Free Continuing Education Credits for Nurses and other Health Care Providers
I recently learned that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers free continuing education credits that can be obtained online. You must register under, “New Participant”, but it’s free and it keeps a record of your certificates for printing.
There are some very helpful and interesting subjects, especially related to community, public health, and disaster management. It took a short while to learn the navigation and now I’m off and running with subjects that interest me.
Emergency preparedness and response training is also covered by the CDC with no credits offered that I have found so far. An informed nurse is an empowered nurse, so some things we learn for personal enrichment.
July 10, 2011
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Business of Aromatherapy
Certifications in Aromatherapy brings the need for essential oils. Wholesale Supplies Plus seems to be a good supply company that offers free shipping and reasonably priced products. I receive no profit for this plug, I have just used products from this site and have been very pleased.
May 7, 2011
Posted in: Nurse Entrepreneurship No Comments
Free Clinical Reflective Journal Template
There is a new free Clinical Reflective Journal template available at Empowered Nurse. If you are already signed up to receive posts from Empowered Nurse, all you need to do to access the new free template is re-enter your email address in the subscription area and a link will be presented.
If you are new to Empowered Nurse and would like the free Reflective Journal Templates offered, just sign in with your email to receive posts, verify, and a link will be presented for access to the templates. Of course you may unsubscribe at anytime if you no longer wish to receive posts.
May 1, 2011
Posted in: Uncategorized 2 Comments
Webinar for Nurse Entrepreneurs or Webcast
I just experienced my first webinar through Webex and was overall impressed. It would have been helpful to have a little more notice regarding what to expect from the log on part, but I suppose most presenters expect people that sign up to be somewhat experienced in webinars. I lost part of the content because I could not decide if I wanted to listen to the presentation from the phone, or headset on the computer. The phone was best for me due to a delay in internet feed.
This media presentation could be of great use to nurse entrepreneurs or nurse educators, as long as the content is interesting. After doing a quick search, there were a few sites that provided brief information about presenting webinars. Flyte.biz Understandingmarketing.com 10 tips of Hosting a Webinar
Webinars can be presented as free or for a fee. The advantage of a free webinar is marketing but you may lose attendees for various reasons (A webcast may be just as effective for this purpose, and much less expensive, but is not “live” interactive). The set fee webinar has obvious advantages but you may have fewer willing to pay. PayPal is a great way for customers to pay and e-junkie.com seems to be a reliable e-commerce shopping cart.
What content would you like to present? Whether you choose to present ideas to a few or engage many in a training program, a webinar could be an easy way to include those that might not otherwise have an opportunity to come to you. This sounds like a great way to cut down on travel expenses but still have your audience. Finding a good software company to host your webinar could be a challenge if you are on a budget as the cost can start out at $49 a month.
A webinar might be best if you prefer interactive capabilities in your presentation, but a webcast may be a better way to start out if you already own a domain name and have a website. With a simple webcast, you can record your presentation and upload it to a file on your host site. At that point, anyone going to your site can have access for viewing. This can be for free or a fee, but unless you have a program to prevent copying, you may see your presentation duplicated, thus loss of potential future fees. Copyright will protect you somewhat. Experiment and see what works best for your needs. If you have the opportunity, sign up for a free webinar and “attend it” to see how it works.
June 15, 2010
Tags: Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship Posted in: Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship, Online Business No Comments
Entrepreneur Education Opportunity in Texas
University of Texas at Dallas will start a graduate program in Entrepreneurship this spring 2010 semester. It does not specifically target nurses, but I sure see an opening here. Private colleges in Texas such as Rice and SMU do offer such programs in entrepreneurship, but UT Dallas is the first state school to offer it.
Traditionally, economic hard times will urge people back to school so this may be a great time for nurses to think about graduate degrees that will foster their entrepreneurship skills.
January 10, 2010
Tags: Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship Posted in: Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized No Comments
Pulse Oximeter: Tools for Nurses
Pulse Oximeters are great tools for nurses and are becoming affordable for our pocket use. For anyone not familiar with these handy little devices, it’s a non-invasive tool used to measure oxygen saturation in our blood along with heart rate. A good pulse oximeter can be purchased for around $50.00 (USD). I did have trouble finding the device and have learned there are many to choose from. I recently purchased a Finger Pulse Oximeter 300C12 with Carry Case and Neck/Wrist Cord for my mom and it works great for her needs.
