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Known as CAM, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine offers students the opportunity to participate in online courses about many different types of alternative medicine programs.  Registration is free for these courses and offers health care professionals to receive continuing education about the health field, particularly stressing the importance to doctors and nurses.   To receive the credit for this type of online nursing program, students must pass with a 70 percent accuracy rate.  Nurses can additional earn twelve hours throughout the program, thereby earning a certification of completion. 

Energy medicine is one of the domains of complementary and alternative medicine as identified by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the U.S.  Therapists in this field focus on theorized forms of “energy”, the imbalance of which is said to result in illness.  Donna Eden has become a major force within the energy medicine community, and her Eden Energy Medicine Certification Program offers two years of training to become a practitioner through online classes.  Three different programs are available for health care professionals, offering basic, intermediate, and advanced training in energy medicine, and teaching students how to heal patients in an unconventional way.

While many of these alternative medicine forums are not recognized by many in the health industry, the business has become quite lucrative as more and more patients flock to these centers.  The United States has additionally always been a melting pot of different cultures, and has thus welcomed this type of alternative healing from different backgrounds.  As an alternative to many traditional online nursing programs, many alternative online nursing programs cater exclusively to herbalism, homeopathy, and acupuncture, as well as other spiritual approaches to the health industry.  While these programs are not for every nursing student, they offer a glimpse into a different type of health community which also prides itself on helping its patients.  Since most of these programs are online, students are offered the flexibility to learn at their leisure while still retaining the ability to continue other online nursing programs.

Ergonomics

Give your back, wrists and eyes a break when you practice these ergonomics exercises and techniques.

1. Get an ergonomic keyboard: Get an ergonomic keyboard to prevent carpal tunnel, which seriously hurts and can really impede your movement and your productivity.
2. Adjust your monitor: The top of your screen should be at or slightly below eye level.
3. Rest your eyes: Every 20 minutes or so, focus on an object that is at least 20 feet away.
4. Avoid repetition: Move your hands, arms, wrists, and neck around to avoid stiffness and too many repetitive tasks, which can lead to carpal tunnel.
5. Get a keyboard pullout tray: Your keyboard should actually be below you, on a stable surface (not your lap).
6. Keep your computer directly in front of you: Don’t stress your neck or head by twisting them to see your screen.
7. Keep your mouse close by: You shouldn’t be reaching across your desk for your mouse.
8. Type with your wrists above the keyboard: Only use your wrist rest when taking breaks.
9. Adjust contrast: Make sure screen contrast and brightness are at comfortable levels.
10. Listen to your body: If you’re experiencing pain or discomfort, it may be time to cut back or work on your posture.
11. Carpal tunnel exercises: Do 10 reps of these exercises to combat carpal tunnel.

Diet

Don’t succumb to greasy pizza and takeout every day. These healthy foods and eating hacks will help you lose weight, keep up your energy, and feel better.

