Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6020
Northern Rural Training and Employment Consor- tium (NoRTEC) is one of several to be awarded a grant, receiving $4,000,000, to pay for green jobs training through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The organization serves high school dropouts, at- risk youth, welfare recipi- ents, individuals with a criminal record, unem- ployed and dislocated workers and veterans in Tehama County and seven other North State counties. The "Pathways Out of Poverty" grants, as the group of funding awards is known, will support pro- grams that help disadvan- taged populations find ways out of poverty and into economic self-suffi- ciency through employ- ment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Five of the 38 grants announced will provide training in California com- munities. Targeted populations will receive recruitment and referral services; basic skills, work-readiness and occupational skills training; supportive services to help overcome barriers to employment at times and locations that are easily accessible. Through these programs, participants will receive certifications and on-the-job training that will lead to employment. In order to serve the spe- cific populations targeted by these grants effectively, the Department of Labor encouraged applicants to focus project efforts in communities where pover- ty rates were 15 percent or higher. All applicants were required to have experience serving economically dis- advantaged populations. In California, separate local grants will target pop- ulations in Northern Cali- fornia counties (NoRTEC), in the Central Valley (West Hills Community College) and in Los Angeles County, including Watts and Flo- rence-Graham (Los Ange- les Community College District). A national grant to the National Council of La Raza will provide train- ing in San Diego and San Jose, as well as in Chicago. Los Angeles is one of five cities that will be served by a national grant to Jobs for the Future Inc. For a full listing of the grants and project descrip- tions, visit www.doleta.gov. To find out more about job training opportunities avail- able through the Depart- ment of Labor, call the National Contact Center's toll-free helpline at: 866-4- USA-DOL (487-2365) or TTY 877-889-5627. DEAR DR. GOTT: I recently switched jobs and had to move to a new state. I also switched insur- ance to the one offered by the company I work for because it is more cost-efficient for me. My prob- lem now is that I have to pick a new health- care provider. I was given a book that lists all the available providers in the area that accept this insur- ance, but the list is quite extensive. I noticed that there are also several types of providers: MD, DO, APRN, NP and PA. I know that an MD is a typ- ical medical doctor, but I don't know what any of the others are and wonder if they are perhaps a better choice. DEAR READER: Because of space restric- tions, I will be able to pro- vide only general overviews of what each professional is, what he or she can do and how to decide which best suits your medical needs. First, the MD. Medical doctors are by far the most common type of health- care professional. They include general practition- ers, pediatricians, urolo- gists, psychiatrists, neurol- ogists, pulmonologists and other types of specialists. They all are able to diag- nose, treat, correct and give advice and prescrip- tions for any human dis- ease, deformity, pain, injury or other condition, both physical and mental. MDs tend to break the body down into parts and treat each separately. They may have a private or group practice, or work in a hospital or teaching facility, and some may work within a health main- tenance organization (HMO) or public health organization. Next is the DO, or doc- tor of osteopathy. They are similar to MDs, but rather than treating symptoms or specific illnesses, they treat the patient as an inte- grated whole. Osteopathy tends to emphasize the role and manipulation of the musculoskeletal system in order to treat diseases. Both medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy have similar training. Both must attend four years of undergraduate school to receive a BS or BA degree. Typically, medical schools prefer to admit those who have a strong undergradu- ate emphasis on basic sci- ences, such as physics, chemistry and biology. MDs then go on to stan- dard medical school. DOs go to osteopathic school. Both are four-year pro- grams. Upon graduation, both receive degrees (either MD or DO), but neither can practice on his own. Next is residency. Depending on which spe- cialty is chosen (such as internal or emergency medicine, pediatrics, fami- ly practice and more), this step can take from three to seven years. In this phase, medical students learn to work with patients and treat them in real medical situations. Upon comple- tion, the students are required to become licensed in the state in which they wish to prac- tice. The MD and DO licensure examina- tions are different, but comparable. Next is an optional fellow- ship program in which those physi- cians wishing to specialize further can. These subspe- cialties include gastroenterologist, child or adolescent psychiatry or cardiology. If a subspecialty is not chosen, the physician can choose to enter the med- ical workforce. A physician's assistant (PA) is just as it sounds. These are people who are not physicians, but after appropriate education and training are able to work with an MD or DO to aid in diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive and health- maintenance services. The final category is the APRN (advanced prac- tice registered nurse). There are four major groups of the APRN, including nurse practition- ers (NPs), clinical nurse specialists (CNS), certi- fied nurse midwives (CNM) and certified regis- tered nurse anesthetists (CRNA). These practitioners can work in nearly every set- ting a physician can. In some states, they are able to