What are the responsibilities of a diagnostic medical sonographer and a cardiovascular technician? 

People who hold these positions are in charge of operating special imaging equipment in order to capture images or run tests, which are then used by physicians to diagnose patients. Before doing so, however, sonographers and technicians are typically responsible for taking a patient’s medical history and taking any questions about the procedure. Afterwards, they must check their work for quality and accuracy. They usually are capable of determining abnormalities in the images, which they include in their summary to the physician. Diagnostic medical sonographers focus more on images of organs and tissues. They create sonograms or ultrasounds. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians, on the other hand, create images, conduct tests, or assist with surgical procedures involving the heart.

How much would you earn in this position?

In 2012, the median salary for diagnostic medical sonographers was $65,860, with a range from $44,990 to $91,070. For cardiovascular technicians, the median salary was $52,070, with a range from $27,830 to $80,790.  

Requirements:

Some skills that will help you to succeed in this career include being detail-oriented and having the ability to interact positively with patients. High levels of concentration are key as well. This type of work will require an associate’s degree or other professional certification. These can be attained from universities or hospital programs, depending on the place of employment and state requirements. Courses may include anatomy, medical terminology, and applied sciences.

Work Conditions:

This type of work usually means being employed by a hospital. However, other settings include physician’s offices and medical and diagnostic laboratories. These facilities are often open evenings, weekends, or overnight, meaning employees might need to work these hours. Forty hour work weeks are typical. Some positions may require workers to be on call.

-Samantha Phillips

What interests you about this career?  What other information would you like to know about it?

 Sources:
www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare
explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/30/Cardiovascular_TechnologistTechnician

You’ve been told time and again to watch what you post on social media. The message is often accompanied by warnings of the backlash that might result from posting party pictures on Facebook or tweeting complaints about a current employer. While this is a fair point, social media also has the potential to help get you hired. In fact, “Studies have shown that 92% of companies are using social media for hiring—and that three out of four hiring managers will check out a candidate’s social profiles.” With that statistic in mind, here are some tips that I’ve gathered to help you build a positive image on social media while also avoiding negative attention.

First is the obvious – clean up your profiles. Delete frat party photos, profanities, links to offensive articles, and ranting, extreme statuses. Also, consider the picture you use. It should be professional and recent. It should give a competent and friendly impression; to see if your photo is accomplishing this, check out PhotoFeeler. You should be consistent with your profile picture as well as your name across platforms. “It can be tempting to pick a punchy nickname or handle when making your profiles but, as much as possible, use your real name. This both looks more professional and means that people will be able to find your profiles when they search for your name. If you have a common name or often go by a nickname, at least choose a consistent name you’ll use across platforms, and try to have your real name somewhere on each account.” Also, your social media accounts should link to each other. Consider providing a link to your personal website or blog on LinkedIn and in your Twitter profile.

LinkedIn can be much more than a place to provide the long version of your resume. It’s about building connections. You might do this by updating your status regularly, linking to content that is relevant in your industry, or joining groups that will connect you to new professionals. LinkedIn allows you to learn about companies that intrigue you or monitor job postings. As for connecting on LinkedIn, you should generally follow the rule to only connect with people you’ve interacted with in the past. This is a broad definition, however, ranging from your employer of several years to a person you met at a conference. You should tailor the message in the invitation to the relationship. The generic invitation will be fine for people you are familiar with but you should personalize it if the person could use context for why you’re trying to connect with them. As for connecting with hiring managers during the application process, you should avoid sending an invitation. That comes off as a bit presumptuous according to an article entitled 45 Things Successful Job Seekers Do on Social Media.  

Twitter gives you the opportunity to brand yourself even with the limited character count. A marketing manager at IdeasTap suggests, “Try tweeting about current affairs relating to the sector you want to work in to help you to build a relevant following. Follow the companies you would like to work for and put yourself on their radar by interacting with them (responding to and retweeting their tweets).” For your profile, a social marketing consultant at Career Moves Group says, “I'd say things to avoid are motivational quotes or anything that anyone else has posted. Be concise and unique.” You’re using social media to build an image of yourself that appeals to potential employers. Make sure it’s a professional, intelligent, creative image you’re putting out there. Make your account really speak to your personality. “Twitter is a great place to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. So, focus less on your personal accomplishments and more on sharing great articles about your field, commenting on news in your industry, and having a conversation with other major players.” Think specifically about your industry. For example, if you’re in the music promotion industry, it’s probably a good sign if your account shows that you’re grabbing drinks and checking out bands fairly often. The same wouldn’t hold true for a teacher. Be conscience of your target audience and just make sure your social media doesn’t send up any red flags to the people who are trying to decide if they want to work with you. Make your accounts private if they could make you appear to be a loose cannon. Keep these tips in mind, but most importantly, be yourself on social media in a positive, professional way. It could help you land that dream job.

-Samantha Phillips

How do you use your social media to benefit your career, or what have you learned to avoid online? 

A study entitled ‘A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement’ concluded that “when schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.” So with Father’s Day approaching, I thought I’d explore how a dad specifically can make a difference in furthering their child’s education. 

Education.com defines the roles of a father by the 5 P's -- problem-solver, playmate, principled guide, provider, and preparer. All of these are important and surely not the end of the list, but 'preparer' is the role that references education. The description reads, “Fathers often see themselves as someone involved in preparing their children for life's challenges… fathers may advise their teenagers about educational and employment goals… They may guide their child about how to behave in school and work to ensure their child's success in those areas.” As you can see, a dad's guiding hand in a child's education shapes their educational and career path; a father's influence can help lead to a child's future achievements. 

