Specifically for Students

1. Biodigital Human: The BioDigital Human is a 3D platform that simplifies the understanding of anatomy, disease, and treatments. Use interactive tools for exploring, dissecting, and sharing custom views, combined with detailed medical descriptions provide an unprecedented new visual format to learn about the human body.
2. Google Books: With Google eBooks, you can use just about any device you own to read any book, anywhere. Choose from millions of books in every imaginable category, from the bestsellers to favorite classics.
3. myHomework: Use this extension to easily track your classes, homework, tests, and projects so you never forget an assignment again. myHomework also has an Android and iPhone app.
4. OpenWiFiSpots — Free WiFi: OpenWiFiSpots is a comprehensive directory of free wireless (WiFi) hotspots continuously updated by a growing community of users in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Approximately 500 new spots added weekly.
5. SlideRocket: Wow your classmates and instructors with homework that you can present through slides. Includes an HTML5 viewer for iPad and iPhone.
6. SlugBooks: Use this extension to save money on all your textbooks. Simply tell SlugBooks what school and classes you are taking, and this app tells you what books you need, along with a grid comparing the prices of new and used copies of these books at your college bookstore, Amazon.com, Half.com, rentals at Chegg.com and BookRenter.com, digital options through Coursesmart and Amazon Kindle, and Facebook-powered local student exchange where you can list your books for sale to other students.
7. StudentBook: This may be the only extension you’ll need for your classes. This is a web application designed for students to easily manage homework, exam dates, and grades for individual subjects.
8. StudyStack: Browse the millions of flashcards which have already been added to the site or create your own to help you memorize anything. For each set of flashcards the site automatically creates several other activities including matching, crossword, hangman, and scrambled word.
9. Wikipedia: Although frowned upon by many professors, this site still provides a quick way to find information that you can use to find cited works. This extension only uses free codecs.
10. World Digital Library — UNESCO: The objectives of the World Digital Library are to promote international and inter-cultural understanding and awareness. This is a great tool for elective courses.

Productivity

11. Astrid Tasks: Astrid is a to-do list and task manager that helps individuals and groups stay organized, get more done, and have fun in the process.
12. Cacoo – Diagramming & Real-Time Colla: Cacoo is a user friendly online drawing tool that allows you to create a variety of diagrams such as site maps, wire frames, UML and network charts. A diagram created with Cacoo can be edited by multiple people at the same time, and changes are reflected in real-time.
13. Connected Mind: There is no limit to the number of mind maps you can create and you can store them in the free cloud storage provided. There is no need to create an account. Simply sign in with your Google or GMail credentials and your maps can be stored in the cloud on a Google database.
14. Mint: You’re too busy studying to worry about asset allocation or debt. Use this extension to track, budget and manage your money all in one place. Open an account, add your accounts and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize your transactions, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save.
15. Read Later Fast: Save pages to read later, online or offline. This is a great tool for temporary links that you don’t want to bookmark, or that you want to read later without using too many tabs. Pages show later like a slideshow or as clean text.
16. Session Buddy: This extension is great for those sessions where you want to save up to ten domains for review. While this app is particularly useful for restoring sessions after system or browser crashes, you also can name and edit these sessions and export a session to text or CSV format. Great for saving a series of sites devoted to a particular topic, disease, or injury.
17. Stay Focused: Don’t waste time when you have so little of it while in school. Use this extension to focus on work by restricting the amount of time you spend on social media, game, or music sites. Once your allotted time has been used up for those sites, you can block them so they’ll be inaccessible for the rest of the day.
18. Stopango: Late for class? Need to find a train timetable? This app’s data is updated in real time and presented depending on your physical location, so you know about the possible difficulties in your daily travels.

Communications

19. Disconnect: Stop third parties and search engines from tracking the web pages you go to and searches you do with this easy-to-use Chrome extension.
20. InternMatch: Land an internship at a small business, large corporation, startup, or non-profit at InternMatch. This tool contains thousands of positions available from world-changing non-profits to larger brand name companies.
21. Monster Jobs: With Monster’s Chrome extension, you’ll be able to check for jobs posted on Monster based off the sites you visit. If any jobs are found, you’ll be able to see them and apply.
22. Quick Markup: Capture any web page or open a local image to mark up with shape, text, icon, and mind-mapping information. Save as .png or .jpg images and share or save.
23. Rapportive: Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts right inside your inbox, replacing Google ads with information about the person who has emailed you.
24. ScribeFire: ScribeFire is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to all of your blogs.
25. Shareaholic: Share links from within the browser, from any webpage, with anyone, using the same services you already know and love like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Evernote, Delicious, and Digg from one simple all-in-one browser extension.

Nurse-Specific Employment Sites

1. Get CNA Jobs: You can’t get more specific than this — a site that focuses solely on CNA positions throughout the U.S. You’ll also find other sites such as “Local CNA Jobs” or “Find CNA Jobs” — they all seem to list the same jobs, so find one and stick with it for your convenience.
2. National Student Nurses Association: The NSNA provides nurse graduates with help in finding jobs and careers. Their career center provides job opportunities by location.
3. Nurse Aide Jobs: This site contains nurse aide jobs from all over the U.S.
4. Nurse Connect: Find profiles on facilities and specialties, hospital and clinic jobs and other healthcare positions, as well as salary tools to help you navigate through your career.
5. Nurse Job Shop: Use the search engine to get more specific about your CNA career choice and location.
6. Nurse Zone: Use this comprehensive job site created specifically for nurses of all calibers. Let them help you find your next job.
7. Nurse.com: This link leads to the CNA-specific job offers within this all-nursing site.
8. Nurse-Recruiter: This job portal provides help with resumes and other resources as well as a job search.
9. Nursing Assistant Jobs: This site offers resume-writing services as well as a list of all jobs available for nursing assistants by company.
10. Nursing Jobs: A nurse-specific job site with a link that leads you straight to the CNA positions available now.

