The Stanley Rubenti Medical Tourism Blog

5 Tips for the Best Night of Your Life

If you’ve ever suffered with insomnia, you know just how debilitating it can be. A lack of sleep can wreak havoc on your day-to-day life, draining you of energy, sapping your motivation and even having a negative effect on your health. If you’ve been reluctant to turn to prescription medications to help you sleep through the night, you aren’t alone. Many people refuse to take sleeping pills and have found natural, safe ways to have a peaceful night’s sleep. Here are five tips to help you enjoy the best night of your life:

1.Stick to a Schedule

If you are having trouble falling, and staying, asleep, one of the first things to do is to set up a sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time each night and set your alarm for the same time each morning. Sticking to a sleep schedule won’t help you right away, but eventually your internal clock will reset itself and start cooperating with you. Do your best to aim for at least seven straight hours of sleep each night, though eight hours would be even better.

2.Remove Distractions

Your bedroom isn’t your home office or your living room. Remove distractions like televisions, computers and stereos from your bedroom. These items serve as distractions and you’ll be less able to turn your brain off when it’s time to go to sleep. By removing distractions from your bedroom, the room becomes a place of rest and relaxation. Try to use your bedroom for absolutely nothing but sleep for at least two weeks and see what happens.

3.Cool Down Your Bedroom

As much as you may think that you like a warm bedroom, heat actually worsens insomnia. Your bedroom should be five to ten degrees cooler than the rest of your home. Think of how good you sleep when summer begins to turn to fall and you open the windows, let in a crisp breeze and cover yourself with a favorite quilt. You sleep this well, in part, because of the coolness of the air in your bedroom.

4.Unwind Before Bed

Unwinding before bed is a great way to prepare your mind for sleep. How you unwind is entirely personal; you can read a book, enjoy a hot cup of tea or take a warm bath. Make unwinding a part of your sleep schedule. Try to spend at least 30 minutes before you go to bed taking part in an activity that helps you relax.

5.Watch What You Eat

Eating immediately before bedtime will make it more difficult for you to achieve a restful night’s sleep. Make sure that your last meal or snack is at least two hours before you lay down for the night. Additionally, limit your caffeine and alcohol intake; both of these can make it harder for you to fall asleep at night.

Whether you struggle with occasional bouts of insomnia or can’t get a full night’s rest for weeks at a time, following the five tips above can put you on the path to a peaceful night’s slumber. If you are looking to enjoy the best night of your life, set a schedule, turn off the television and enjoy a hot cup of tea; you’ll be asleep before you know it.

Emma Nichols writes for Falling Asleep.net where you can find more tips for overcoming insomnia.

Hospital Hierarchy: Who's Really in Charge?

The average hospital is divided between the medical staff and the administrative staff. For as many health professionals that are needed to care for patients, there are professionals in charge of records, bills, and fundraising, and everything that goes into keeping the hospital up and running. The structure of a hospital is often called a hierarchy, though that might not be the correct word - it could be argued that every job is valuable, they're just very different in terms of qualifications and pay. For those thinking of a medical career or even those concerned about their long-term medical care, it can be important - and confusing - to know how this structure works.

1. Those at the Top - The Board of Trustees, CEO, and Chief of Staff

Every hospital is run by a Board of Trustees, which set policies. Typically, only two people will report directly to the board: the CEO, or Hospital Administrator, and the Chief of Staff. All direct employees of the hospital report to the CEO. The Chief of Staff oversees the Medical Staff, which consists of all doctors and other health providers who are not employed by the hospital but have privileges that allow them to treat patients there. They may also be responsible for overseeing the quality of performance of the hospital itself.

2. The Leaders - CFO, CIO, COO, and Chief Nurse

The four people reporting directly to the CEO are the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief Nurse. Each of them has a different area of expertise and is in charge of different staff. The CFO is, of course, in charge of finances and all the money that flows in and out of the hospital. The CIO mostly manages the technology - all computer programs, data records, and information systems. The COO is in charge of business, customer service, and keeping both patients and doctors satisfied. And the Chief Nurse oversees all aspects of nursing, from procedures to budgets and staffing.

3. The Departments - Medical, Structural, and Financial

The various departments found at a hospital depend on the nature of the medical facility, but some of the typical ones include Pediatrics, Neurology, Emergency, Radiology, Pathology, ICU, and Neonatal. There are also things like the accounting department, or the department of records, and all of these have their individual specialists and their own hierarchy. There's a hierarchy among doctors and nurses, too, because everyone has their own area of expertise and their own level of experience, from medical students to expert surgeons.

For a medical student or employee just starting out, understanding the makeup of the hospital staff can help them make decisions about where they would like to go with their career. For medical patients, it is important to know who makes the big decisions. No matter which department we're talking about, serious health professionals with the right training and education work hard to provide the best quality healthcare they can for you and your family.

Latoya Battle writes for education and medical journals. Information on the Best MHA Programs and Degrees can be found online.

Travel Nursing, Empowering Your Career and Your Future

Kathryn Norcutt has been an active member of the health care community for over 20 years. During her time as a nurse, she has helped people from all walks of life and ages. Now, Kathryn leads a much less hectic life and devotes most of her free time to writing for RN Network, a site specializing in travel nurse jobs.

In today’s job market it is not at all uncommon to be one of a hundred or even a thousand candidates that are all competing for the same position.  Spinning your resume and catering yourself to a particular business or employer can often be a tricky task and can run you the risk of potentially misrepresenting yourself.  Many employers are looking for what makes a particular applicant stand out against the rests.  While the healthcare field is one that is constantly growing, it is still no exception to job competition.

