good to be aware of these precautionary measures in cause you have to deal with an emergency situation.

Mentioned below are 5 benefits of the aseptic techniques training program.

· Practicing these techniques helps in preventing the spread of infection from one patient to another in a hospital setting. Thus, it reduces the risk of nosocomial infections. It also prevents the spread of infection from infected patients to the doctors and nurses who are treating them.

· When employees are trained to follow these techniques, they help create sterile conditions for patients. Aseptic training teaches about cleaning, sterilization, and disinfection, which must be practiced on instruments, clothing, and surfaces. This is all done with the aim of creating an environment free of dangerous microorganisms.

· Surgical staff requires specialized training because it is essential to create a sterile field while operating on patients. Aseptic techniques need to be strictly followed during surgical procedures like catheter insertions, preparation of patient for surgery, intra-arterial line insertions, and endoscopy and so on. Wound and burn care, intensive care, etc. also require techniques. It is necessary that aseptic techniques are followed in all departments in a hospital; however as the risk of infection spread is greater during surgeries, the surgical department needs to be extra cautious. The training will help the surgical employees to understand the seriousness of the situation and comply with the practices to keep themselves and the patients safe.

· Hospital employees are taught to treat every patient as potentially infected. Therefore, these techniques do not need to be practiced with only a few patients, but with every patient. However, there are special cases where a little more care is required as the risk of infection is more. This includes patients who have suffered a trauma, diabetic patients, cancer patients, burn patients, and so on. Every effort should be made to ensure that they do not suffer with a hospital-acquired infection on top of it all.

· Sterilization of rooms is a very important of techniques. Keeping operating rooms sterile is the best way to rid the room of all microorganisms. The operating are first in line for sterilizations, but other clinical areas and wards also need proper cleaning and disinfection. Infectious patients are usually placed in high dependency units and intensive care units and therefore a high level of hygiene and asepsis is required there. The smallest amount of infections can set them off towards their end, and hence extra precautions are taken to strictly adhere to techniques.

Therefore, you can see how beneficial techniques are in maintaining a sterile and clean hospital environment. If the employees are trained in this area, there will be a considerable decrease in hospital -acquired infections. Hence, aseptic techniques' training is important and benefits hospital employers, employees, and specially patients.

The Plight of the Newspaper (and Preparing for the Future)

A couple of years ago, I was speaking at a conference and someone from the audience asked me what I believed to be the biggest marketing challenge of the next five years. I answered with the death of the newspaper, which surprised many, who thought I would point to declining subscription bases or overall drops in arts participation.  We had just experienced the death of four major newspapers – the Seattle Post Intelligencer, the Rocky Mountain News, the Tucson Citizen and the Christian Science Monitor – at a time when most non-profit arts organizations had important symbiotic relationships with their hometown newspapers.  

So let me pause to ask – if your newspaper were to go out of business today, how would that impact your organization?  

And here’s why I am asking. According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA):

·        Total print advertising has dropped from $47.4 billion in 2005 to $20.6 billion in 2011 – the lowest print advertising has been since 1983 (not factoring for inflation).

·        In 2011, the total daily circulation of all the newspapers in the United States was 44.4 million, the lowest on record since 1940.

·        Citing a 2010 Scarborough report for adults 18+, 47% of the U.S. population 35 years and older read an average issue of a daily newspaper in comparison to only 26% of the population under 35.

According to The Pew Research Center, since 2003, the Internet has been on par or more popular than newspapers as a news source, and currently just 21% of young adults report newspapers as their primary source of news. As the Internet has become increasingly popular as a news source, newspapers have invested tremendous amounts of resources in building their online presence, but here’s the problem – for every $1 gained in online advertising, newspapers lost $10 in print advertising in 2011. And the reason? In print advertising, newspapers are dominate, but online, they compete in a very crowded marketplace, where Google and Facebook combined will share just under 30% of total online display advertising revenue in 2012.  

Using the statistics provided online by the NAA, in 2005 1,452 daily newspapers shared $47.4 billion in print advertising for an average of $32.6 million in print advertising per daily paper. Six years later, 1,382 daily newspapers shared $20.6 billion in print advertising for an average of $14.9 million in print advertising per daily paper.  