Health Care Employment Sites

11. Absolutely Health Care: This link takes you to nursing assistant jobs available throughout the U.S.
12. Health Career Web: This link leads to the CNA positions available now at this health career site.
13. Health eCareers: Search through the nursing jobs at this site, or be more specific about CNA positions and location through their search engine.
14. Healthcare Jobs: Apply for critical health care job vacancies and use the contact information to explore healthcare jobs in your area.
15. Healthcare Jobsite: This community-based portal carries a wealth of job-searching information. Use their search engine to find your CNA dream job.
16. Hospital Jobs Online: This site comprises one of the Web’s leading resources for health care jobs. Use the search box for job- and location-specific requirements.
17. MedZilla: Yes, this site carries jobs for CNAs. Plus, you might want to get creative and learn whether or not you qualify for other medical jobs listed by thousands of health care employers.

Larger Employment Sites

18. CareerBuilder: This link leads to CNA positions as well as other health care jobs located throughout the U.S.
19. Indeed: This link leads to everything you’d want to know about finding and keeping any one of these CNA job listings.
20. JobsRadar: Use the search engine to help find CNA jobs throughout the U.S. Be sure to enable the Zip Code option for options outside your current location.
21. Locate Jobs Network: This link leads to a page where several location-specific links offer CNA positions. For certified nursing assistants seeking a new job or a better employment opportunity, these job boards, which are located in every major metropolitan area in the country, are a great resource.
22. Monster CNA Search: This large site is easy to use, and this link leads straight to CNA positions available. Use their resources, too, to help refine your resume.
23. Nursing Crossing: Part of the larger Employment Crossing network, this site contains jobs for nurses only.
24. Salary.com: View Nursing Assistant job salaries and scan through available positions in the right column.
25. Simply Hired: This link leads to CNA positions, and you can refine your search by location or by company.
26. Snagajob: This link takes you to the health care jobs at this site. Find jobs by employer or by location, and look specifically for CNA positions.
27. Top USA Jobs: This large site currently lists 10,711 CNA positions available. Refine your search through a location-specific search engine.

Recruiters and Overseas Jobs

28. Canadia Nurse: If you are interested in becoming a nursing assistant in Canada, this is your site. They have a CNA certification that is similar to the U.S. CNA certification.
29. Excel Staffing Service, Inc.: This recruitment service is very specific about what they need, which can save you time in the long run. The focus is on the southeast.
30. Health Career: Although not a recruitment site, this portal focuses only on Australian nursing positions. If you want to live “down under,” this site can provide you with some connections.
31. HealthcareSource: For over a decade, HealthcareSource has been a leader in helping healthcare providers recruit and retain talent. Use this site’s resources to find positions in over 1,500 health care facilities nationwide.
32. Integrisource: CNA is another of the positions for which IntegriSource provides staffing services and employment opportunities. Search for jobs as well at this site.
33. J2S Group Healthforce: This company is seeking CNAs and other health care staff to fill their job openings.
34. NHS Jobs: This site, promoted by the National Health Service, promotes jobs in the UK.
35. Nursefinders: This AMN Healthcare company, offers a variety of rewarding opportunities for certified nursing assistants. CNAs have access to the nation’s top employers and a wide range of quality Certified Nurse Assistant jobs.
36. Nursesnet.com: This is a specialist site for nurse employment worldwide and for foreign nurses wanting to work in the USA and Canada.
37. NursesRX: Another AMN recruitment arm, this site focuses on travel nurse positions, including CNAs.
38. Signature HealthCARE: This company’s Nurse Recruiters work with all facilities in locating Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses and Certified Nurse Assistants.
39. Travel Nursing: This is one of the authorities on travel nursing jobs, and they don’t restrict their requirements to any specific nursing position…CNAs are welcome.
40. Whitsyms Nursing Registry and Nursing Service: Whitsyms seeks full or part-time professionals for work in various Florida counties.

Organizations

1. Aging & Disability Services Administration: ADSA serves adults with chronic illnesses or conditions and people of all ages with developmental disabilities. All long-term care and Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) services are voluntary, which can provide a great free resource for any CNA.
2. American Nurses Association: The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. Although this organization is for RNs, they have many open materials available online.
3. National Council of State Boards of Nursing: The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) provides education, service, and research through collaborative leadership to promote evidence-based regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection. Use this site to advance in your CNA studies quickly.
4. National Network of Career Nursing Assistants: Career Nurse Assistants’ Programs, Inc. is also known as the National Network of Career Nursing Assistants, a non-profit, tax exempt, educational organization promoting recognition, education, research, advocacy and peer support development for nursing assistants in nursing homes and other long term care settings.
5. The Cross Cultural Health Care Program: This program contains a nationally-recognized medical interpreter training program, Bridging the Gap, which has been useful in training thousands of professionals around the United States and internationally.

Providing Care

6. CareGiving: This site offers a blog, free Webinars, online support groups and projects geared toward learning how to caregive. Use some of the information for yourself to help relieve student stress!
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emergency Preparedness and Response: This site is CDC’s primary source of information and resources for preparing for and responding to public health emergencies.
8. GeroNurseOnline: As the official Website of the American Nurses Association’s Nurse Competence in Aging initiative, consider GeroNurseOnline.org a go-to Website for authoritative links, materials, and information about nursing care for older adults.
9. National Institute on Aging Caregiver Guide: Each day dealing with a person with Alzheimer’s disease brings new challenges as the caregiver copes with changing levels of ability and new patterns of behavior. Learn how to cope here.
10. Nurse Assistant & Home Nursing: Dalhousie University provides these resources, which range from ostomy to vital signs and feeding to range of motion exercises. An invaluable resource to have at hand!
11. Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Special Needs [PDF]: Prepared by FEMA and the Red Cross, this document covers how to care for Americans during emergencies such as fires, floods and acts of terrorism, especially those individuals who have sensory or cognitive disabilities.
12. UTMB Nursing Service Student Orientation Manual: The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is a major academic health science center. Take advantage of this free resource to stay on track with your nursing skills.