12. Keep healthy snacks at your desk: Stock your mini-fridge or desk drawers with healthier snacks like fruits, veggies and whole-grain cereal bars.
13. Spinach and leafy greens: Eating a spinach salad or other leafy greens may protect your eyes from computer glare.
14. Drink lots of water: Staying hydrated is important and can keep your energy and focus in top shape.
15. Monitor your eating schedule: If you’re lost in a serious project, you might forget to eat, or start snacking mindlessly on anything you can get your hands on. Remember to eat something light every 4 hours if you don’t have time for sit-down meals.
16. Dress your pizza the right way: You don’t have to give up pizza altogether: just eat it in moderation and pile on healthy toppings like artichoke hearts, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushroom, spinach, onion or broccoli.
17. Watch out for "crash" foods: Junk foods that contain lots of sugar and no complex carbs or protein (like pizza or chips) will make you crash an hour or so later. Eat nuts, whole wheat crackers and cheese instead.
18. Pistachios: Pistachios are a healthy nut that can lower blood pressure.
19. Whole grains: Those who sit all day may find that belly fat is a problem. You can zap the fat by eating whole grains like brown rice and oatmeal.
20. Blueberries: Keep a bowl of blueberries close by for healthy snacking and to improve your focus and maintain cognition.
21. Drink black coffee: You’re probably addicted to coffee, but try to drink it black or with skim milk and not lots of creamer and sugar.
22. Drink tea: Drink green or black tea instead of coffee every once in a while.
23. Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are a good alternative to chips and contain magnesium, which is also a muscle relaxant.
24. Cold-water fish: Salmon, mackerel and herring are full of omega-3 fatty acids, which is also good for your brain and your heart.
25. Eggs or egg whites: Start your day with protein by making eggs.
26. Black beans: Make a meal out of black beans or put them on your salad for an excellent serving of fiber, protein, iron, B vitamins and antioxidants.
27. Low-fat, low-sugar yogurt: Get calcium and add probiotics, or "good bacteria" to your diet with low-fat, low-sugar yogurt.
28. Tomatoes: Tomatoes are another easy food to add to all types of meals and snacks, and they’re one of the biggest sources of carotenoids, which contain antioxidants.
29. Quinoa: Quinoa will keep you full longer because it has the most protein of any other grain. It also contains fiber, riboflavin, magnesium and iron.
30. Salads: Even if you’re short on time, you can make easy salads that will pack in lots of protein, fiber, veggies and fruits.
31. Don’t eat too late at night: You might have a weird schedule, but you should still avoid eating, especially heavy foods, late at night. Eating right before bed or when your metabolism is slowest makes it easy for your body to gain weight.

Exercise

Make time to exercise, even if it’s just for spontaneous jumping jacks or during your break time.

32. Sit on an exercise ball: Strengthen your abs and work on your posture by sitting on a stabilizing exercise ball instead of your regular desk chair.
33. Start your own fitness routine: Squeeze in any kind of exercise any way you can, and stick to the same schedule to make it a habit.
34. Take a walk after you eat: After heavier meals, take a walk to burn extra calories, improve your digestion and prevent sluggishness.
35. Don’t skip a workout: Skipping a workout will make you feel depressed and unmotivated, and more likely to keep skipping in the future.
36. Set goals: You’ll be more likely to stick to your exercise plan if you stick personal, reasonable goals.
37. Do spontaneous jumping jacks: Spontaneous spurts of exercise: like 5-10 minutes of jumping jacks can blast calories.
38. Do something every day: Even light to moderate activity like walking helps.
39. Sex: Sex isn’t just a workout: it helps increase blood flow and boosts your mood.
40. Work out with a friend: Combine social time with exercise by finding a friend to motivate you.
41. Walk or bike when you can: Walk or bike to run errands to get to work.

Taking Breaks

Here are healthy ways to hack break time and give your body and mind a rest.

42. Get up once an hour: Give your eyes, back and wrists a break by getting up once an hour, even if it’s just to walk around the room or take out the trash.
43. Take the stairs: If you’re running downstairs on your break or for lunch, take the stairs to get your legs and heart pumping.
44. Stretch: Between your "getting up" breaks, take a minute to stretch your neck, arms, back and legs.
45. Don’t watch TV: The whole point of taking a break is to give your eyes a rest.
46. Get off the computer: You shouldn’t play on the Internet during break time either. Get up and walk around.
47. Quit smoking: You don’t need to be a smoker to be entitled to a short break. Quit smoking and use your breaks more productively, to take a walk or eat a healthy snack.
48. Take a cat nap: Spin your chair around or find a couch to take a 20-minute cat nap during your break time.

Check-ups

Remember to head to the doctor for regular check-ups and screenings.

49. Get your eyes checked: Get your eyes checked to prevent eye strain or eye diseases.
50. Check your blood pressure: High blood pressure can be an indicator of other health problems, including stress, and can put you at a greater risk for heart attack.
51. Go for regular check-ups and screenings: Remember to go for regular check-ups, screenings and teeth cleanings to make sure you’re in good health overall.

