How to Become a Respiratory Therapist

People suffering from conditions like emphysema and asthma go to respiratory therapists who treat them by administering oxygen to their lungs using ventilation devices. Respiratory therapists can also assist someone who has just had a stroke or a heart attack regain his normal way of breathing. You will find these professionals in nursing homes and hospitals.

Other respiratory therapists travel to a patient’s home to install the respiratory equipment so that they can use it from home. Bestrespiratorytherapyprograms.com has helpful resources to get you started on the journey to becoming a respiratory therapist. The following are the steps you will need to take in that journey:

Step #1: Obtain an Undergraduate Degree

To become a sought-after respiratory therapist, the first step will involve obtaining an undergraduate degree in respiratory care at an accredited university. Typically, the undergraduate degree curriculum will include coursework in, among other things, clinical respiratory procedures and care, pathophysiology, advanced respiratory theory, pharmacology, and mechanical ventilation.

Almost all the programs you can enroll in will require you to pass a competency assessment test. The test is designed to measure your skill level and whether you have the necessary characteristics for success in this challenging field. Practical experience is also extremely crucial. To get this, you will have to record a set number of clinical hours. After attaining your degree, you can work as a patient educator and advocate, a bedside clinician, a pediatric/neonatal/critical care professional as well as a pulmonary rehabilitation expert.

Step #2: Attain Niche-Specific Credentials

To attain these credentials, you will have to sit for and pass an exam administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). This is a multiple-choice test that measures the general knowledge you have in this field. It is only after passing this exam that you can apply to do other exams that further demonstrate your competency as a respiratory therapist, including the NBRC Therapist Multiple Choice Exam and the Clinical Simulation Exam.

Step #3: Obtain a License

You cannot legally practice as a respiratory therapist without a state license. This is true for all states in the United States except Alaska. The minimum requirement to apply for a license is an associate degree. In addition, background checks are necessary in the majority of the 49 states.

While it can take just two years to become a respiratory therapist, most health institutions require at least an undergraduate degree for a chance to work. Therefore, the average time it takes to become a fully credited and industry-competent respiratory therapist is four years. By then, you will have, among other things, completed most of the education requirements for respiratory therapists, including simulation, laboratory and considerable clinical experience in a healthcare institution.

Indeed, respiratory therapy is truly rewarding, especially for people who have the passion for taking care of people most in medical need. While it is a fast-paced career requiring physical and mental endurance, it is also well paying and consistently records impressive future prospects every time surveys and research reports are released.

Busy Beauty Showerless Shave Gel HONEST Review #BusyBeauty

Check out this super old post about my hairy legs when I was huge and pregnant. I sure wish I had Busy Beauty Showerless Shave Gel back then. I could have shaved my legs while sitting on the couch nursing a baby to sleep. Talk about being a Rock Star Mom.

Okay, so I got this product in the mail and waited for my leg hair to grow. It was August, so I needed shaved legs for the shorts and bathing suits that were constantly on my person. I grabbed a razor and the bottle and went down to our family room to watch some TV and shave my legs.

It was the easiest thing I have probably ever done. Pump out some of the gel, rub it on your legs like lotion, and shave. Then rub in the gel because it's moisturizing. A couple of things.

1. Something I hate about shaving in the tub or shower is that, afterward, I have to sit around putting lotion on my legs. It's just one. more. step. I don't have a ton of time for that. This shaves you and moisturizes you LIKE IT RESPECTS YOUR TIME. Yes. Finally.

2. My razor got backed up with hair, so I recommend having a cup of water nearby just to dip it in. Also, put a towel under your legs. If you are on an airplane, for instance, and want to shave your legs with just this product and a razor, you can, but if you are at home I'm telling you to have two extra things on hand ... the towel and the water.

Bottom line: I dig this time saver. It's mind-blowing to think you can do this ANYWHERE. I sure could have used this when the kids were little and I had to keep an eye on them EVERY SECOND ... I could have chased around after them WHILE shaving my legs, no joke. Shave and sit. Shave and sit. Very cool to have this option.

PS This product is also TSA-approved for travel and environmentally conscious. Great for those with sensitive skin and those with mobility issues.

*I received this product for free to post an honest review. Also, if you order through my Amazon affiliate link, I might get a few cents. Just letting you know :-)

Education And Care: Take Your Teaching Career In A New Direction

If you’re well and truly in the swing of January and are ready to take all the new adventures and challenges that 2018 has
in store, then this is the right post for you. Often, a new year encourages you to access the past twelve months so that you
can better understand your successes and the areas of your life that you want to push forward, improve, and develop. A
common thread for many is their career, and getting as much job satisfaction and reward as possible when they get to the
weekend with their family. If you’re happy and enthusiastic about your line of work; your motivation will filter through into
each aspect of your life, which is great if you’re a working mom and have a busy household to maintain.

If you’ve worked in education for a while; you’ll already have developed a variety of skills that could lead you to all sorts of
different avenues. If you’ve been considering taking your job and career in a bit of a new direction and heading for your
ambitions this year; there’s no time like the present to begin planning your actions and discovering all the potential options
that await you. As a mom and a teacher; you’re already pretty prepared for an array of challenges, and you can make this
the year that you take on some new ones and ensure that you’re happy with your work/life balance. The following are some
ideas for those who want to take their qualifications and experience in education and do something different, for a fulfilling
and exciting year ahead.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/homework-paper-pen-person-267491/

Counseling And Health Care

If you love working with kids and young adults, and your experience have developed your understanding of their behavior
and how to help them through life; heading towards becoming a counselor could be a great option for you. If you’re
concerned about taking up studying on top of your working and family hours; check out accredited online counseling degrees
so that you’ll have more flexibility regarding your time. The work you’re doing within a school or college can often complement
studying counseling, so talk to your colleagues and senior members of staff about your goals so that you can work out the
best plan of action for your future career. Extra qualifications can lead to opportunities to work with young people in a variety
of different environments, so it’s worth thinking about where you can best utilize your skills and the sort of challenges you’re
ready to take on.