Diseases and Disabilities

13. Alzheimer’s Association: The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading, global voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care and support, and the largest private, nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research.
14. American Cancer Society: As a leader in cancer control since 1913, the American Cancer Society is committed to saving lives from cancer and reducing the global threat of the disease.
15. American Red Cross: Over the years, this organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering.
16. Arthritis Foundation: The Arthritis Foundation is the only national not-for-profit organization that supports the more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions.
17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: if you want to keep up with government health and safety information, this site the most efficient way to manage that goal. Annually, there are close to 500 million page views to the site, averaging 41 million page views per month.
18. National Council on Disability: NCD is a small, independent federal agency charged with advising the President, Congress, and other federal agencies regarding policies, programs, practices, and procedures that affect people with disabilities.6

For Support

19. 4CNAs: This is an online magazine for Certified Nursing Assistants. Use their information to answer questions you may have about your profession as you advance in your schooling.
20. Care.com: Learn more about the job market in your chosen profession through this site. Once you graduate, you can post your resume and create a free profile and search for a job near you.
21. Direct Care Alliance, Inc.: The Direct Care Alliance is a nationwide and state-based alliance of direct care workers, employers and people of all ages and disabilities who use long-term services, care and supports.
22. Just for CNAs: You’ll find professional inservices here to keep you updated on various topics. At this time, their inservices are approved for use by nursing assistants in every state except California.
23. Nursing Assistant Resources: This blogger has been a nursing assistant for 25 years, then a CNA and an LNA. This blog provides information that you may not find elsewhere from a person who has learned the ropes.
24. Nursing Assistant Resources on the Web: A great blog managed by Ainslie Johnson that provides blogs, Web sites, tips and other information for nursing assistants. This is another site that provides insider information, rather than top-down advice.
25. PHI National: Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute works to improve the lives of people who need home or residential care — by improving the lives of the workers who provide that care.

The great thing about technology is that it provides a way for Doctor Mom to be able to check symptoms, look up treatments and generally provide answers for the health of her family. Gadgets like the Android smart phone put a world of information right at the fingertips of any mother. This can help with first aid, general reference, understanding symptoms, and even learning more about different prescriptions and over the counter drugs. A mom may not be an official nurse, but she can certainly do a lot for the health of her family. Here are 33 useful Android apps that can help Doctor Mom do her job better:

Medical and Health Care Reference

Android apps that help moms access medical and health care information can be quite helpful. These apps are general reference apps that can help you learn more about different sickness, treatments and more. A great way to keep up with medical news, as well as help ailing family members.

1. Medscape: One of the leading Android apps, this provides a great reference that any mom can use. Cost: Free
2. WebMD: Looking for something that is a little more consumer friendly? Get WebMD Mobile Web for Android and stay up on the latest. Cost: Free
3. PubMed Mobile: If you are a Doctor Mom interested in the latest medical articles, this app will allow you to search articles in the PubMed database. Cost: Free
4. First Aid Assist: Get helpful information on procedures related to First Aid. Cost: $1.49
5. First Aid: If you are looking for another option, this app can help you take the right steps — in the right order. Cost: Free
6. 999 Medical Anatomy Terms Quiz: Want to learn more jargon? Use this quiz app to boost your knowledge. Cost: $2.49
7. MedPage Today: Get the latest in medical news and information — right on your Android phone. Cost: Free
8. Public Health News: Be up on the latest public health information that can affect your family. Cost: Free

Symptoms and Diagnosis

No, a mom can’t “officially” diagnose disease like a doctor can. However, with the help of some Android apps, it is possible to get a good idea of what is going on with a “patient”. You can use the following Android apps to figure out what might be wrong with a child or other family member, track symptoms, and keep track of information that might help the doctor better treat the problem if it is serious enough to take to the clinic or hospital.

9. Health Guide: Learn more about different conditions and diseases, and keep up with symptoms. A helpful guide for any Doctor Mom. Cost: $1.99
10. Differential Diagnosis: This consumer friendly app can help you figure out what condition you are dealing with as you answer questions. Cost: Free
11. Prognosis: Your Diagnosis: Look through clinical cases and learn more about diagnosing conditions. Cost: Free
12. iTriage: A great symptom tracker, perfect for Doctor Mom. Cost: Free
13. Symptom Checker: Use this app to check family member symptoms. Cost: Free
14. Period and Ovulation Tracker: Interested in your own symptoms? You can keep track of period and ovulation with help from this app. Cost: Free
15. Blood Pressure Tracker: If you are concerned about the blood pressure in your family, you might consider this app to monitor symptoms. Cost: $19.99
16. Diagnostic Imaging: Are you interested in knowing what you’re looking at when your child is having an x-ray? This app can help. Cost: $2.99

Drugs and Medications

It can be helpful to have a knowledge of some drugs and medications. Get an idea of what different medicines can do, as well as learn more about dosing and other instructions. You can also learn more about herbal remedies and over the counter medications with the help of some of these Android apps.

17. Mini Nurse Lite: Meant for RNs, this awesome Android app can provide you information about prescriptions, dosing information and more. Cost: Free
18. Epocrates Rx: This is one of the most well-known apps related to medications. Get info right at your fingers, including prescription and over the counter drugs. Cost: Free
19. Insulin Dose Calculator: If someone in your family is diabetic, this app is a great resource. Cost: Free
20. AgileMedCalc: Another great tool for dosing, this medical calculator can be quite helpful for Doctor Mom. Cost: Free
21. Mediquations: Another tool meant for professionals, this dosing calculator can be a real help. Cost: $4.99
22. Drug Interaction Checker: A great tool if you are unsure of which drugs can be taken together. An excellent app if you are worried about mixing medications. Cost: Free
23. Nursing Pharmacology: Get this drug app used by nurses. Cost: $2.99
24. Natural Remedies: This great app helps you find more natural options. Cost: $1.25
25. Herbal Remedies: Find out how you can find natural cures. Cost: $2.99
26. Medicinal Herbs: Get an idea of which herbs are best, and what they do. Cost: Free

Health and Fitness

Part of your job as Doctor Mom is to do your best to keep yourself and the members of your family healthy. Good health can ward of disease and make downtime last for a shorter period of time. You can use the following Android apps to encourage healthier behaviors in yourself and in your family. After all, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