Web Tools

While you’re on the computer anyway, use these health tools to monitor your symptoms, weight, exercise routine and more.

52. BMI Calculator: Assess your overall health and decide if you need to lose weight by calculating your BMI.
53. Symptom Checker: This interactive tool will help you diagnose a problem.
54. The Daily Plate: Count calories and plan meals with this healthy living site.
55. Games for Fit Brains: You’re probably working (or overworking) your brain at work, but these fun games can keep you on your toes by introducing you to new challenges.
56. SparkPeople: This social network and healthy living community will introduce you to diet and fitness plans just for you.
57. Physical Activity in Your Daily Life: Here you’ll be able to figure out which daily chores can cut calories. It’s a good tool to give you ideas for stretching and fitting in "work outs" during your breaks, too.
58. Diet and Fitness Assessments: These quizzes and assessments will test stress, motivation, saturated fat intake and more.
59. Dietary Guidelines for Americans: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ guide on nutrition can help you pick foods from each food group.
60. Healthy Living Calculators: Calculate target heart rate, calories burned, ideal body weight, depression risk, and more.

iPhone Apps

If you’re of the iPhone persuasion, you’ll like having these healthy living apps handy to remind you to eat right, work out and track your well being.

62. WebMD Mobile: This free app connects you to the guides and tools on WebMD.
63. Your Ideal Weight: Use this app to set weight-loss goals and figure out your BMI.
64. Restaurant Nutrition: Find out the nutrition facts of meals from Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, Chili’s, Dairy Queen and other popular eateries.
65. DailyBurn: Track workouts, calories and weight goals with this free app.
66. FoodScanner: Get the nutrition facts by scanning UPC barcodes with your iPhone.
67. iTreadmill: Turn your iPhone into a pedometer with this app.
68. Two Hundred Situps: Get weekly health and fitness tips as this app helps you work up to 200 situps.
69. GymGoal: It’s easy to track your favorite workouts and find workouts for different parts of the body with this app.
70. Muscle Head and Neck System: Learn about the muscles in your head and neck, and how to relax them.
71. HeartWise Blood Pressure Monitor: If you’re worried about your blood pressure, you can track it with this app.

Stress

Don’t let the stress of annoying clients and ridiculous workloads get to you. Manage stress with these healthy hacks.

72. It’s okay to rant: Through exercise or a rant fest with friends, letting off steam can help you relax.
73. Make time for yourself: It’s easy to get lost in your projects, but schedule time each day for something fun.
74. Find out what’s expected of you: Prevent unnecessary stress and job burnout by communicating with bosses and clients regularly.
75. Learn how to control your reaction: You can’t always control what’s stressing you out, but you can work on ways to deal with issues more constructively.
76. Avoid gossip and office conflict: Keep your mind on your work and your own problems.

Sleep Hacks

Make the most of naps and regular sleep to refuel yourself.

77. Wind down before bed: Free Geekery reminds you to read, try acupuncture and avoid over-stimulating activities (like TV) before bed.
78. Caffeine Naps: This might sound weird, but apparently it works: Drink a cup of coffee and then take a 15-minute nap as a chaser. You’ll feel alert when you wake up.
79. Practice getting up when your alarm goes off: During the day when you’re already awake practice responding to your alarm. This strategy makes it easier to wake up in the morning.
80. Address anxiety: When you can’t fall asleep because of anxiety, spend the hour before bedtime writing down everything that’s stressing you out.
81. Sleep on schedule: Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time even on weekends.

Boost your immunity

Keep your immune system in good shape to avoid getting sick and have more energy.

82. Deal with stress: Stress is one of the greatest threats to a healthy immune system, so learn to deal with it appropriately.
83. Eat lots of veggies: Eat less red meat and more veggies and chicken soup to boost immunity.
84. Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation can also weaken your immune system.
85. Indulge every once in a while: Keeping yourself happy with a piece of chocolate can boost mood and immunity.
86. Nuts: Get your healthy fats and oils by eating nuts, which also contain Vitamins C and E.
87. Mushrooms: Mushrooms contain cytokines and Vitamin D which are supposed to be good for your immune system.
88. Exercise: Reduce stress, sleep better and increase blood flow with moderate exercise.