Pulse oximeters can be used not only for health conditions related to respiratory diseases, but sports enthusiasts as well. Whether used as an assessment tool or for personal use, a finger pulse oximeter is a very empowering tool that is now very affordable.
January 2, 2010
Tags: Health and Wellness Promotion, Tools Posted in: Tools No Comments
Free Reflective Journal Template
What is Reflective Journaling?
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Have you ever come out of a situation thinking, “That could have gone better”, or “Things don’t seem to be going the way I would like”, or “How could I have handled that better”, or “Could that situation have been handled differently for a better outcome”? Any situation or life circumstance can apply here. “I would really like to have…” or “I wish I could…”.Â
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A Reflective Journal is a tool used to gain insight into past or present situations and experiences for optimal improved future outcomes. It is a problem-solving tool that allows one to use and develop their critical thinking skills. Most importantly, a Reflective Journal allows one to acknowledge and name feelings and attitudes about a situation that might not otherwise be realized. This is a tool that allows for the “ah-ha” response.Â
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A personal journal, business journal, and a clinical journal are three examples of Reflective Journal use.
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A personal journal is intended to reflect attitudes, feelings, and insights about personal experiences in everyday life. To go a step further, to aid in problem solving and goal setting.    Â
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A business related journal is intended to reflect attitudes, feelings, and insights about (you guessed it) business.
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A clinical journal is intended to reflect attitudes, feelings, and insights about clinical experiences in a clinical type environment. The content should be reflective of critical thinking about experiences. This is aimed more for the student in a clinical environment, but is usable for anyone.
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I am familiar with all three examples of Reflective Journal use. There are multiple methods and outlines that can be utilized for each type of reflective journal in numerous situations.
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I have developed and used my own personal Reflective Journal for years. The best way I have learned to share my personal Reflective Journal Template is to put it in PDF format for download so others may utilize the outline.
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This Reflective Journal Template in the PDF format will probably require more space to write your entries, but to save publishing space, I condensed the answer space. Most likely, you will develop your own outline as you use the template more and more.Â
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To receive this free Reflective Journal Template for personal or even business journaling, just sign up for Empowered Nurse blog posts and the occasional newsletter. After confirmation, a link will appear in the confirmation notice (not the email notice). You may unsubscribe at anytime by following the links.
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Thanks and happy journaling!Â
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February 19, 2009
Tags: Awareness, Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship Posted in: Awareness, Entrepreneur One Comment
Create Online Websites for Nurse Entrepreneur Businesses
Businesses can benefit greatly from online promotion. One solution to accomplish this is to create your own website. Web creation can be simple, and done yourself, or you can pay a professional for their service.
Domain names can be purchased and kept for less than ten dollars a year
I have used Google and GoDaddy ( Domain Sale! $7.49 .com at GoDaddy ) to find my domain names and purchased them for a year at a time. You can also pay for multiple years if you prefer. Warning, it is addictive. You think of a name, type it in, and see if it’s available. A domain name can end in .com, .net, .org, .info, and the list goes on forever. .Com is the most popular. The site you purchase the name from usually offers hosting space, which is an option. If you choose not to use that site as your host, you must, “point” your name towards your site. It involves DNS type settings and some sites will help you with this when you buy the name. If you do “point” your name to your host site, you will need to add the name to your cpanel, (my guess is control panel) at your host site. My experience is the host is helpful with problems and questions.
Host space can be free and effective
I actually started out on AOL Hometown several years back. I searched this thing I kept seeing called HTML, found websites that taught about that, and experimented. Blogspot, also free, was my next adventure. Blogs are platforms that offer the reader to respond in comments and usually offers the opportunity for “feeds”. A reader can sign up to receive “RSS” feeds, or the writers most recent postings to the blog. There are some actually pretty popular blogs there. My learning method is: try it and keep at it until I figure it out. Not very efficient time wise, but repetition is how I learn best. There is still much I need to learn about the function of blogs and communities, and may never quite grasp everything, but Blogspot is fairly easy and fun. Blogspot is where I first learned about adsense. Adsense are those google ads you see on websites, but more on that later.