27. Fast Food Calorie Counter: Get an idea of how you are eating when you go out for for fast food. Cost: $2.99
28. Calorie Counter by FatSecret: A general calorie counter to help you find healthier meals. Cost: Free
29. Workout Coach: Get helpful hints on exercise. Great for the whole family. Cost: Free
30. Absolute Fitness: Helpful hints on diet and exercise. Cost: $4.99
31. Backpacker GPS Trails: If your family is into hiking and active health, this is a great app. Cost: $9.99
32. 5 a Day – Healthy Eating: A helpful Android app that provides you with recipes for each meal of the day. These are healthy recipes that can provide you with a meal plan for better living. Cost: $1.00
33. Go Get Healthy Now: Learn more about fitness for the whole family with news, articles and information. Cost: Free

There is definitely truth in that old saying. What you put into your body really does affect how you function and how you feel. It can even affect how you think. There are foods that research shows are good for your brain. And, on the flip side, foods that are not so good for your brain. Whether you are trying to boost your brain power for a scholarship, or whether you want to do your best in a new career, you can eat foods that will help you excel.

Best Foods for Your Brain

If you want to boost your performance, consider ingesting these foods. They can provide you with the brain power you need for better memory, faster thinking and more:

1. Wild Salmon: It’s amazing how healthy wild salmon is. In fact, it’s one of the healthiest foods out there — and its great for your brain function. Wild salmon is known to help you improve the quality of your brain matter, smooth your synaptic connections, and reduce the chance of developing dementia. Salmon is also high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for brain function as well as the heart. It is important to note that farm raised salmon do not have all of the same benefits that you get from wild salmon. So be picky.
2. Acai Berry: The Acai berry has received widespread interest lately for its health benefits. This little berry is native to South America, especial Brazil. Acai has a number of benefits, including antioxidants that are good for health. Additionally, Acai includes Omega-3 fatty acids, which is a rarity in berries and fruit. However, it is important to be careful. There are a number of scams out there claiming that you can get the brain benefits of Acai. This is untrue. Outside of South America, you need your Acai to be flash frozen to get the benefits.
3. Blueberries: You don’t need to be exotic in order to get the benefits of a berry brain food. Bluberries have many of the properties of Acai berries, and are more widely accessible. Blueberries have been shown to provide help for long-term memory, protecting your brain from the free radicals that can damage your thinking ability and result in dementia.
4. Peppermint Tea: Do you need to concentrate? If so, you can use peppermint tea to help you focus better. Researchers have found that you can boost brain performance, at least in the short term, with the effects of peppermint tea. Additionally, the tea can help you retain alertness without becoming anxious.
5. Arugula/Spinach: If you are looking to boost your mood and your brain performance in terms of avoiding nervousness and irritability, you should consider leafy greens. Dark colored leafy greens. Spinach and arugula are high in B vitamins that can help your brain with dopamine and serotonin production. You can also ease symptoms of depression with a little help from leafy greens. You can also get some of the same benefits from chard.
6. Coffee: Yes, in moderation coffee can be a brain food. Coffee is a stimulant that can actually help your short-term memory. As long as you prudent enough to get it fresh brewed. Coffee can help you focus your attention, and the caffeine in coffee can also slow the aging process — including brain aging. One cup of coffee can help you focus better and improve your problem solving.
7. Cacao: Many people use the fact that cacao can boost brain performance as an excuse to eat more chocolate. And, it is true that dark chocolate can sharpen your mind and boost your cognition on a short term basis. However, you can’t just eat any old chocolate. Your best bet is to get your hands on quality dark chocolate that has been minimally processed. The best is to stir a little cacao powder into a drink. Next best is to get chocolate bars with at least 75% cacao content.
8. Matcha: Green tea is renowned for its health benefits, and for its ability to help boost brain performance. It calms and focuses, stimulating the brain and helping you concentrate without an excessive nervousness. The best green tea, though is Matcha. Matcha is finely stone-ground and specially prepared in the best Japanese tradition. No soaking tea bags or any of the other things you think of with green tea.
9. Ground Flaxseed: If you want to improve the way your cerebral cortex works, you can take a little ground flaxseed. One tablespoon a day can help you improve your senses, better processing the sensory information you receive. You can mix flaxseed into shakes, or sprinkle it on salad or cereal. It’s a great way to get Omega-3 fatty acids as well.
10. Curry: If you like a taste of the exotic, you can feed your brain with the help of curry. Turmeric is a yellow spice, in the ginger family, used in many curries. It has shown promise in reducing the deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s, and has antioxidants that slow brain aging.

Worst Food For Your Brain

You also need to be aware of the ways you could be inhibiting your brain performance. Here are some of the worst foods for brain performance:

1. Alcohol: It’s probably no surprise that this drink is probably one of the worst for brain performance. While a glass of wine can be helpful to your health, drinking more than a serving can make you sloppy, and binge drinking destroys brain cells.
2. Energy Drinks: While caffeine in moderate amounts can be good for your brain, too much of it causes problems. And that is the issue with energy drinks. When you have too much caffeine, or drink energy drinks a great deal (especially after 3 pm) you can mess up your sleep cycle — which is vital for brain health.
3. Full Fat Ice Cream: It may be tasty, but full fat ice cream is horrible for your brain. High saturated fats can clog your blood vessels and reduce the amount of nutrients that are getting to your brain. So, enjoy an occasional serving of low fat ice cream, but be careful to avoid high fat ice cream.
4. Unripe Berries: While ripe berries can be a great brain food, you need to be wary of unripe berries. The best results for your brain come when the fruit is eaten at peak ripeness, when the natural nutrients are at their height. Hard, unready berries don’t have all the same nutrients. If the berries are out of season, look for frozen berries that have been picked and preserved at peak ripeness.
5. Pancakes: You might like to have some pancakes for breakfast, but these are terrible in terms of brain food. High in simple carbohydrates, pancakes may give you a small boost, but you quickly get through that boost. Plus, eating a high carb breakfast increase the tryptophan in your brain — making you groggy and energy-less just two hours later.
6. Bagels: Like pancakes, bagels are high in refined carbohydrates. If you have a bagel — especially one that appears white — you are looking for trouble. At least as far as your brain goes. Sadly, muffins aren’t any better. It may seem like bagels and muffins should be healthy breakfast choices, but they aren’t.
7. Soda: Here’s another drink to avoid if you want to improve your brain function. The sugar in soda, when taken very sparingly (no more than 12 oz. a day) can aid in some short-term memory retention, but most people overdo the soda to an unhealthy level. As with other sugars, having all that soda can make you anxious, and then crash later, losing alertness. Plus, those who drink more soda are more prone to depression.
8. Candy: Yet another common treat, exposed as being bad for your brain. Again, the main issue is the sugar. You will end up with sugar highs and lows, due to the glucose, and you will end up with a fuzzy mind state. Clear thinking can be impaired by candy, and it contributes to other health problems (too much can lead to diabetes) that can in turn speed up the effects of aging on the brain.
9. White Chocolate: This might come as a surprise to the crowd that believes that chocolate can be good for your brain. But it is important to remember that not all chocolate is created equal. Dark chocolate is the best. And, truth to tell, white chocolate isn’t actually chocolate, since it lacks the cocoa solids. So, really, eating white chocolate helps your brain just about as much as candy. Which is not at all.
10. Potato Chips: Potato chip products are horrible for your brain, since they include hydrogenated oils, refined carbs and large amounts of fat, all things that promote sluggish thinking and brain aging that can result in dementia.