In six years, the average daily newspaper lost more than 50% of its print advertising revenue, placing in jeopardy the entire business model of most newspapers and leading to drastic changes. Newspapers around the nation are slashing their newsrooms, laying off veteran reporters and in the best case scenarios, replacing them with freelance reporters with little experience. In worst cases, they aren’t replaced at all.  Just recently the theater world received news that veteran Philadelphia Inquirer arts writer and critic Howard Shapiro, after 42 years with the paper, was reassigned to cover South New Jersey in what seemed like an attempt to make him miserable enough to leave. And it looks like it worked.

With fewer reporters and less experience, not only has coverage decreased, but quality has diminished as well.  Many of us shook our heads when a small online magazine named Pasadena Nowhired two writers in India to cover local events but just recently we’ve learned of Journatic,a company that outsources journalism to the Philippines for US newspapers.  Others have transitioned from primary reporting to aggregating content from other news sources and then providing commentary on the aggregated material. When I was at the Smithsonian, one such company drew inaccurate conclusions by providing editorial on aggregated stories. When I called to tell them of the inaccuracies and offer to set up interviews so they could report on the story directly, the freelance writer told me they didn’t pay him enough to do any original reporting. Unfortunately for us, other outlets picked up his story.  I understand cutting as much fat as possible from budgets during tough economic times, but at some point, there isn’t any fat left, and what remains is only muscle. Cutting further sacrifices your ability to deliver an excellent product, which is why I advise arts organizations to avoid cutting investments in the artistic product itself if at all possible when making budget adjustments.  By sacrificing quality, I’m afraid newspapers could be pouring gas on an already blazing fire.  

Every great arts city has a great newspaper. Every great theater town, a well respected critic. If your city is affected by cuts to arts coverage, let your voice be heard. Activate your bases. Support outlets with extensive arts coverage with your advertising dollars. That said, I advise non-profit arts organizations to prepare themselves for the possibility that their local newspaper could go out of business.  Cultivate relationships with bloggers, social media mavens and other influentials in your community. Develop online communities where your audiences can speak to one another. Produce and distribute original content yourself. Diversify your advertising strategies. Budget resources to grow your database. Hopefully these efforts will be for naught, but if the day comes that your local newspaper declares bankruptcy, you’ll be better prepared.

The 5 Benefits of Taking an Aseptic Techniques Class Online

One of the most important training programs that healthcare professional need is training. If you are a healthcare employer or a healthcare professional, you may feel completely overwhelmed by all trainings needed to stay up to date on health regulations. It does not have to be overwhelming if you choose the right training programs. Many programs have alternatives to traditional training that can save time, energy, and money compared to extensive and expensive on location training programs.

With training, there is a more convenient option than traditional training. Many training programs are now offered completely online. Online aseptic technique training courses offer a wide variety of benefits including saving time and convenience. With these options, healthcare professionals can easily and quickly stay up to date with aseptic technique training to stop the spread of disease and risk of infection in patients.

Below are five clear benefits of taking an entirely online aseptic technique training course.

1) Convenience of location. An online course can be taken from a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from any place on earth that has an internet connection. This option is great for busy professionals who want to take the certification from home or those healthcare professionals who travel extensively. Eliminating the location often reduces overall costs of training as well.

2) 24/7 time availability. Online courses also offer the flexibility to take the training course whenever works best for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This is a great advantage to healthcare professionals who work erratic schedules and long hours.

3) Work at your own pace. Because an online training course is pre-recorded, you can stop and start the videos and slides as often as you want. Take notes at your own pace and learn at your own pace. If a certain concept is difficult, you can focus on that part longer. This feature allows learning types and speeds of all kinds to be successful.

4) Quick finish time. Many aseptic technique training programs can be completed in under and hour. Compared to many courses who can take days, this is a huge time saver. With this quick time frame, training can be completed over a lunch hour for super convenience.

5) Instant certificate. With a course entirely online, you can immediate access to your certificate upon completion of the course. This means no days, weeks, or even months of waiting to get full certification in aseptic technique training. You can print the certificate directly from the same electronic device you took the training on.

There are many benefits to taking an online aseptic technique training class in addition to those listed here. With all these benefits, it really makes sense to pursue this certification through the convenience online. Keeping up to date with aseptic technique training and others will seem less overwhelming with the option to pursue certification online, from anywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What You Need To Know Before You Join an Aseptic Techniques Training Course: 5 Points

Aseptic techniques training includes information, safety measures and suggestions on protective issues such as hand washing, sterilization, surgical scrubbing, personal protective clothing, and other such aseptic techniques.