Fleshing out a good, well-rounded resume and job experience becomes extremely important as you make your way up your healthcare career path.  While post-school certification helps a great deal with this problem, perhaps it is time to consider what a career or assignment in travel nursing can do both for your future and your career.

Debt, Savings and Salary

Anyone fresh out of school can attest to the burden and stress that a student loan, or any loan in general can create in their lives.  This issue becomes even more compounded as you are faced with the problem of other financial obligations such as rent or mortgage, food bills and day to day expenses.  If getting this loan paid down is a priority of yours, or even if you would like to create a nice safety pad in your savings account, taking an assignment in travel nursing can be the perfect solution.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits associated with travel nursing jobs.

Housing Allowance

Almost all travel nursing agencies will offer some type of housing stipend or accommodations when you choose to take an assignment with them.  Housing through these agencies typically provides you with the basic living necessities such as a bed, closet, tables and kitchen items.  Other things like a television, sheets and more personal items will be up to the traveling nurse to bring.

Travel Nurse Pro Tip: Make sure you enquire with your agency about the tax savings that you are eligible for when you take a job in travel nursing!

Pay

The pay that is offered for travel nurses comes down to a few factors. A qualified applicant can expect to make anywhere from $22 to over $50 an hour depending on previous experience as well as different levels of certification the nurse has under his or her belt.

Travel Nurse Pro Tip: Remember, when making your hypothetical budget to subtract any bills or financial payments that are associated with living in your present location. Bills like rent and utilities will allow you to save a larger portion of your paycheck

Experience

Depending on where you choose to take your assignment the experiences and skills you will acquire will vary, but given either locale, both can be a great way to bolster your resume and give you a leg up for any future employment opportunities.

Rural nursing assignments offer a unique opportunity in that they will allow you to experience a much more intimate relationship with both the community and the patients you treat.  Rural nursing jobs can also allow you to spread your creative finger and tackle some nontraditional tasks, furthering the list of skills you will be able to put under your belt when the contract is completed.

Metropolitan assignments can also give you a number of valuable skills and tools to take into your future healthcare career.  While rural nursing jobs will see you floating around to various tasks at a clinic or hospital, a contract at a large city or metropolitan area will generally have you being more specialized due to the number of staff on board.  What this means for you is the ability to become very specialized and solidify your skills and abilities in the department you are contracted to work in.

Travel Nurse Pro Tip: Whether you choose a rural or city assignment, the experience you have will be entirely dependent on your attitude.  Do a lot of research into the areas an agency suggests. Make sure the community you will temporarily be a part of will be the best fit for you.

Being a traveling nurse has the potential to be one of the most exciting times of your life.  Whether you take a job on one of the beautiful islands of Hawaii or wake up to the aurora borealis of an Alaskan skyline, a number of exciting opportunities are right at your fingertips.

Perhaps you or someone you know has worked as a traveling nurse. Do you have any unique stories or insights to share? Maybe you are thinking about finally taking the step into the field yourself? Either way, I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Down the Road: Is Long-Term Care Insurance Right for You?

Many diseases that were considered "death sentences" only a few years ago are now viewed as chronic problems that can be managed and treated with relative ease. Unfortunately, many older folks who suffer from these illnesses require a tremendous amount of expensive, labor-intensive care. Since many traditional insurance policies don't fully cover the expenses associated with prolonged periods of disease management, long-term care insurance may mean the difference between comfort and insolvency for families facing an uncertain medical future. Read on to learn more about this powerful safety net.

The Basics of Long-Term Care Insurance

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, three in five Americans over the age of 65 will require some form of long-term care before they die. Two in five will require a costly stay in a nursing home.

Since long-term care comes in many different forms, long-term care policies exhibit tremendous variance. They typically cover care received in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, both of which provide for open-ended stays. Some policies also provide for home care for patients unwilling or unable to enter a hospice facility. While most long-term care policies have a defined maximum benefit, these limits tend to be far higher than those of regular health insurance plans.

When It's Needed

Like most forms of insurance, long-term care plans come with a few important restrictions that make them unsuitable for use in certain situations. Chief among these is the "90-day rule:" Most long-term care policies won't pay for your nursing-home bills until you've lived at the facility for more than 90 days. As more than two-thirds of nursing-home stays terminate before this cutoff, this seemingly innocuous restriction prevents long-term care insurers from paying out on thousands of claims each year. However, your family medical history may encourage you to call this rule's bluff: If you're prone to debilitating illnesses like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, you may require a longer nursing-home stay down the road.

Your income also plays a major role in determining your need for long-term care. If your family qualifies for health coverage under the government's Medicaid insurance program, you won't have to worry about paying for long-term care insurance in the future. While each state's rules for Medicaid eligibility are different, you're probably covered if your total household income is less than 133 percentof the federal poverty level.

What It Might Cost

While long-term care insurance is often expensive, the cost of going without it can be extravagant. On a typical long-term care policy, annual premiums can range from $2,700 to $3,500. When you purchase a policy, you're not starting from scratch: Depending on your age when you initiate coverage, most plans offer immediate coverage of anywhere from $200,000 to $400,000. Over a lifetime, your policy may accrue an inflation-adjusted benefit of close to $1,000,000. Of course, as long-term care costs many tens of thousands of dollars per year, you always run the risk of outliving these benefits.

If you already have some savings and want to add to your financial safety net, you'll want to have a conversation with a long-term care insurance provider. Before you actually purchase a plan, be sure to compare rates from different insurers and carefully weigh each policy's benefits and restrictions against its costs.

Jean Gregory is a blogger who writes for AskForInsurance.com - an insurance questions and answers website where you can learn about topics such as Can I buy long term care insurance for my parent?