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Is Getting Professional Certification Worth It?

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If you’re trying to get ahead in your career, then it can be hard to know where to invest your time, energy and finances. What will provide the most return on your investment?

Working a lot of overtime rarely seems to impress employers with your work ethic as much as you’d like. Instead, they seem to just add more to your workload without rewarding you. Volunteering for projects and stepping up to take on more can be a strategy to get in line for a promotion or have things in your portfolio or resume if you apply for a job elsewhere, but even on-the-job experience only takes you so far. Employers still seem to reward professional qualifications disproportionately.

Health care careers in particular benefit from accredited programs and certification. If you’re interested in or already employed in a health care job such as nursing, physical therapy or medical assistant, then professional certification can improve your employability, give you more confidence and respect at work, and boost your pay.

Some of this is due to employer perception that those who have invested in a formal certification or qualification have skills that exceed those that can be earned on the job. In other cases, an HR process or department may award points or automatically bump employees up a notch when they show evidence of formal qualifications.

If you’d like to move forward in your career, earn more money and get more respect, then getting a professional certification offers higher return on investment than just about anything else in which you can invest yourself. In most cases, you can find local campuses for convenience to pursue certification – just search online for “colleges near me” and check out the quality of their offerings.

In many cases, it’s possible to pursue certification part-time or in a flexible format while you’re already working. If you’re disappointed with your current career progress and want to pursue a more successful future, then certification can offer a clear and proactive path toward greater employability and opportunity.

If you’re a student and don’t yet have work experience, then certification can be an alternative to a work history. It offers prospective employers the assurance that you have specific, recent and relevant understanding of their needs and will be a good investment. They want to know that you bring skill and knowledge to the job without requiring a lot of training on their part. Many employers hire in a crunch situation, where they need someone who can hit the ground running, and they just don’t have the capacity to bring someone in and teach them everything they need to know.

Professional certification is a worthwhile investment of your time, energy and funds if you want to proactively improve your future prospects. If you’re a midstream professional looking for a way to kick-start your career and move forward, or if you’re a student looking for a head start on the competition, then you should look into professional certification programs near you.

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Why People Prefer Online Education Over the Classroom

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A good education is desirable for many reasons, and learning is something that is no longer the preserve of schoolchildren and young adults at higher educational institutions. People of all ages are learning, and whether an individual is studying for fun, to develop their understanding of the world, or to improve their career prospects, there is a lot to be said for finding the educational process that is right for their needs. The traditional method of classroom-style education is still popular, but many people prefer online education over the classroom learning experience.

There are not many aspects of life that the internet hasn’t impacted on, and the learning environment has been transformed due to the emergence of the internet. There are many key benefits of accessing the internet, and the same factors that have made online shopping or working from home attractive to many people have helped to make online education extremely popular.

The time benefits of online education over the classroom are considerate. Removing travel time is a huge factor in why online education is the best option for some people. People who lead busy lives, juggling work with childcare arrangements or other activities, may have time for studying, but the travel time can make studying difficult. This is why being able to study from the comfort of home, in the workplace, or anywhere there is an internet connection has to be seen as a boon for people looking to fit education into their life.

Studying online is convenient for many people

There is also the fact that there is a convenience factor about studying online. People that live in major towns or cities may be able to find educational institutions offering relevant courses or classes close by, but this isn’t the case for people who live in more remote districts. There is also the fact that if the course is in a specialist area of education or aimed at a niche market, it may not even be available in some major areas. Online education opens up the opportunity to study a range of courses, regardless of location or what is on offer in the local area.

Another factor that sees online education being a preferred option over classroom education is the cost. With classroom education, there are immediate overheads such as the room, the energy bills associated with the room, and employing someone to teach the class. These costs aren’t relevant with online education, or they aren’t as prevalent because the cost of providing the class is spread across a wider range of people. The number of people who can take a class in a classroom is often limited by the capacity of the room, whereas this isn’t the case with an online class. There may be some limitation to how many people can take an online class, particularly if there is a need for some form of human interaction or for papers to be individually marked, but there is more flexibility for volume of numbers, which means that the class will be open to more people. This has allowed reputable educational institutions to provide learning opportunities to a greater number of students, with bodies such as Maryville University providing a wide range of courses and classes.

Online education is also attractive for many people depending on their circumstances or aims of studying. Elderly people may not wish to commit to being a full-time student, so this style of learning allows them to develop skills at their own pace. People who are studying for their career prospects may have to juggle their learning with their standard working hours, which may not be possible in the classroom learning environment. Add in the fact that some people don’t like the idea of learning in a class with other people, much preferring an environment that they are comfortable with, and you have strong arguments for online education. There is also the fact that different people learn in different ways, and for some students, the online education process is the one that fits their learning preferences in the best manner.

Online education can also help businesses

Many businesses will be happy to see their employees undertake extra-curricular studies that don’t impact on their work availability. The flexibility that comes with online learning is a great benefit, not only to the student but also to the employers of the student. In fact, some firms are so positive about the online education process that they will provide financial assistance in arranging courses, or they will provide an employee with time to study.

The internet has changed the way that people live their life, and made it easier for many people to find the right solution to their needs. This can be seen in why so many people prefer online education over classroom studying.

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Why Doctors Recommend Pursuing a Career as a Nurse Practitioner

Although there is tension between some primary care physicians and a growing number of nurse practitioners, for the most part, doctors realize there is a shortage of medical doctors and patients aren’t getting the care they need in many areas of the country. Some doctors are saying that nurse practitioners could fill the void and they go on to talk about reasons why this might be the easiest solution, both in the short-term and long-term. According to a survey cited by The University of Arizona, both groups do recommend students should study to be an NP.

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What Is the Difference Between Nurse Practitioner and Doctor?

The question on many people’s minds is, “What is the real difference between nurse practitioner and doctor?” Since both can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications, is there really any difference other than the length of time each goes to school and the relative costs involved in their training? While MDs go to school an average of 11 years, inclusive of college, nurse practitioners study an average of seven years, inclusive of their four year degree. Also, doctors do a longer internship/residency than do nurse practitioners. This, then, is one of the primary reasons why many doctors recommend students pursue a career as a nurse vs. doctor. To put it simply, it’s faster.

Why Is ‘Faster’ Better?

When you are looking at nurse practitioner vs doctors, why is faster any better, you might ask. Actually, this is in answer to the dilemma of the critical shortage we now face in the United States and abroad as well. There are simply not enough doctors to go around and that shortage is being amplified by the day as Boomers age and are in even greater need of medical attention. Since it takes an NP a shorter amount of time, inclusive of approximately 700 hours of clinical experience, to be licensed to practice, it makes sense to train as many as possible as quickly as possible to fill the gap.

Most NPs Have Experience in the Field

Another school of thought is the need for a greater patient-centric approach to care. Whereas some say that doctors study to treat diseases and NPs study to treat patients, this may actually be another solution. Many nurse practitioners go on to advanced training only after having worked in the field as a nurse for a length of time. Many even put themselves through graduate school in this way.

So while it could be said that some MDs are still against the notion of giving NPs ‘equal pay for equal work’ the reality is that not all doctors feel this way. There is still a body of those ‘hold outs’ who hold steadfast to the notion that medical school is the solution, but these are most likely the same MDs who hold out against DOs who study a parallel path, but in a different school of medicine. In any event, there is a growing body of MDs who are recommending students study the shorter NP course because the need is great and time is limited.