This training is necessary for all healthcare employees in the U.S and it is the healthcare organizations responsibility to make sure they have it. The risk of contracting an infection in a hospital setting is great, for patients as well as employees. Hence, certain measures must be followed to ensure that this risk is reduced to a minimum.

If you yet to join an aseptic techniques training program, here are something's you should know about it.

· There are several institutes that offer this course. Some institutes may a number of courses together in a bundle, and if you need to undertake all the other courses as well, it would be economical and time-saving to enroll in the bundle training program.

· Nowadays, training courses are readily available online. All you need is a computer and a good internet connection. With the online course you can complete it from the comfort of your home, anytime you want. You save yourself the trouble of taking time off work and travelling elsewhere to attend the course.

· The fees for the course may vary from institute to institute. Therefore, it is essential that you do a good background research before you enroll. Always pick a reputed but economical program. If you have a number of your colleagues also wanting to enroll, you can avail the discount that is available for larger groups. For an employer, it makes more sense to apply for training for a large number of employees. This enables your employees to get special attention and saves resources as well.

· When you complete your aseptic techniques training program, you will be given an exam with multiple choice questions. Once you successfully pass this exam, you will be awarded a certificate. This certificate proves that you are knowledgeable about all the topics covered in the course. If you have completed the course through the online medium, you can print your certificate yourself. It can also be reprinted in case you lose it. Employers can print certificates for the entire group all together.

· This training program does not have a set duration. The duration of the course is entirely dependent on you. You can take your time to slowly go through each topic and understand it well. There is no hurry to finish it fast and you can complete it at your own time. In case, you fail to pass your exam the first time, you can appear again and again, until you pass it.

These are five important things you should know about aseptic techniques training program, before you enroll in it. There are a number of training institutes available online and you will be able to find a good one easily. There are other classroom-based training programs that are also available and you can choose the one that is suitable for you.

4 Professions That Benefit From Bloodborne Pathogens Training

Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms that survive in the blood stream and cause disease. These diseases are then transmitted from person to person through the contact of blood and bodily fluids. There are quite a few ways to spread bloodborne disease including sexual contact, sharp objects like razors and needles that have been previously contaminated, contact with an open wound of an infected individual, and other contact of bodily fluid. The severity of many bloodborne diseases makes a training program a necessity for many professions.

Bloodborne pathogens training course offer all the information necessary about pathogens and how to prevent the spread of disease. The course are often offered conveniently online to help busy professionals work the training into their schedules.

Any profession that comes into contact with bodily fluid or blood is at risk for contracting or spreading these pathogens. Because of this these 4 professionals are all at high risk and should take a training course to education and protect themselves from the risk of bloodborne diseases.

1) Healthcare professionals. This is the profession that most people think of when they think of training. Any professional that comes into direct contact with patients needs to undergo training. This will reduce the risk of the employee contacting any disease and prevent the spread of any bloodborne disease between the patients they treat.

2) Blood bank employees. The blood in the name is a big indicator of why these employees need training. The training will help them the donations of blood, handling the donated blood, and the distribution of blood to those patients who need it. Blood bank professionals play a big role in stopping the spread of disease by screening donators and testing blood, but they also need to keep themselves safe in the process. This is where bloodborne pathogen training will help.

3) Fire and emergency medical professionals. These professions often arrive on a scene where there is a high risk of contracting or spreading these pathogens. Training courses will teach these employees the precautions and procedures to follow to lower their risk of contracting a bloodborne disease and lower the risk of them spreading the disease to others.

4) Janitors and waste removal employees. There can be many items that end up in the trash that have bodily fluids on them. These items include hypodermic needles, razor blades, and diabetic testing strips. If they are not disposed of properly they cause a big risk for janitors and for the general public. Waste removal employees can benefit greatly from taking a training course. It will help to keep themselves safe from contracting bloodborne diseases and make them more aware of the risks of the general public.

This list is just a starting point of who can benefit from training. Any person who is exposed to bodily fluids throughout their job should enroll in a bloodborne pathogens training program to protect themselves and prevent the further spread of disease.