Friday, April 19, 2013

Congratulations Recent Dorsey Graduates!


CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!!!

In recognition of the hard work, dedication, and perseverance demonstrated by each of the students who successfully completed their programs at Dorsey Schools, we have cordially invited our graduates and their families to attend the Spring Commencement Ceremony this evening.


This extravaganza takes place this evening April 19, 2013 at The Ultimate Soccer Arena in Pontiac.  Tickets are required to attend this event. Please arrive early, allowing time for parking and seating, as this event WILL begin at 7:00pm SHARP!


For directions to the Ultimate Soccer Arena, please visit:
www.ultimatesoccerarenas.com/

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools To Visit Dorsey!


MEDICAL ASSISTANT
ABHES ACCREDITATION EVALUATION VISIT

It is with great pride that Dorsey Schools would like to announce its pursuit of accreditation for its Medical Assistant program through ABHES, the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.  
As you know, Dorsey Schools currently holds institutional accreditation through ACICS; the addition of this accreditation for the Medical Assistant program would add valuable benefits to students. 

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is like a very hard test. It requires every part of a school or program to be examined and judged by experts. If the school or program passes the test, this means that it lives up to its promises to students. You can trust what the school or program tells you about its courses, its teachers, the services it provides and what you will need to pay (tuition and fees). When a school or program says “We are accredited,” it is saying it has a seal of approval or a good rating.

Student Benefits of ABHES Accreditation
Benefits of ABHES accreditation for our students and graduates include the ability to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) examination. Upon receipt of a grant of accreditation, graduates within the previous 36 months of the grant of accreditation are eligible to apply for this certification examination.

Dorsey Schools has noticed an increased trend in employers preferring to hire Medical Assistants who have graduated from an ABHES accredited program.  Dorsey Schools wants its graduates to have this advantage; and our staff and your instructors have committed much time, effort and many resources to pursue this credential for Dorsey graduates.

So, why go to the trouble of becoming certified?

The American Association of Medical Assistants website states “Certification means a professional edge. It means greater prestige among peers and employers. It means better job security and greater career advancement opportunities … many employers of allied health personnel insist that their medical assistants be Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs) who have achieved certification through the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).” This certification is in addition to current opportunities already available to Dorsey graduates - AMT (RMA credential), NCCT (NCMA credential). 

Campus Evaluation Visit
Dorsey Schools will be hosting a team of educators to gather information on Dorsey’s Medical Assistant program.  This ABHES evaluation team will be visiting our campus on Wednesday, May 1 through Thursday, May 2; they are anxious to see us in action! During the evaluation team’s visit, please extend a warm welcome to them and display your pride in Dorsey Schools and our Medical Assistant program and profession.

After the team visit, there will still be a few “steps” for Dorsey Schools to “climb” before ABHES Commissioners make their decision on our accreditation.  We will keep you apprised of our progress!

If you would like more information on ABHES, please visit www.ABHES.org.  If you would like more information on the CMA certification, please visit www.aama-ntl.org.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

How To Get An 'A'

For some students, getting an 'A' may seem to come naturally. For others it may be a little more difficult. Here are some guidelines on achieving A's in your classes that will help you to understand exactly what it is you need to do if you're not getting A's and what it is that those that get the A's do to get them.

  1. Make the decision to commit yourself to earning an 'A'.
  2. Attend and ask questions daily in each class.
  3. Take good notes.
  4. Know the syllabus inside and out, and adhere to its deadlines and policies.
  5. Consider joining a study group, getting tutoring, or reviewing supplementary study material.
  6. Meet with the instructor before or after class for additional direction or assistance.
  7. Work on assignments immediately to give you time to revise, revise, revise, and practice, practice, practice.
  8. To prepare for every class, read the assigned chapter beforehand and note any questions.
  9. After class, review anything you didn't understand, look up answers to quizzes, and tackle the study guide.
  10. Read everything. Highlight relevant material. Remember, if you get behind, it is difficult to catch up.
  11. Check the class (Internet) Web page often (If your instructor uses Edmodo or another online tool). Many professors put most of the news, events, and items of interest for students on this page.
  12. You may need to work on your writing (communication skills) above all else. Get a writing handbook, style guide, and a good college dictionary. You may also wish to attend the Adult Educational Growth Classes on Thursdays or work on your Aztec Module Tutorials.
  13. Know your concepts, your terminology, and your facts.
  14. Set aside a regular study schedule and give yourself enough time to master the material. At a minimum, students are asked to study two hours a week for every hour in class.
  15. Periodically review lecture notes and other study materials.
  16. Use a 6 week (module) planner.

To prepare for a test:
  1. Review all reading and lecture notes, making an outline of important information.
  2. Create a sample test, take it, and then go back and concentrate on your weak areas.
  3. If you can't seem to remember the material, write it, recite it, or think of associations which will help you remember during the test.

