Continuing education usually refers to any form of post high school education, used to earn additional certification or as a requirement to maintain a professional license. This form of education is entirely meant for individuals who already have degrees.

Continuing education can take the form of online degree or certificate courses, seminars, conferences, workshops or self-guided study. Unlike other types of education, continuing education has no specific format or duration. Some programs may take a day while others span several weeks or months.

Students pursuing continuing studies for personal advancement usually do not receive college credits as the courses are not considered part of the formal training. Attending a conference or seminar that is open to the public, for example, does not give you any education credits.

Continuing education programs enable people who have already earned a college level degree to pursue additional education or advanced training.

Many careers require individuals to enroll for continuing study from time to time so as to keep up with emerging development in the field. This form of learning is referred to as mandatory continuing education.

Because of the highly competitive job market, professionals whose careers do not require continuing education often undertake it as a means to make themselves more marketable to potential employers.

Thanks to the advancement of the Internet technology, it is possible to complete continuing education online from the comfort of your office or home – providing you have a computer and reliable Internet connection.

Online continuing education programs are ideal for individuals who need an extremely flexible learning schedule. The main advantage of these online programs is the fact that student’s can access them during their free time – meaning professionals don’t have to give up their full time jobs to pursue higher education.

These programs usually provide the student with all the materials needed to complete a certain course: books, lecture notes etc. The students are supposed to complete the coursework at their own leisure, including sitting for the final exam.

While most online programs are entirely based online, some programs provide a low-residency format where most of the work is completed online, but the students are expected to go to the college for a week or two every semester to get practical experience and network with their faculties and peers.

To complete an online program, you need to have the necessary motivation to study during your free time.

Some studies have shown that nearly half of all dog attacks in the United States involve children under the age of 12. Children of ages 5 through 9 seem to have the highest rate of dog bite related injuries with the rate decreasing as they age. Nearly two thirds of the injuries to children 4 years old and younger are to the head and neck area. Dog bite incidents seem to increase during the summer months when dogs and people spend more time outdoors.

Educating young children about the precautions they need to take around dogs can help keep them safe. In my home town, our one and only Animal Control Officer goes into our schools, along with a local dog trainer, and gives presentations to children about how to care for, treat, and respect dogs and other pets. Because of this, our rate of animal abuse carried out by children has declined dramatically.

Children can relate to and need guidance in their relationship with animals. Most dog bites to children can be avoided by teaching the kids some simple rules:

1. Never approach a strange dog without asking the owner if they can pet it.
2. Never approach a dog chained or tied up to anything.
3. Never look a strange dog in the eyes.
4. Never tease or otherwise annoy any dog.
5. Treat all dogs with respect, gentleness and caring.
6. Never try to take a toy or treat away from a dog.
7. Never approach a dog while it is eating.

Other precautionary steps parents can take are:

1. Teach your children to interpret body language of dogs. If you don’t know and understand dogs’ body language yourself, it would be wise to study up a little on it. Dogs communicate everything to us through their body language. It is very important to learn and understand the subtle signs of a dog that indicate stress, fear, happiness, patience, protection, submission, dominance, and calmness.

2. Never leave a young child alone with any dog, even a family dog you have trusted for years.

3. Do not allow any kind of animal abuse from tail pulling to more drastic situations. Animal abuse carried out by children can be a sign of deep-seated emotional problems that should be dealt with immediately. If not dealt with, this can lead to more aggressive abuse carried over to humans.

4. Teach your children to respect and humanely treat all animals. Teach them the importance of passing this on to their friends.

5. Tell your children if they ever see anyone hurting an animal they are to tell an adult whom they trust. It is not okay to hurt any animal in any situation.

Dog owners should also be held responsible for their dogs’ actions. If they acquire the dog as a puppy, they should socialize it with all kinds of people young and old, people with hats, short and tall, and other dogs. Also, every dog should be trained either professionally or by the owner if they have dog training experience. Dogs should not be kept tied up and should always be on leash or under absolute control while in public. They should never be allowed to wander free on their own.

If you acquire an older dog from a rescue organization, it is even more important to get appropriate positive training, since most dogs are taken to a shelter because of behavioral problems. If your dog shows aggressive behavior, don’t wait until it advances to the point of someone getting hurt. Seek out professional training at the first sign.

Children should never be victims of dog bites. If parents, dog owners, and children themselves could learn and practice these simple rules, there would be no need to consider banning breeds. Children would grow up to promote the humane and healthy treatment and respect of the animals God has given us for our companionship and unconditional love.

An ultrasound tech performs the role of scanning the bodies of patients with sound waves. The professional creates images that the physician can use to detect medical conditions, monitor medical conditions and/or assess the health of fetal in pregnant women. Therefore, they work directly with physicians and patients. Ultrasound technicians are also referred to as diagnostic medical sonographers or simply sonographers. They often specialize in abdominal sonography, obstetric & gynecologic, cardiac, vascular, breast or neurosonography. Many of these professionals are employed in medical centers, hospitals or private clinics.

Educational requirements

To work in this field, you require an associate degree in sonography. The associate degree programs take about 2 years. Furthermore, to practice as a sonographer, you can enroll for a bachelor degree program that takes 4 years. Professionals who are already working in the health care industry can consider a certificate program that takes 1 year. This gives the practitioner the opportunity to learn diagnostic medical sonography. Some employers provide on-the-job training to their workers who possess experience in other healthcare careers, such as nursing.

In any training program, several courses are taught including anatomy, patient care, basic physics, instrumentation, physiology and medical ethics. In addition, learners obtain supervised clinical training. Many of the employers opt to hire candidates who have acquired their training from an accredited program. The accrediting body seeks to determine the technician’s expertise in visualizing particular sections of the body. Ultrasound technicians who possess a wide range of credentials and specializations often have the best employment prospects and chances of promotion. Multiple specialties can advance your opportunities to supervisory, administrative or managerial positions.

Ultrasound technician information details the educational and skill requirements. To obtain certification, the technician needs to pass 2 exams. The general examination includes sonography principles, equipment and physics, while the specialty examination is concerned with diseased or normal anatomy of the body organs.

Skills required for the job

To work effectively as a sonographer, you need to have certain characteristics. Considering you are expected to work on a one-on-one basis with patients, you need to have good interpersonal skills. In addition, you need to have good hand-eye coordination. You also need to be detail oriented. It is equally important to have good physical stamina because you will be expected to spend a greater part of your day standing. Good physical stamina will help you lift and move the patients.

On a typical day, you will be expected to keep patient records, prepare work schedules, maintain equipment, evaluate equipment purchases and manage the diagnostic imaging department or a sonography.