Healthcare Job Search

These blogs can help you find a job in healthcare, and understand what is available. Figure out what you need to do in order to find success as a healthcare worker.

1. Health Careers Blog: This blog from About.com offers information on a number of healthcare jobs, and what you need to do in order to qualify.
2. Healthcare Career Blog: Learn about different aspects of working in healthcare, and different tools for helping you find a job.
3. Health Care Scouts: Tools and tips for finding a healthcare career. Includes information on conferences and management as well.
4. Non-Clinical Medical Jobs, Careers and Opportunities: Learn about what is available in healthcare for those who are not interested in clinical work.
5. Healthcare Executive Careers Blog: Learn about becoming a healthcare executive, working your way to the top in the health field.
6. BioJobBlog: While the emphasis is on pharma careers, this blog also features helpful information on advancing your career in other areas of healthcare.

Public Health

Public health provides interesting opportunities to be involved in healthcare, without necessarily being involved with clinical programs. Here are some blogs that can help you learn more about a career in public health.

7. why public health?: Folks in Yale’s public health program have put together an unofficial blog discussing issues in public health, as well as insights into policy, and encouragement as you work toward a degree.
8. BYU Public Health: Learn about public health career opportunities and what you need for a degree from this blog set up by BYU’s public health program.
9. Dr. Buttery’s Public Health BLOG: Explore public health issues and learn more about what it takes to be successful in the field.
10. Public Health Matters: Learn all about public health and its issues from the Centers for Disease Control.
11. In Case of Emergency: A blog on public health issues, providing insight on how things are handled.

Physicians

Learn about what it’s like to be a doctor, and get insight into what they have to deal with every day.

12. Physician Careers Blog: Learn about different careers available to different kinds of doctors.
13. Notes on a Physician’s Life: This blog looks at different aspects of being a doctor, written by a physician and career consultant.
14. The Entrepreneurial MD: Learn how you can be a doctor and an entrepreneur at the same time, advancing your career potential.
15. MD Salaries: An interesting look at how much different types of doctors can make in the United States and in the rest of the world.
16. Physician Jobs and Healthcare Careers: Learn more about becoming a doctor, as well as other jobs in healthcare. Includes jobs open to physicians.

Nurses

One of the jobs in highest demand is nursing. Here are some blogs that can help you with your nursing career.

17. Nursing Career Blog: Just what it sounds life, this blog is about different nursing jobs and career opportunities.
18. Nursing Jobs Blog: Learn about different nursing jobs available, and a number of tips for enhancing your career.
19. St. Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst – Male Nurses: An Australian perspective on what’s it like to have a career as a “murse”.
20. Travel Registered Nurse: Learn how you can enjoy a career as a travel nurse.
21. Nurse Healers: Learn about what nurses do as part of the healing process, and how you can become a better nurse.

Medical Assistants

If you want to help people, but aren’t sure about becoming a doctor, you can become a medical assistant, helping doctors and nurses, and doing good for your patients.

22. Medical Assistant Net Career Blog: Get helpful pointers on how you can enhance your career in medical assisting.
23. Medical Assistant Jobs: Learn about different job openings for medical assistants around the world.
24. The American Society of Podiatric Medical Assistant’s Blog: Learn about life as a medical assistant in the healthcare field of podiatry, including job openings.
25. American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s MySpace Blog: Get information on becoming a dental hygienist and assisting in that way.

Radiology and Lab Technicians

You can do some good in healthcare as an x-ray technician or working in some other radiology related and laboratory health professions.

26. The Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Medicine Podcast: Learn about different aspects of nuclear medicine and radiology.
27. Radiology 2.0: A blog about issues in radiology, as well as career tips and information.
28. scan man’s notes: Learn about notes on radiology from a radiology professional.
29. Advance for Medical Laboratory Professionals: A blog and portal aimed at helping those who serve as lab techs.
30. Medical Laboratory Technician Career Training: Learn about different jobs associated with being a lab tech or radiologist.

Psychiatrist

This interesting healthcare career can allow you the chance to help people sort through their problems.

31. American Psychiatric Association: Get news about a job in psychiatry, straight from the source.
32. Shrink Rap: Interesting look at different aspects of a career in psychiatry.
33. The Carlat Psychiatry Blog: A look at healthcare education, with a special emphasis on psychiatry.
34. The Last Psychiatrist: Insights about issues facing psychiatry today.
35. The Amazing World of Psychiatry: A peek into what goes on inside the human mind, and what is happening in the career field of psychiatry.

Dentists and Orthodontists

You can do quite well in healthcare as a dentist or an orthodontist.