To view the original article, please visit:
http://www.back2college.com/aplus.htm

Monday, March 25, 2013

Monday Motivation - Feeling GREAT!

Feeling Great



Wouldn’t it be great to feel great? Stop for a moment and think of what it would be like. There are probably plenty of reasons why you’ve told yourself you cannot, or should not, feel great. Perhaps others have given you even more reasons. All those reasons may be completely true and valid. Yet they need not stand in your way of feeling great about yourself and the world in which you live, right now.

Pretend for a moment that every disappointment you’ve ever experienced is now in the past. Pretend for a moment that every reason you’ve had for holding yourself back has suddenly vanished. Just consider that it could be possible to feel great regardless of what others think of you, or do to you, or say to you. Consider that it could be possible to feel great, to be filled with joy and with life, no matter what your circumstances may be.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to feel great. In fact, you don’t need anything other than to simply let yourself do it. Accept the overwhelmingly blessed abundance of life that you’ve been given. All the frustrations, the pain, and the disappointments pale in comparison.

How exactly would you like to feel right now? Wouldn’t it be great to feel great? Give yourself permission to go ahead and feel that way. It may seem that you need a certain situation or possession or person in your life before you can feel the way you wish to feel. Yet the truth is that you can feel whatever you choose to feel at any time, in any place. You already know how to feel happy, or thankful, or loved, or inspired. So go ahead and let yourself feel the way you wish to feel, right here, right now.

It’s great when others offer encouragement to you, but you can also feel encouraged all by yourself. It is wonderful when someone expresses love to you, yet you can also feel the power of love even when you are alone. There is no need to wait or to beg or to compromise yourself in order to attain a certain feeling. All you must do is choose to feel the way you wish to feel. Go ahead and feel what you truly want to feel. Go ahead and feel as great as you can possibly imagine ever feeling.

Click the link below to view the original article by the Daily Motivator:
http://greatday.com/nmot/member_content/monthly/2010-04.html

Friday, March 22, 2013

Finals Are Next Week - Avoid These 10 Traps When Studying!

In preparing for your final exams, there are quite a few common things that students say to themselves.  Avoid these “Traps” that may prevent you from studying most effectively. 

TEN TRAPS OF STUDYING


1."I Don't Know Where To Begin"
Take Control. Make a list of all the things you have to do. Break your workload down into manageable chunks. Prioritize! Schedule your time realistically.

Don't skip classes near an exam -- you may miss a review session.  Begin studying early, with an hour or two per day, and slowly build as the exam approaches.

2. "I've Got So Much To Study . . . And So Little Time"
Preview. Survey your syllabus, reading material, and notes. Identify the most important topics emphasized, and areas still not understood. Previewing saves time, especially with non-fiction reading, by helping you organize and focus in on the main topics. Adapt this method to your own style and study material, but remember, previewing is not an effective substitute for reading.

3. "This Stuff Is So Dry, I Can't Even Stay Awake Reading It"
Attack! Get actively involved with the text as you read. Ask yourself, "What is important to remember about this section?" Take notes or underline key concepts.

Discuss the material with others in your class. Study together. Stay on the offensive, especially with material that you don't find interesting, rather than reading passively and missing important points.

4. "I Read It. I Understand It. But I Just Can't Get It To Sink In"
Elaborate. We remember best the things that are most meaningful to us. As you are reading, try to elaborate upon new information with your own examples. Try to integrate what you're studying with what you already know. You will be able to remember new material better if you can link it to something that's already meaningful to you. Some techniques include:

Chunking: An effective way to simplify and make information more meaningful. For example, suppose you wanted to remember the colors in the visible spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet); you would have to memorize seven "chunks" of information in order. But if you take the first letter of each color, you can spell the name "Roy G. Biv", and reduce the information the three "chunks".

Mnemonics: Any memory-assisting technique that helps us to associate new information with something familiar. For example, to remember a formula or equation, we may use letters of the alphabet to represent certain numbers. Then we can change an abstract formula into a more meaningful word or phrase, so we'll be able to remember it better. Sound-alike associations can be very effective, too, especially while trying to learn a new language. The key is to create your own links, then you won't forget them.

5. "I Guess I Understand It"
Test yourself. Make up questions about key sections in notes or reading. Keep in mind what the professor has stressed in the course. Examine the relationships between concepts and sections. Often, simply by changing section headings you can generate many effective questions. For example, a section entitled "Bystander Apathy" might be changed into questions such as: "What is bystander apathy?", "What are the causes of bystander apathy?", and "What are some examples of bystander apathy?"

6. "There's Too Much To Remember"
Organize. Information is recalled better if it is represented in an organized framework that will make retrieval more systematic. There are many techniques that can help you organize new information, including:


Write chapter outlines or summaries; emphasize relationships between sections.