write prescriptions. Some work in clinics with- out physician supervision, while others work together with doctors as a health- care team. How they choose to work and what authority they have depends on the particular state in which they work. All APRNs have train- ing beyond the four-year nursing degree. Some may continue on to a doctorate in nursing. (This can be slightly con- fusing because the person can then be referred to as doctor because of his or her status as holding a Ph.D.; however, he or she is not a medical doctor.) To get at the real heart of the matter, I believe any of these health profession- als is capable of providing you with appropriate med- ical advice and treatment. Which type you choose to use is a personal decision, but it should not be your only concern. You will be best served by finding the person among those avail- able with whom you feel the most comfortable. I suggest you ask your co- workers and friends their opinions of the available providers and then set up "get acquainted" visits with each of those who appeal to you. You will then be able to choose your primary-care provider. Dr. Peter Gott is a retired physician and the author of the book "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet," available at most chain and independent bookstores, and the recently published "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook." Saturday, January 16, 2010 – Daily News – 5A 649 Main Street Downtown Red Bluff GAYLE'S 14th Save up to 60% throughout the store ANNIVERSARY S A L E Flu Clinics H1N1 and Seasonal OPEN TO ALL TEHAMA COUNTY RESIDENTS Thursday JANUARY 21ST 2:00 to 6:00 Red Bluff Community Center For more information, call Tehama County Health Services Agency Public Health Division (530) 527-6824 or 1-800-655-6854 Remember - to protect yourself and your family: Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Dear Annie: I am a middle-school teacher in California and would like to thank you for your won- derful response to ''Frus- trated,'' who wrote about her son dealing with a ''mean and degrading'' teacher. You said to first talk to the teacher. At Back to School Night, I tell parents that open communication between the teacher and parent is the responsibility of both parties, and that if they have an issue with something I am doing, I would appreciate the opportunity to explain myself before they go to my boss. A parent who first goes to my principal with a problem does not set up positive conditions for an open dialogue. I am immediately placed on the defensive. Sometimes teachers have a repu- tation for being ''mean'' because they hold their students account- able, don't give extra credit, etc. I have always told my students' par- ents that if they have a concern, they can meet with me, call me, e-mail me or send me a note. I have had many potentially confrontational situations defused because parents met with me and allowed me to explain my reasoning. I'm not saying the teacher in question is innocent of all charges. In this particular case, since there is a waiting list of kids who want to leave her classroom, I would say she is probably guilty of degrading behavior. But in most cases, a rea- sonable solution can be found. As you said, the first step should always be to talk with the teacher. — A Grateful Teacher in Fontana, Calif. Dear Grateful: Most of our readers were terribly upset with that teacher, and with good reason. We still believe it's best to approach the teacher first, but some- times that is not enough. Read on for more: From Boston: There are a few teachers who enjoy the terrorizing effect they have on young children. When our daughter was in first grade, she often would cry in the morning, asking me not to send her to school. I did not react until the day she came home hys- terical. When I went to the princi- pal, I discovered several children had already been transferred, and my daughter was put on a waiting list. I was fortunate enough to be able to transfer our daughter to another school, and she thrived until second grade, when the math teacher was a clone of her first- grade teacher. We transferred her to a private school, and she needed a year of psychological help. A few years later, I learned that three other children were still receiving psychological help after their expe- rience with that one first-grade teacher. Washington: If their son is on a waiting list to get out of the class, it means there are other parents who are displeased with this teacher. I'd recommend organizing the parents to take turns sitting in on the teacher's classes to monitor her behavior and speak up whenever she belittles a student or otherwise acts inappropriately. After a few weeks of this, she might get the idea. Texas: For far too long we have allowed bad teachers to stay in the classroom. Teachers who engage in the behavior that was described leave lasting scars on kids and are not suited for classrooms. We need to encourage public schools to keep qualified, effective teachers and to help others move on to areas where they cannot harm the children. Please suggest that the parents talk with the teacher, and if they receive no response, move up the adminis- trative chain and advocate for their son so that no child coming after him will have to face the same situ- ation. California: That letter brought up my worst nightmare as a parent. My bright, studious son barely sur- vived fifth grade, his confidence shaken by the horrible teacher who belittled and bullied him. If it had not been for a brilliant, compassion- ate male teacher in sixth grade, he might have decided school was a bad idea. Tell ''Frustrated'' to be firm and demand a change to a new class — and mention a lawyer. Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, P.O. Box 118190, Chicago, IL 60611. First stop should be a talk with teacher Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar FEATURES What type of health- care provider is best? Dr. Peter Gott North State gets green jobs grant