36. The Dental Implant Blog: Learn about things going on in the world of dentistry — and how you can improve your own dental practice.
37. The Tooth Booth Dental Blog: Insights into a career in dentistry.
38. Dental Technology Blog: Helpful gadgets and gizmos that can help you take your dental practice up a notch.
39. Ask Dr. Straight: This orthodontist blog answers questions about the practice, and can help you enhance your career.
40. Braces in L.A.: Learn about orthodontics from professionals. Provides insight on jobs and pricing.

Medical Coding, Transcription and Billing

You don’t have to be int there getting your hands dirty to be in the healthcare field. Administrative type positions in coding, transcription and billing can be good fits for many people.

41. Your Medical Coding Career: Learn about what it takes to become a medical coder.
42. Medical Coding and Billing Blogspot: Learn about different issues you’ll run into as a coder and biller, and how to overcome them.
43. Medical Transcription Blog: A career in medical transcription, including tips and helpful insights.
44. Medical Billing Software Blog: The ins and outs of medical billing, and the different types of software used.
45. Medical Transcription Blog: Learn about medical transcription, including opportunities to advance your career while working from home.

Medical Sales

Be involved in healthcare by selling essential equipment to doctors and hospitals and others who may need it.

46. Medical Sales Recruiter: Get tips and helpful information related to being in medical sales.
47. Medical Sales Job Blog: Learn about jobs available in medical sales, and how to get them.
48. Specialty Medical Sales Blog: Keep up to date on the latest information on medical sales.
49. Medical Sales Talk: Insights and news on the latest in medical sales.
50. Cafe Pharma: Learn about pharmaceutical sales and how to improve your career in that area.

Aerobics

Aerobic exercise is vital if you want to burn calories and fat. Aerobics can also help you strengthen your heart. These videos can help you learn aerobic exercises and follow along to help you improve your health.

1. Doing Warm Up Aerobic Exercises: Properly warming up so that you are properly warmed up for safer aerobic exercises.
2. How To Do Aerobics Exercises: How to Do Lunges for Aerobic Exercises: This is a great way to learn more about how to properly to do lunges properly.
3. 10 Minute Jump Start Cardio Workout: Great cardio aerobics to help you really get things moving.
4. Aerobic – 8 Minute Abs: This video gives a look at how you can get a good aerobic ab workout to help you can help your abs.
5. Step Aerobics Made Easy: Learn the basics of step aerobics for a dynamic and effective workout.
6. Smart Bounce Beyond Basics Rebound Aerobic Workout: If you are into using bounce and small trampolines, this video can help you improve your health in a fun way.
7. Gospel Aerobics: Do some aerobics to gospel music, and improve your spirit as well as your physical condition.
8. Power Aerobic Workout with Lorraine Kelly: This is a great power aerobic workout aimed at helping you increase the efficiency of your calorie burning.
9. Aerobic Dance Workout by Patrick Goudeau: Make working out a little more fun with a dance workout.
10. Exercise Tips for Pole Dancing: Learn about some tips to make your pole dancing more effective and comfortable. Look to the right for more great tips and exercises for pole dancing for fitness.
11. Do the Hip Hop Hustle: A fun aerobic move you can do to hip hop music. Learn the dance moves and then listen to the hip hop music of your choice for exercise.
12. Lower body DB workout at home – circuit style: A circuit style aerobic workout that can help you burn fat.
13. Exercise is Medicine – Home Gym – Aerobic Exercise: A helpful video that can help you figure out how to make a home aerobic gym on a shoestring.
14. Aerobic Exercise – Home Exercise: A personal trainer offers you some easy to do exercises at home — no equipment needed.
15. 4-Minute Rapid Fat Loss Cardio Intervals at Home – Tabatas Workout: A quick 4-minute cardio workout at home to help you lose weight.

Strength Training

You want to be able to properly hold your body up. Strength training is an important part of being fit. So here are some videos that can help you with you tone your muscles.

16. Strength Training at Home: A basic look at some things you can do to tone your muscles at home.
17. Real Man Dumbbell Workout for Strength: Using dumbbells for strength training.
18. Strength Training Part 1: Learn some basic strength training and toning exercises that can help you condition your core.
19. No Gym, No Problem! Military Core Body Fitness: Strengthen your core with the help of these toning exercises.
20. Extreme Strength: Training exercises you can do to stay fit and toned.
21. Kickboxing Technique: Hook: Learn how to do a hook punch. Other kickboxing videos from this same source can help you tone your muscles while burning fat.
22. Side Plank Exercise for Core Muscle Toning & Strength: This move can help you learn how to tone your core and strengthen those muscles with the plank.
23. How to Define Your Upper Arms: Some helpful exercises you can do to help define your upper arms.
24. Build Muscle Tone: Helpful tips for building better muscle tone.
25. Strength Training and Weight Exercises for Fitness: Helpful exercises you can do to improve your muscle tone and general overall fitness.
26. Dumbbell Row Exercises: Learn how to tone using the dumbbell row exercise.
27. How to Increase Muscle Tone in 10 Minutes a Day: You can work your muscle groups and improve your tone with only 10 minutes a day.
28. How to Tone Up in a Week: You can improve your muscle tone with only a week with help from this basic fitness video.
29. Stretch and Tone Your Body Workout 1: Learn some basic toning and stretch exercises to get a sexier body. There are additional videos (look to the right) that can help you with additional exercises.
30. Weight Lifting/Training Exercises to Tone Arms, Workout Biceps, Triceps, Chest & Shoulder Muscles: Tone your upper body with help from a few dumbbells at home.
31. Lower Body Toning/Cardio Routine: This video can help you tone your lower body. Includes cardio to help you burn fat.

Mind/Body Fitness

Part of good physical health can include exercises designed to help you increase your mindfulness. You can improve overall physical fitness with these different types of exercises.