As for examples of ways to get involved, a national survey revealed that the top ways parents currently participate is by attending school meetings, such as parent-teacher conferences, and fundraising. Several articles also pointed out that parent involvement decreases as a child ages, leading to a lack of involvement while the youth attends high school. But involvement is important at all levels of development. The Center for Public Education reveals, “Teachers, parents, and students have little understanding of each other’s interests in children and schools…Most teachers do not know the goals that parents have for their children, how parents help them learn, or how parents would like to be involved. Most parents do not know much about the educational programs in their children’s school or what teachers require of them.” If fathers, mothers, and teachers work to be on the same page and communicate openly, the student will benefit from it.

So dads, keep on sparking your child’s curiosity at home (by reading a story aloud or provoking a fun debate for example), setting realistic expectations for them to strive for, and encouraging them. You have a very special opportunity to make a difference in your child's education and therefore the rest of their life. Happy Father’s Day! 

-Samantha Phillips

Please comment here to share how your dad has helped you with school or any other thoughts this post brought to mind! 

As I explored in an earlier blog post, libraries matter. They are a “corridor out of poverty, a bypass around inadequate schools, an expressway that adds momentum to even a first-rate education.” They are a resource for users in more than just the academic arena. The library is a community center; “instead of warehouses of information, public libraries are becoming information exchanges: places people not only go to learn but to interact with ideas, new technology, services and each other.” Libraries are a place for people of all ages and all backgrounds to gather and exchange ideas. “The public library is the great leveler of society, granting equal access to cultural treasures. Fine art can be viewed firsthand only in specific galleries and museums-or only by private collectors… But the greatest literature ever written, the fundamental works of scholarship on which all our science, culture and intellectual life are based, can be enjoyed by anyone, free of charge, at a local library branch.” So, as you can see, libraries have the power to make a difference.

While libraries have recently been labeled as irrelevant in the digital age, this is not the case. Many libraries are adjusting with the times and incorporating technology into the services they offer. Some innovative examples include adding “an area where patrons of all ages can try out the [3D] printers, dabble in computer coding or work individually, or collaboratively, to create DIY technology,” “hosting job fairs and job training in partnership with community and state agencies,” providing “access to more than 800 free online noncredit courses”, and more. A volunteer at a library in Trumbull explains, “Libraries have always been a central place for people to come together to get informed. It's a natural progression of what libraries have always done.”

Yet libraries are often overlooked as community and cultural centers, and their funding gets cut as a result. According to the American Library Association, “Libraries of all kinds need money. The amount of funding that a library receives directly influences the quality of its services. While the majority of funding for libraries comes from state and local sources, federal funding provides critical assistance, giving libraries across the country the financial support they need to serve their communities.”

The Observer speaks of the potential long-term consequences of low library funding in New York: “Cutting $37 million from the library budget-part of a citywide financial assault on the arts-will cripple one of the city’s engines for rising out of this crisis, and smother one of the wellsprings of New York’s greatness.” Another article warns of what will be lost as a result of budget cuts as well: “The busy Queens system serves about 50,000 people a day. Many customers use the free computers to hunt for jobs, while kids crowd libraries to do their homework. New immigrants use the libraries for language and citizenship classes. Staffers pointed out that libraries are an important safe haven for kids who have no place to go after school.”

Nonprofits can help counter injustices in funding, however. There are nonprofits that exist to represent libraries when budgets are being made locally and federally. There are also organizations that spend their own time and money putting together programs that are held in libraries, fighting to benefit the community in spite of funding cuts that might otherwise limit what the library can do. 4T’s is one such nonprofit who aims to be a useful resource to the community, especially to its youth. 4T’s offers workshops and panel discussions at the Countee Cullen Library. Look out for upcoming events here. 

I hope that you will check out all that your local library has to offer as well as the nonprofits that help make it possible.

-Samantha Phillips

Sources:
American Library Association 
The Observer: Rescuing the Stacks 
Daily News: Budget cuts forces Queens Library to shutter 14 branches, cut 300 workers and reduce hours
Public Libraries Online: Community Centered: 23 Reasons Why Your Library is the Most Important Place in Town
Hartford Courant: Libraries Are The New Community Centers, Town Greens

Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." This philosophy is reflected in the latest move of Akon Lighting Africa, an endeavor to bring electricity to rural Africa. The founders of the initiative – Akon, Thione Niang, and Samba Bathily – were recently honored at the second United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Forum in New York for their work.

Akon Lighting Africa goes beyond short-term philanthropy. Rather, the driving force behind it is long-term goals of sustainability. The project is meant to be a stepping stone for the development of future infrastructure while also providing jobs for locals. Beyond even that though, Akon Lighting Africa will not only capitalize on resources readily available in the environment (Africa has 320 sunny days per year, making it an ideal place for solar power initiatives), it aims to tap into human capital as well. The project recognizes that education is the best way to lead to self-sufficiency and therefore long-term success of the project. Thus, the next phase of Akon Lighting Africa is the creation of a Solar Academy to “develop skills and expertise in this field in Africa.”

The academy “targets future African entrepreneurs, engineers and technicians” and will open this summer in Mali for “any Africans wanting to help develop the use of solar power.” At the forum in New York Samba Bathily explained, “We have the sun and innovative technologies to bring electricity to homes and communities. We now need to consolidate African expertise and that is our objective… We can achieve great milestones and accelerate the African transformation process on condition that we start training a new generation of highly qualified African engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs now.”

Education is the key to the future, not only in Africa, a continent where 70% of the population is younger than 35. Hopefully, you also recognize the long-lasting potential and power of education to find personal success but also to improve society to the benefit of all.
 
-Samantha Phillips

Sources:
Huffington Post: Akon Launches Academy To Help Provide Electricity To 600 Million People In Africa
Next steps for Akon Lighting Africa: Launch of the first Solar Academy in Africa
USA Today: 15 of Nelson Mandela's best quotes