Group information into categories or hierarchies, where possible.

Information Mapping. Draw up a matrix to organize and interrelate material. For example, if you were trying to understand the causes of World War I, you could make a chart listing all the major countries involved across the top, and then list the important issues and events down the side. Next, in the boxes in between, you could describe the impact each issue had on each country to help you understand these complex historical developments.

7. "I Knew It A Minute Ago"
Review. After reading a section, try to recall the information contained in it. Try answering the questions you made up for that section. If you cannot recall enough, re-read portions you had trouble remembering.


The more time you spend studying, the more you tend to recall. Even after the point where information can be perfectly recalled, further study makes the material less likely to be forgotten entirely. In other words, you can't overstudy. However, how you organize and integrate new information is still more important than how much time you spend studying.

8. "But I Like To Study In Bed"
Context. Recall is better when study context (physical location, as well as mental, emotional, and physical state) are similar to the test context.

The greater the similarity between the study setting and the test setting, the greater the likelihood that material studied will be recalled during the test.

9. "Cramming Before A Test Helps Keep It Fresh In My Mind"
Spacing: Start studying now. Keep studying as you go along. Begin with an hour or two a day about one week before the exam, and then increase study time as the exam approaches. Recall increases as study time gets spread out over time.

10. "I'm Gonna Stay Up All Night 'til I Get This"
Avoid Mental Exhaustion. Take short breaks often when studying. Before a test, have a rested mind. When you take a study break, and just before you go to sleep at night, don't think about academics.

Relax and unwind, mentally and physically. Otherwise, your break won't refresh you and you'll find yourself lying awake at night. It's more important than ever to take care of yourself before an exam! Eat well, sleep, and get enough exercise.
To read the original article, please visit:

Good luck on your finals everyone!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Saturday Open House and Skill Building Workshops!


Saturday March 23rd Workshops
10am-2pm



Students, friends, and family are invited to attend the Dorsey open house on Saturday, March 23rd from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

What a great opportunity to show your friends and family where you go to school.
Do you know anyone interested in getting started on a great career path?  The Admissions Team will be here in Building ‘A’ to help potential students with program information and choosing a career that’s in demand!

Catch up on school work or put together a study group.  We will also have several Skill Building Workshops on that day. Here’s a description of the workshops below:

Resume Building/Typing Workshop 
(10am-2pm in Building C)
Students can get assistance with resume building and learn quick ways to update and rearrange resumes to make them job specific.  Students will also have the opportunity to refine skills or get further training for the QWERTY typing method as well as 10-key typing. This is a great opportunity for students to sharpen typing skills and resume building in order to make them more attractive to employers.


Open Clinical Skills & Proficiencies Lab (10am-2pm in Building C)
Students can work on their proficiencies and improve their skills during this hands-on workshop. Students can perform vital signs, ECGs, injections, and phlebotomy (vacutainer only). This is a great opportunity to work on areas where you struggle and to continue to improve on your clinical skills. Team up with another student or bring your own family/friend/volunteer (injections can only be given to students).
The more proficient you are the more likely you are to get hired.


Dental Assisting Lab (10am-2pm in Building C)
Dental assisting students can work on their proficiencies and improve their skills during this hands-on workshop. This is a great opportunity to work on areas where you struggle and to continue to improve on your clinical skills. Team up with another student or bring your own family/friend/volunteer. The more proficient you are the more likely you are to get hired.



Medical Billing Lab (11am-1pm in Building C) Students can brush up on billing skills, get extra help and/or work on billing proficiencies.  The more proficient you are the more likely you are to get hired.



SKILL BUILDING WORKSHOPS
Saturday  March 23rd   10AM – 2PM
10:00AM
11:00AM
12:00PM
1:00PM
2:00PM
10am – 2pm
Career Services Workshop  Bldg. C  Room C1
10am - 2pm   Open Clinical Skills Lab   Bldg.  C  Room 4
students MUST be in proper dress code and be here no later than 12pm to work on skills
10am - 2pm     Dental Workshop    Bldg. C    Room C5 & C6
11am-1pm Medical Billing Lab  Bldg. C Room C3 (students must be here no later than 12pm to work on skills)

With Finals coming up, it’s the perfect time to invest a couple hours to enhance and practice new skills.  Hope to see you Saturday!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

First Day Of Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring!  Although you may not know it by the temperature.  Here's a Spring poem that seems like it was written specifically for us.


Spring, Almost

The sunshine gleams so bright and warm,
The sky is blue and clear.
I run outdoors without a coat,
And spring is almost here.


Then before I know it,
Small clouds have blown together,
Till the sun just can't get through them,
And again, it's mitten weather.


                                    -Author Unknown