Private Tutoring And Flexible Hours

If your resolution this year was to work independently and remotely so that you could focus more on caring for your family
and have a better work/life balance; you could consider becoming a private tutor. You’ll need a space in your home that will
provide an effective learning environment or the means to travel to various homes, places of education, and public spaces
where you can meet your students regularly. You’ll get all the rewards of helping to educate young minds and could assist
students in getting the grades they need to fulfil their potential or gain entry into the college they desire. There are all sorts of
ways to have a positive impact on a young person, so use this time to explore your many options, and you’ll have a year to
look forward to ahead.

Is Your Child's Playroom Ready for a Makeover? - How to Make it Happen on a Limited Budget

Your child’s first playroom or play space is an important part of their development. It gives them a place to explore, create, and learn to be independent. As your child grows from baby, toddler, to school-aged it’s often necessary to give the playroom a makeover as their tastes, toys, and needs will differ as they grow older.

If your child is of school-age and their playroom still looks like something meant for a toddler, then it’s well overdue a makeover. The good news is that you can make some pretty transformative changes that are relatively easy on the budget, giving your child a much more age-appropriate place to play in.

Start with Paint

The very easiest and cheapest place to start is usually with paint. When you first decorated a playroom for your child as a baby or toddler, you probably picked something bright and cheerful. This time around, why not let your child be involved in picking the color. By now they have their own likes and dislikes, as well as unique personality. Their playroom can be a reflection of them, which helps to make them feel more comfortable and happy with the space.

If you want to take the involvement one step further, they can even help with the painting if they are old enough. They may choose to do an accent wall too, complete with their own creations. Remember, it’s just paint and it can always be painted over at a later date.

Work on a Theme Together

As discussed on mashoid.co, your child may also want to pick a theme for their playroom. This can be helpful for you when it comes to décor, as it will give you a basic idea to work with. Popular themes include space, science, superheroes, dinosaurs, animals, under the sea, Lego, and nature.

If your child is stuck on finding a theme, it can be helpful to take a look at Pinterest and show them various ideas.

Get Creative with Storage

One of the most important parts of a playroom is the storage. You want to be sure you have plenty of it and that it is easily accessible to your child. This is where you can get a bit creative in order to save money. Sure, you can purchase those pre-made shelving systems with cubby boxes, but they don't tend to be very cheap.

Instead, look for ways you can repurpose furniture already in the room, or in other areas of the house that you aren’t using, and look for inexpensive items you can purchase that can be turned into a storage solution. Things such as milk crates, buckets, hanging shoe organizers, old tins and jars all make for great ideas. You can add personality to the storage solution with paint, fabric, and other details.

An Age Appropriate and Fun Space

These tips will help you to transform your child’s playroom into a space that is fun, creative, imaginative, and age-appropriate all on a budget.

How to Take Excellent Photos for Your Blog or Website

We all want to take awesome photos. Whether it’s for a blog or website, or for social media, we want our photos to be the best and to have the most impact on viewers. Unfortunately, not many of us have the tools or skills required to take those world-class photos.  However, with a bit of know-how, you can be taking great photos in no time. Today, we’ll be having a look at how you can take awesome photos for your blog or website.

Upgrade Your Camera

Today, most photos are taken on a phone. While a DSLR or mirrorless camera would be ideal, many will have to make do with a phone. If you own a cheaper phone, consider upgrading to the latest Android or iPhone since the more you spend, the better the photo quality will be. If you want to get serious with your photography, consider buying a cheaper DSLR or digital camera. Lenses are important too and Sigma makes a wide variety of great lenses. Sigma Rumors is a great website which will keep you informed about Sigma lenses. Bang-for-buck, getting a dedicated camera will be better than simply upgrading your phone, but who doesn’t like getting a new phone and camera in one?

Consider the Purpose and Focus of Your Photo

If you’re taking a photo for your blog, what’s the story behind the photo? What do you want to emphasize? If you’re trying to show your awesome holiday, give your photos variety and focus on the story. Don’t get too focused on things that might look good but don’t add to your story - the main reason for a photo should be to complement the writing and to strengthen the story. If you want to emphasize something in the foreground or background, you can use a shallow depth of field on your camera to blur out the rest of the photo. If you’re on a mobile phone, it might have to be done manually, but on most cameras, simply opening the aperture and focusing on the object will blur everything else out.

Learn How to Use the Camera

Great, so you know what you should be taking a photo of and you have a great camera. If you simply switch to auto mode, you might come away with some great shots, but for an amazing photo every time, you’ll want to learn how to use your camera in its entirety. Learning how to use manual modes will enable you to take photos in conditions outside the normal operating range of auto mode, so you’ll be able to get awesome shots, even in extremely low or high light situations.

This concludes the list of how to take excellent photos for your blog or website. With these tips, you should be able to take awesome photos day in day out. Whether it’s for your traveling blog or your website portfolio, these tips should ensure that you take great looking photos. 

Final photo in the old basement at 9028 Grant Street ... my readers love pictures of my husband because he's cute and also because they see plenty of the kids :-)