Daily Habits

From flossing to getting sunlight, these daily habits will keep you healthy.

89. Get enough natural light: Open the blinds or take your breaks outside to keep your body on a regular schedule and boost your mood.
90. Be social: Social interaction can extend your health and improve your mood. Even if you work alone, take some time to chat online with friends or go out for lunch.
91. Keep a journal: It sounds sappy, daily or weekly journaling can help you manage stress, track goals, vent, and force you to spend time away from the computer.
92. Multitask less: Multitasking can add to stress, mess with your ergonomics strategy and make you lose your focus.
93. Clean your house and office: Make sure you dust, vacuum and clear away dirty dishes to avoid getting sick and to keep pests at bay.
94. Get out of your pajamas: You’ll be more productive and energetic and will also feel more confident and connected if you shower and get dressed like a "normal" person, even if you work from home.
95. Floss: Your oral health is a good indicator for your overall health. Floss to rid your mouth of bacteria and help promote fresh breath.
96. Check the A/C: Server rooms are often over-cooled, so ask if it’s okay to adjust the temperature. If you can’t, bring a jacket or sweater to keep yourself comfortable.
97. Wash your hands: If you work on other people’s keyboards all day, you’ll want to make sure you wash your hands frequently to avoid getting their germs.
98. Get a dog: You’ll find a new purpose, become more responsible and less lonely if you have a dog to take care of.
99. Eat breakfast: Eat something for breakfast — even if it’s just a piece of fruit — to jump start your metabolism and give your brain and body an instant dose of energy and nutrition.
100. Take a multi-vitamin: Consult with your doctor if you’re not sure which vitamins your body needs most. A multi-vitamin is especially important if you work on an irregular schedule and can’t find time to eat healthy meals all the time.

Online nursing programs are typically not completely distance learning programs and usually work with clinics in different cities for students’ residency requirements.  Nursing classes can be taught online, but when students reach the point of residency requirements, the online classes must shift to field work and students must earn a set number of hours in order to attain a nursing degree.  Ordinary classroom nursing programs work in the same way: students must complete a set number of classroom instruction hours before they have to complete another set of clinic hours.  The only difference with online education is that students can earn their classroom hours from home, although some online schools require students to attend classroom meetings from time to time.

Online nursing programs and other health care programs are composed in such a way that students must earn some of their hours away from the comfort of their computer.  Students cannot gain this type of clinic experience through online classes and therefore must become involved with clinics after a year of online nursing classes.  However, online classes help many students who do not have the time to enroll in traditional classroom courses because of their busy schedules.  While their schedules must change by their second year in nursing school, the initial year of online classes means that they can hold onto their job or family life while still earning a new degree.

The only real difference with online nursing programs is the early stages of nursing school; adjusting your school schedule to match with your work schedule during this first year is demonstrative of the flexibility online education allows its students.  However, nursing students need to do further research into their online nursing programs to ensure that they can complete all their early classes from home before they are required to begin attending clinics and other residency requirements. 

What is Health Care Reform and Why Do We Need It?

Explore the issues at hand that are prompting all the discourse over health care reform with these blog posts.

