Today is the last day to shop online and save 30% on ALL continuing education courses!
Enter coupon code BFCM2012 during checkout @ www.pdresources.org to apply.
Hurry, sale ends at midnight tonight!
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Each year in April, occupational therapists, assistants, and students host a month-long celebration showcasing the importance of Occupational Therapy.
Occupational Therapists are part of a vitally important profession that helps people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. Your holistic and customized approach to evaluations, interventions, and outcomes help a child with disabilities participate in school and in social situations, assist a person recovering from injuries to regain skills, aid an older adult to stay as independent as possible, and offer the specialized support and services to people of all ages and in all circumstances that only occupational therapy can provide.
To show our support, we are offering a 25% discount on all of our AOTA CEU courses through April 30, 2012. Just use coupon code OTSROCK during checkout @ www.pdresources.org.
Thanks for all you do!
Professional Development Resources is an AOTA approved provider of continuing education (#3159). The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
Coupon valid on FUTURE orders only; cannot be applied retroactively. Expires 4/30/12.
It’s almost time for that annual ritual of turning the clocks forward, which means we will soon be enjoying an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day. But along with the hour of daylight we gain this Sunday, the quarter of the world’s population who observe daylight saving time will also be losing an hour of sleep.
One hour might seem like a small change, but it has proven to have a larger effect on us than just being a little groggy come Monday morning.
Today, the original purpose of daylight saving time — maximizing the amount of light during waking hours —still holds true. But more studies are popping up suggesting that people who are already susceptible to certain health problems, such as high blood pressure and depression, will feel the effects even more when the clocks move forward.
A Swedish study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008 found the risk of a heart attack increases in the days right after the daylight saving time change.
“The most likely explanation to our findings are disturbed sleep and disruption of biological rhythms,” the lead author of the study, Imre Janszky, told National Geographic in an interview last year.
Researchers and sleep specialists have in recent years warned that the pace of modern working life, especially in the West, has left the majority of people sleep deprived. In 2007, Till Roenneberg of Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich tracked the sleeping patterns of Europeans to explore the effects of moving from daylight time to standard time.
The study found that while both late and early risers adjusted to the time switch in the fall, night owls had a particularly difficult time adjusting to the time shift in the spring.
Australian researcher Greg Roach of the University of South Australia’s Centre for Sleep Research, who studies the body’s internal clock, said the study was commendable, even if it did confirm what many of us already knew.
“Until now, most of the impact of daylight saving time has been anecdotal,” Roach told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “One of science’s aims is to find evidence for things that seem common sense.”
Shyam Subramanian, a pulmonologist at Baylor College of Medicine and medical director of the sleep lab at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, spoke to the Houston Chronicle in 2010 about the effect of daylight savings on sleep patterns. Like Roenneberg, Subramanian’s research led him to conclude that most people in the West are already sleep deprived and are more affected than they realize by the time change.
“Losing an hour of sleep contributes to sleep debt,” he told the Chronicle. “If you don’t make up the debt, it manifests in waking up tired, needing a lot of caffeine to get going, nodding off during the day.”
The underlying lack of sleep and the adjustments people have to make to their schedules during daylight savings can also cause more accidents, Subramanian said.
“There is a higher incidence of workplace and occupational accidents, particularly in industries like mining and transportation, for about two to three weeks right around this time,” he told the paper.
Scientists aren’t the only ones warning about the effects of daylight saving on health and behaviour. The Insurance Bureau of Canada doesn’t keep data on the number of accidents associated with the time change but uses the clock adjustment to remind people to be more cautious and pay greater attention to safety.
“From a property and casualty standpoint, [daylight saving is] a reminder for people to be awake, be aware and be safe on the roads,” said bureau spokesperson Steve Kee.
The bureau suggests people use the ritual of adjusting their clocks to remind themselves to also check around their home for possible safety risks, Kee said people can take that time to replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, put together an emergency supply kit and check homes for hazardous materials.
There are those who believe that the health and public safety risks associated with daylight time changes are significant enough to make changing the clocks twice a year more trouble than it’s worth.
Groups around the world have been lobbying governments to get rid of seasonal time changes altogether.
In Canada, areas of Quebec east of 63 degrees west longitude do not change to daylight time and remain on Atlantic standard time year round. Pockets of Ontario and British Columbia do not use daylight time.
Most of Saskatchewan has not observed daylight time since 1966 and stays on central standard time all year-round, with the exception of some border towns that follow the same time as their neighbours in Manitoba or Alberta.
Daylight time is observed in most of the United States. Just two states, Arizona and Hawaii, and three territories, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, do not participate.
Some groups are pushing for daylight saving to be implemented all year long. A campaign called Lighter Later in the U.K., for example, has suggested that clocks be put forward an hour permanently. That way, come springtime, clocks will essentially be put ahead two hours, resulting in two extra hours of daylight in the evening.
The extra two hours of light for half of the year would mean a significant reduction in electricity use and approximately 300 more hours of daylight a year, according to Mayer Hillman, a Lighter Later advocate.