32. Denise Austin Yoga Workout: This 10 minute workout can help you use yoga to increase your health.
33. Power Yoga Total Body Workout: This four minute workout will show you how you can build graceful strength using power yoga moves. Tips for better yoga practice
34. Yoga Routine for Lower Back Pain: You can ease lower back pain with these yoga exercises.
35. Prenatal Yoga Flow Pregnancy Fitness: Learn some yoga exercises that are appropriate for pregnant women.
36. How to Do Tai Chi Forms & Exercises: Basic Tai Chi Stance: You can improve your health and wellness with tai chi. This video helps you learn a basic stance. Additional videos from this user can help you learn how more tai chi moves.
37. Scott Coles Discover Tai Chi: Weight Loss Workout: A mind/body workout for weight loss.
38. 10 minute solution slim and sculpt pilates: Learn some basic pilates moves you can do at home to improve your health and your mindfulness and awareness of your body.
39. Beginner Pilates Workout: Easing into a basic pilates workout.
40. Sexy Pilates Workout Side Leg Series: Become more comfortable with your body with these sexy leg exercises.

Food and Nutrition

An essential part of physical health is diet and nutrition. These YouTube videos will help you learn more about proper food intake.

41. 7 Nutrition Fundamentals for Losing Fat: Learn the basics to follow if you want to lose fat.
42. Top 10 Worst Foods: Avoid these foods at all costs.
43. Reading Nutritional Labels: Learn how to properly read nutrition labels so that you understand how you are eating.
44. Eat Healthy Food on a Budget Tips: Learn how you can eat healthy, even if you are on a budget.
45. Nutrition Advice: Top Antioxidant Foods: Great foods you can eat for their antioxidant content.
46. Darin Steen’s Fatloss LifeStyle Nutrition Do’s & Don’ts for Fat Loss & Muscle Gain: Get rid of fat and build muscle with a little help from these nutrition tips.
47. Healthy Diet Tips: Foods to Avoid for Weight Loss: Stay away from these foods if you want to lose weight.
48. Diet Tips: Eat Breakfast & Lose Weight: Don’t skip breakfast. Lose weight the healthy way with a good
    breakfast.
49. Eating Organic Food on a Budget: You can eat organic food — even if you are on a budget.
50. Healthy Weight Loss Tips: If you want to lose weight, do it in a healthy manner.

Nursing

Brush up on your knowledge of nursing, and learn to understand some of the issues facing nurses today. This knowledge could help you better sell yourself as a knowledgeable and capable CNA.

1. Health Assessment and Promotion: This course from UMass Boston can help you learn how to provide health assessment services and better understand the nursing process. Focuses on assessing the health of patients across the lifespan.
2. Caring in Hospitals: Learn about the type of care offered by different hospitals from The Open University. Get a better look at the different roles played by those who work in hospitals, and learn how you can integrate yourself.
3. Medical Terminology: The College of Eastern Utah provides you with a working knowledge of the different terms that are used in medicine, and helps you understand their use. Valuable if you want to showcase your knowledge of the medical profession.
4. The Human Body: This open courseware collection from Harvard University’s medical school provides a helpful look at how the human body is put together, and provides you with basic knowledge of anatomy.
5. Health: Yale’s open courseware collection offers you a chance to address health issues and understand the workings of diseases, epidemics and public health concerns.

Communication

One of the most important things you can do as a CNA is to be able to communicate effectively. But before you get the job, you have to be able to show your interviewer your communication skills. Enhance your ability to communicate your ideas and present yourself with a little help from some open courseware.

6. Business Communications in the Age of Spin: While it may seem pointless to learn about business communications, the fact of the matter is that a CNA needs to understand how business works — since the medical profession includes business.
7. What is Good Writing?: Showcasing your “soft skills” can make you more attractive. Learn to write well and express yourself with the written word.
8. Dynamic Leadership: Improvisation in Business: This course from MIT can help you learn how to improvise smoothly and enhance your leadership skills — which can be helpful if you plan to advance in your career.
9. Language and Communication: Foundations: Western Governors University offers a course in the fundamentals of language and communication.

Time Management and Productivity

As a CNA, you need to learn how to manage your time. You can get a better job, and do better at your current job, if you learn a little bit about time management and about increasing your productivity.

10. Time Management Exercise: This helpful and informative course from Notre Dame provides you with insight into how you can better manage your time and use your time more efficiently.
11. Time Management: This presentation can help you learn more about better time management.
12. Crisis Management and Emergency Preparedness: Harvard can help you get a grip on what needs to happen during an emergency, and how you can perform better during a crisis situation.
13. Strategic view of performance: Learn about management strategy and improving productivity. Having this knowledge can help you position yourself as you search for a job as a CNA.

Behavior

Understanding human behavior can not only help you as a CNA, but it can also provide you with insight into how you can do better in your interview, and what you need to do in order to behave in such a way as to connect with others.

14. Establishing Relationships with Other Professionals: Networking, and the relationships you develop with others, can be a big part of whether or not you can find a job. This course can help you learn how to connect with others.
15. Emotional Intelligence: Learn about being better connected to others on an emotional level. Recognize other emotions, and learn to adjust your own responses accordingly.
16. Making decisions: The decision making process is an important part of life — and your career. This course can help you become more adept at decision making and display your skills to others.
17. Eight Leader Behaviors That Increase Motivation, Morale, and Performance…And One That Won’t: This course is aimed at helping you develop better leader behaviors. Develop these, and your interviewers will notice a difference.

People

Learn about how to connect and interact with others. Your people skills can make a big difference in whether or not you get a job.

18. Giving and Receiving Feedback: Understanding how to give and receive effective and helpful feedback is important. And you may even have to do it in an interview!
19. Managing Relationships: While this course focuses mainly on fundraising, it is also helpful from the standpoint that knowing how to manage resources and relationships is an important skill to have.
20. New Media Literacies: This course helps you learn how to utilize new media. Learn how to use social media and networking to reach out to others online and find a job.
21. Power Play: Learn about the important dynamics of power in work settings, and learn how to use them to your advantage.

Ethics

Get a good foundation in ethics and questions of “right” behavior. This can be helpful when answering questions from interviewers and letting others know that you are well-versed in appropriate behavior.

22. Ethical Issues in Public Health: Learn about the types of concerns and issues that are common in a public health setting with this course from Johns Hopkins University.
23. Dilemmas in Bio-Medical Ethics: Get an overview of what goes on in modern medical ethics from this MIT course and study “bio-politics.”
24. Creating an ethical organisation: Learn how you can help develop a workplace that focuses on ethics.
25. Business Ethics: In the medical business, it is a good idea to understand the underlying theories of ethics. This course can help you discover how businesses consider ethical questions.