1. Defining ‘Health Care Reform’. This post examines what health care reform means to the American people seeking health care and from the perspective of an economist.
2. How Health Care Reform Would Impact You. This blog post is a few months old, so it may be slightly off on the specifics of the health care reform bill, but it does offer an excellent view of why health care reform is necessary.
3. Healthcare Reform Explained – A Guide For the Perplexed. Dr. Rich (Richard N. Fogoros, MD) offers a detailed account of what he sees as the history and problems of health care in America and what the reforms may or may not bring.
4. Let’s Compare US Health Care Costs With Other Countries. These graphs clearly show how costly American health care is in comparison to other countries around the world.
5. Medical Bankruptcy and Health Care Reform. Take a look at some debate over the connection between bankruptcy due to medical debt and health care reform here.
6. Why We Need Health Care Reform. This post includes the transcript of a speech given by Obama as he explains why health care reform is vital to American "stability and security."
7. When Will Emergency Rooms Go Back to Being Emergency Rooms?. Emergency rooms have become substitutes for routine care for those without insurance, leaving people with emergencies to wait for hours.
8. Do we need healthcare reform?. Dr. Geoff breaks down the reasons for health care reform in an easy-to-understand fashion.
9. Why Do We Need Health Care Reform? Don’t Ask George Will. This post takes issue with George Will’s stance on leaving health care alone and explains why health care reform is essential.
10. What Do the U.S. and Turkmenistan Have in Common?. In a comparison that provides a new perspective on the broken American health care system, this post illustrates the need for reform.

Suggestions on What Should Be Done

Instead of just complaining about the problem, these people are offering solutions.

11. Health Care Reform – Full Article. CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey offers his suggestions for how to create an effective health care reform package.
12. How important are individual mandates in achieving health reform?. Debra Lipson discusses the inclusion of individual mandates as a part of health care reform.
13. Health Care Reform Needs Public Option–Not Band-Aid. Mike Hall from the AFL-CIO NOW Blog discusses why a public option is necessary for health care reform.
14. A billion dollars worth of care……. Bill Crounse, MD Senior Director of Microsoft’s Worldwide Health offers his ideas on what should be included in health care reform in order to make the most of the money involved and to serve the people the best.
15. Intermountain Healthcare–Proof That U.S. Hospitals Can Improve. Take a look at the results of a healthcare system in Utah and Idaho that demonstrates how Medicare pilot programs may point the way to quality health care reform.
16. What Congress Can Do To Boost Health Care Quality. Margaret E. O’Kane, president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance, provides three suggestions for what Congress can do to ensure effective and quality health care.

Hear from the Doctors

In the trenches, the doctors have a unique perspective on many issues surrounding health care reform. Hear what they have to say here.

17. The House Bill Is "Worse Than Nothing"? Really?. Jonathan Cohen looks at what Marcia Angell, M.D., one of the most respected experts on health care, says about the health care reform as it stands and whether or not it was worth the effort.
18. The Federated Health System of America. This physician with a PhD in Health Policy provides his perspective on why there has been such a difficulty reaching consensus and why the result may not succeed.
19. Health Care Reform 2009: No Bill is Better Than a Bad Bill. Dr. John Geyman looks at the negatives of the health care reform bill, which he sees as outweighing the positives.
20. Dissident Docs Fail to Dislodge AMA’s Backing of House Health Bill. The AMA officially supported the bill as passed by the House, but many doctors are vehemently opposed to this support. Read this post to find out why.
21. House Bill Effects on Physician Income. Dr. Christopher M. Hughes explains how physicians are actually in a position to receive more income when more people are covered–even when the amount paid by each patient is less.
22. Saving Health Care–Saving America. Written collaboratively, this post calls Congress to think and act on the part of the American people, not special interest groups.
23. Uninsured veterans. Dr. Don McCanne shines light on the fact that many veterans are left uninsured after serving their country and asks for something to be done for all Americans.
24. Doctor’s Rx for health reform: primary care for all. Dr. Michael Fine advocates for a health care system for America, not expensive health insurance.
25. How should doctors discuss healthcare reform with patients?. Discover how some physicians are talking about health care reform to patients and why some are not.
26. Responsible Governing is Hard. This ER doc discusses the fiscal responsibility (or lack thereof) in relation to the House health care reform bill.

The Economic and Political View

The health care issues are integrally tied to economics and politics. Find out about the controversy and opinion being blogged with these posts.