Host space can be purchased for less than a hundred dollars a year
MidPhase and ANHosting are the two hosts I am familiar with. I was drawn to these hosts because of a flashy low monthly price, but ended up paying for the year. It worked out OK because it’s still an affordable price. I am still learning about hosting, being hosted, crawlers, search engines, domain names, and such. The thing about being a nurse, we have learned to be problem solvers and use what we have to make do. We ask for help when we need it, and collaborate with experts in the field for areas we are unfamiliar.
Design and develop a website
Hosting sites usually have programs with templates so you can design your own website. They usually offer professional web designs for a fee, but I have chosen to play around with it on my own. Some hosts offer the option for WordPress, which is what I also use. WordPress is a blog platform that I have noticed many use as their primary website. There are so many options, I have narrowed to what I use and am familiar with.
Write on it, tend to it, and nurture your web site daily (or as much as you can)
I know time is spread thinly so budget your time accordingly (Does this sound familiar? Who else knows better about priorities and time management than a nurse? This is why nurses make such great entrepreneurs, we already have the skills needed, we just need the confidence that comes with obtaining business skills and self-permission to do it!)
Write a newsletter and establish a mailing list
Subscriptions to newsletters and postings are a great way to promote your business. Gather and maintain a mailing list. Protect your list and do not sell your loyal readers addresses. Postings are easier and quicker than newsletters, but newsletters may draw in more willing subscribers. Most hosting sites offer information about how to create and maintain mailing lists. Newsletters are a lot of work at first. Make sure you put substantial content for your readers. You can also place information in your newsletters than will draw income, ads and such. The best way to create is to look at how others have done what you want to do. Look at the content on other newsletters, blogs, and websites. It’s ok to style your information in a similar format.
Write free information that attracts readers
This is where your postings and newsletters are an asset. The more you write, the more information you provide that people want and need to know, the more readers you attract. The more readers you secure, the more traffic you generate. The more traffic to your site, the more your service is advertised. Plus, the more opportunity for clicks on your ads than generate income.
Design a question/answer column
This is one option of web content that attracts readers. Polls are another way for reader interaction. Either pick a subject that seems to be currently in the news or respond to comments from your posts.
Sell ad space for income to website
Selling ad space is not something I have ventured to yet. There are programs that help with this. Look at websites that advertise, “Click here to find out how to advertise on this site”. This will give you a lot of information. Personally, I do not have the time right now to manage ads.
Consider Google ads for website
Adsense Google ads are an effective means of website income. The more “traffic” or visitors, you have to your site, the better chance you have of someone clicking on the ad that earns income for you. The terms of adsense include not telling visitors to click on the ads. You create an account with adsense, get approved, create the ads, and paste the code on your site.
Design online class programs for purchase
This is an option if you have information to teach, but lack the time to attend class. This method also reaches a larger target. Design a curriculum and set up a form on your website for readers to purchase and download online class modules.
Design/write information, ebooks, for purchase and sell online
Online information is great in that there is no inventory for you to manage. Again, write your information and post it online for download. Set up a payment method and email auto-response to confirm sells. I have figured out how to write in word, convert it to PDF (I have discovered how to convert to PDF for free), and upload to my host site. I will explain how to convert from word to PDF later. PDF is a common format for information that most computers are able to read.
Consider PayPal donation tab for website
PayPal has a feature for placing a “button” on your site so a reader can donate money to you for your free information if they found it helpful. This may turn some readers off, so be cautious with this feature.
Design, schedule, and set up real time classes and a form for sign up
This is an option if you have information to teach and prefer face-to-face presentations. Set up a form on your website for readers to sign up for classes. You can even set up a way for them to pay online ahead of time. Advertise yourself for speaking availability.
Brush up on business skills to include tax ID, business type, and collection methods
The Small Business Administration is a great place to start for information. Keep good records, either paper or a computer program. Consider taking a class on business management. Most community colleges offer small business classes. Most states have information about tax management for business. Your state Board of Nurse Examiners may have guidelines to consider in relation to your nursing license.
This is just a brief note about how I got started. There may be more functional or easier ways to do this. I will continue to do research and post with more information.
January 26, 2009
Tags: Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship Posted in: Entrepreneur, Nurse Entrepreneurship 2 Comments