The CNA may work in nursing homes, hospitals, adult day health centers, assisted living facilities and in personal homes under the supervision of a nurse. In that light, the following list is divided into categories that shed light on various CNA working situations, and each link is listed in alphabetical order within those categories. This method shows our readers that we do not favor one blog over another.

Working in Nursing Homes

The following blogs are some of the best on various nursing home topics.

1. ElderCare Expert Blog: Cheryl Mathieu, Ph.D., M.S.W. helps people manage the challenges of aging and caregiving, especially with aging parents. However, her blog speaks to problem solvers and eldercare advocates, caregivers and other professionals in the aging profession. “Dr. Cheryl” also owns a Geriatric Care Management business in southern California.
2. Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog: Written by Frances Parker, a consultant, hospice volunteer and former school principle, this blog focuses on Parker’s experiences and knowledge about hospice care. She shares stories and general information about hospice care, urban nursing homes, caregiving and more. She also is author of the book, Becoming Dead Right, which is focused on the same topics.
3. Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog: Levin & Perconti, attorneys, compile various nursing home abuses throughout Illinois. While this is a state-specific blog, you may find more information about the state where you plan to practice. Nursing home residents are among society’s most vulnerable citizens, and many people are committed to improving the quality of nursing home care and holding these facilities accountable for substandard care and conduct through litigation.
4. My Better Nursing Home: This blog is written from yet another perspective – Dr. Barbera is an author and a licensed psychologist consulting in long-term care facilities in the New York City area. She lectures on issues related to aging, psychology and nursing homes, so her blog may prove productive reading for any CNA.
5. The Nursing Home Administrator: Matthew Maupin has been a nursing home administrator in Indiana for over five years. You can learn about topics ranging from diseases to tech tools that can make your nursing home career easier.

Working in Hospice Care

More blogs have begun to focus on end-of-life issues, and the following are just a few of those writings.

6. Dethmama Chronicles: One perspective from a hospice nurse. You may enjoy the humor, the insights into the hospice industry and the fascination with the afterlife (ghosts and paranormal) contained in this blog.
7. Hospice Blog: This blog is dedicated to hospice professionals nationwide.
8. Hospice Foundation Blog: If you’re interested in stories and articles about the end-of-life experience, you might want to follow this blog. Various writers offer their perspectives on a platform hosted by the Hospice Foundation of America.
9. Pallimed: This is one of the “go to” blogs for people who are interested in palliative care. Its mission is educational, and the content is provided by individuals who work in the hospice community.
10. The Good Death: Jessica Knapp has been blogging about end-of-life issues since early 2008. She is a PhD student and freelance writer who wants to help people better handle all facets of death and dying. Her posts are filled with facts, questions and many links to other resources.

Working in Hospitals

You might pick up a few cues on how hospitals operate through the people who work there.

11. Code Blog: Tales of a Nurse: This blogger has been an intensive care nurse for over a decade. She blogs about her experiences as a nurse and the stories of others in the healthcare system including patients, other nurses, doctors, paramedics and more.
12. Emergiblog: Learn more about hospital workings in an emergency and critical care unit from Kim. This nurse blogger is a registered nurse with an ADN degree and thirty-one years of experience also worked in psychiatry and pediatric telephone triage.
13. Nurse Ratched’s Place: This is one of the hottest nurse blogs on the Internet. Learn from a nurse who writes composite stories about many different people that she’s cared for over the years. Plenty of links to other nurse and doctor sites, too.
14. Running a Hospital: Learn more about how a hospital is run from a CEO of a large Boston hospital (which happens to be Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School). Paul Levy shares thoughts about hospitals, medicine and health care issues.
15. The Happy Hospitalist: “Unfiltered medicine” from a board-certified internist who works in a hospital. The focus from medicine strays at times, but so does conversation amongst hospital staff. This is just one perspective among several internist blogs found on the Web.

Working with Patients

Sometimes the way to learn more about a disease is through the person who has it.

16. A Chronic Dose: This blog is written by Laurie Edwards, author of Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties, and a victim of multiple chronic illnesses including PCD, bronchiectasis, celiac disease and more. Her blog was named one of Health Central’s Top Sites for Pain in 2007.
17. Healthy Concerns: Elisa Camahort, co-founder and COO of Blogher, a source for women bloggers, is the author of this blog. She has allergies, she’s concerned about health care and she supplies plenty of resources for the self-motivated reader.
18. Imagine Bright Futures II: Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29, this woman had a mastectomy sixteen days after her diagnosis. She writes about her “adventures in medical land,” with information about her ongoing chemo, radiation and tamoxifen treatments.
19. The Gimp Parade: Kay is a thirty-something disabled feminist, who writes about disabilities and other topics such as abortion, abuse, AIDS and, naturally, feminism.
20. Undiagnosed Illness: More of an online book with a forum, this patient provides in-depth insights into what it’s like to be an undiagnosed patient for at least four years. Learn more about the frustrations, pain and anger involved in this type of patient.

Skill Blogs (Problems and Policies)

21. Be In the Know! This blog talks to facilities that hire CNAs. But, the blog is open, and you can read any entry. Their blog focus is on problems that CNAs face, and they provide solutions to those issues. Consider this a learning and skill-honing blog for your career.
22. HealthWonk Review: Use this biweekly compendium of the best in health policy blogs to learn more about health policy, infrastructure, insurance, technology, and managed care.
23. HIPAA Blog: Updated information on HIPAA issues, legalities and policies, written by Jeffery Drummond. Drummond’s expertise includes hospital and health care provider representation and working with managed care entities such as HMOs, PPOs, IPAs, and PHOs.
24. HR Web Cafe: This blog is sponsored by the ESI Employee Assistance Group and focuses on employment issues, people matters and work trends. Although this site does not focus on CNAs in particular and workplaces in general, the issues are universal.
25. The Health Care Blog: One of the best blogs on the Web for discussion of health care, tech and health 2.0 issues.