27. Word from the White House: Controlling Costs for Families, Small Businesses, and the Government. This is the official White House response to both the House and Senate version of the health care reform bill.
28. Obama’s Statement on House Health Bill. This post provides Obama’s official statement in response to the passage of the health care reform bill in the House.
29. Op-Ed: Why "free market competition" fails in health care. Joe Flower provides a look at why the competition that works in other industries won’t work with respect to health care.
30. Help the buyer be aware. Dr. Sreedhar Potarazu takes the opposing view from Mr. Flowers and recommends giving employers the responsibility of regulating the insurance companies.
31. Liberal’s Approach to Health Care Reform Made Abortion Controversy Inevitable. Despite the title of this post, the issue at hand isn’t really about liberalism or abortion, but the idea that for a government-controlled healthcare system will always run into issues hindering progress because it is a part of a political system–and politics will matter.
32. Lieberman will filibuster health-care reform ‘as a matter of conscience’. Learn why Lieberman is opposed to a public option and what Ezra Klein wonders about Lieberman’s opposition in this post.
33. The Affordability Factor. Marilyn Werber Serafini asked questions about affordability of health care for the individuals. Read on to see what kind of responses she got from the National Journal’s panel of insiders.
34. Insurance Coverage Under the Health Care Reform Proposal Approved by the Senate Finance Committee. Learn how the Congressional Budget Office answers two common questions about its estimate that that roughly 94 percent of the legal nonelderly population would have health insurance in 2019, compared with about 83 percent today.
35. Menu Labeling–From a New York City Experiment to Part of the Health Care Reform Bill. Deepak Gupta explores the legality and quick progression of menu labeling as it has become a part of the health care reform package.
36. Paying for Reform. This post examines several options for footing the bill on health care reform.
37. Financing Health Care Reform: 2009 vs. 2003. Uwe E. Reinhardt, an economics professor at Princeton, looks at ways the health care reform may be funded and how reform funding now differs from the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003.

Specifics on the House Health Care Reform Bill

The legislation that was passed in the House has prompted quite a bit of conversation. Read these posts to find out what is being said.

38. Health Care Reform Bill – What Women Stand to Gain (and Lose). Linda Lowen takes a look at what the recent health care reform bill has done to women’s right to choice when it comes to abortion.
39. Start with a smaller burger. Not only should individuals take more personal responsibility for their health, says Robert F. Graboyes, there is also a problem with the current proposed health care reform–it’s going to take too hard a financial toll on small businesses and employees.
40. Six Smart Progressive Complaints About House Health Bill. John Nichols looks at why six progressives are not happy with the current health care reform.
41. Health Reform’s Chevy Tax. Learn why the Senate health care legislation may be more of a Chevy tax than a Cadillac tax.
42. Should Older People Pay More for Health Insurance?. According to the House bill that passed, older people could be charged twice that of younger people for health insurance–with estimates showing those over 60 could be paying up to $9,420 a year.
43. Documents: Read the full contents of the proposed health care bill. If you have the time to read all 1,990 pages of the health care reform bill, use the link here, or just read Anderson Cooper’s summary to get the gist of it all.
44. Affordable Health Care for America Act. Read this post to learn about the key components of the Affordable Health Care for America Act that passed the House on November 7.
45. Anh Joseph Cao Explains His Vote. This blog post includes a video clop of Cao explaining his vote on the House bill. Cao was the only Republican to vote in favor of the bill.
46. A Merged Senate Bill by Monday?. Take a look at the timeline between the passed House bill and what may happen as the bill moves to the Senate. This post offers an in-depth look at the political workings of government.
47. HR 3962: The Affordable Health Care for Americans Act. Timothy Jost, a health law professor, provides a detailed look at the specifics of HR 3962. This is the first of a four-part series examining the health care bill.
48. The Public Option And Insurance Exchange In The House Bill. Jost explores the strengths and weaknesses of the public option portion of the bill as well as the health insurance exchange proposal.
49. The House Health Reform Bill: Delivery System Reforms And Other Provisions. In this third post, Jost spends some time with several of the lesser-known elements of the bill.
50. The House Health Reform Bill: An Abortion Funding Ban And Other Late Changes. Finally, Jost examines the changes made in the bill before it was passed in the House.