The campaign has strong support from road safety groups, the tourism industry and certain special interest groups representing children and teens, women, pensioners and people living in rural communities, Hillman said.
The group’s proposal was brought forward in the British Parliament earlier this year as the Daylight Saving Bill but has since been tabled.
The growing debate on the relevance of daylight saving will no doubt continue, but for now, most of us will turn our clocks forward this Sunday at 2 a.m.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/03/08/f-daylight-saving-time-spring.html
Time is running out to save 29% on CE with our Leap Day promo. If you haven’t taken advantage of the sale yet, now is the time to act!
Just use coupon code LEAPDAY12 at checkout to apply the savings. Coupon valid on future orders only (cannot be applied retroactively). Offer expires at midnight tomorrow (2/29/12).
Happy birthday to Patricia, who is celebrating her Sweet 16 this Leap Day!
Were You Born on February 29th?
If so, you’re in luck! Email a photo of your ID with birthdate and we’ll give you a FREE online CE course of your choice. Send photo to [email protected] along with the title of the course you’d like. (Select from any course @ www.pdresources.org.)
Happy Leap Day!
February 29th is special…it’s the reason that a season comes at the same time every year. According to folklore, leap year day gives those women who don’t want to wait for a marriage proposal the go ahead to pop the question themselves.
It takes the earth one day to complete one spin on its axis. The time it takes the earth to complete one trip around the sun is a year. But these units of time don’t divide evenly, resulting in our calendar year being 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and a little over 45 seconds long. Every 4 years we take those extra hours and minutes and fit it in an extra day, on February 29th, which we call Leap Day. Every fourth year thus is Leap Year. If we did not have the extra day every 4 years, in 100 years our calendar would be off by 24 days.
Since it only comes around every four years, here are some rarefied offers to celebrate the occasion:
If so, you’re in luck! Email a photo of your ID with birthdate and we’ll give you a FREE online CE course of your choice. Send photo to [email protected] along with the title of the course you’d like. (Select from any course @ www.pdresources.org.)
You can still save on CE through Leap Day – how about 29% off ALL courses? Just use coupon code LEAPDAY12 at checkout to apply savings. Coupon valid on future orders only (cannot be applied retroactively). Coupon expires 2/29/2012.
Happy Leap Day!
Florida psychologists have an upcoming license renewal deadline of May 31, 2012.
Every licensee must complete 40 hours of approved continuing psychological education (CE) within the two year licensure period (biennium) including 2 hours on the prevention of medical errors, 3 hours on ethics and Florida laws, and 2 hours on domestic violence (every third renewal).
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Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the Florida Board of Psychology and Office of School Psychology (CE Broker Provider #50-1635 – courses are automatically reported to CE Broker). Florida psychologists may earn all 40 required hours @ pdresources.org. |
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Questions about CE Broker? Click here for answers to FAQs. |
Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health is intended to increase clinicians’ awareness of the types of errors that can occur within mental health practice, how such errors damage clients, and numerous ways they can be prevented. Its emphasis is on areas within mental health practice that carry the potential for “medical” errors. Examples include improper diagnosis, breach of confidentiality, failure to maintain accurate clinical records, failure to comply with mandatory abuse reporting laws, inadequate assessment of potential for violence, and the failure to detect medical conditions presenting as psychiatric disorders (or vice-versa). It includes detailed plans for error reduction and prevention like root cause analysis, habitual attention to patient safety, and ethical and legal guidelines. The course includes numerous cases illustrations to help demonstrate common and not-so-common behavioral health errors and specific practices that can help clinicians become proactive in preventing them. Course #20-10B | 2010 | 31 pages | 15 posttest questions
Ethics & Law in Florida Psychology ensures that Florida-licensed psychologists are fully aware of the ethical and legal privileges and constraints under which they are licensed to practice in the State of Florida. It provides the opportunity for a comprehensive reading of the APA Code of Ethics and the three sets of statutes and rules governing the practice of psychology in Florida. Completing this course will fulfill the requirement that licensed psychologists in Florida complete each biennial renewal period three hours of continuing education on professional ethics and Florida Statutes and rules affecting the practice of psychology. Course #30-06 | 2012 | 40 pages | 21 posttest questions
Domestic Violence: Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence is intended to help health professionals maintain a high state of vigilance and to be well prepared with immediate and appropriate responses when abuse is disclosed. There is a special section on the complexity of an abuse victim’s decision about if and when to leave an abuser. This course will teach clinicians to detect abuse when they see it, screen for the particulars, and respond with definitive assistance in safety planning, community referrals, and individualized treatment plans. Course #20-61 | 2012 | 31 pages | 18 posttest questionsEvery February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from?
The Legend of St. Valentine
The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.
Origins of Valentine’s Day: A Pagan Festival in February
While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.
Valentine’s Day: A Day of Romance
Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
Typical Valentine’s Day Greetings
In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.
Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day