Stormwater Management Training- Online Training for Advancement

Stormwater management training will allow you to advance your career further than you might have expected. If you take the time to check out all of the different training programs that you can choose from, you will quickly realize that job training is not your only option. You can also find online training programs that will help you advance your career faster and give you the education that you need in less time. You can’t learn everything that you need to know online, but you will find a fair share of regulations and related ‘bookwork’ style courses online that can help you fast-track your career success.

Stormwater management training is critical for career success within this industry, and getting the right training is a must. You can take the time to check out all of the different opportunities that you have and figure out exactly what you’re looking for, allowing you to find all kinds of different chances to get the career training that you need. Supplementing your job training with online courses will give you the chance to spend less time training and get on with your career success faster and with less effort than ever before. You need to make sure that you find a reputable training provider, of course, so that you get the best education possible.

Everyone has different needs and ideas about online training with their stormwater management training, but there are a variety of online programs to choose from. You can easily figure out which courses you are required to take according to your state laws and then go out and get the education that you need online to save a lot of time, money, and hassle in the career advancement process.

Online advancement training is not hard to find or complete, because you can do it on your own time and at your own pace. You can choose to study when it is convenient for you, allowing you to fully customize your job training experience when you choose online courses. There are so many different ways for you to find career training, but online programs are going to give you a faster path to success than you might realize. Take the time to check out all the opportunities that you have and earn the career training certification that you need for stormwater management training today. All it takes is a little preparation and effort, and you’ll be on your way to career success quicker and easier than ever before. 

For more environmental training programs such as wastewater treatment training, visit EPAcampus.com now. 

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OSHA Allies with International Union of Operating Engineers for Training Programs, Upgrades Federal Targeting Program

OSHA recently announced that it has allied with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18 and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18 Apprenticeship and Training Program to provide engineering workers with information, guidance and access to training resources that will help them reduce and prevent hazards related to heavy-equipment operation.

The program dovetails with the OSHA 30 certification (for supervisors) and OSHA 10 hour training (for workers) that most employers now require of their employees to mitigate or eliminate onsite safety and health hazards. It also seamlessly complements the HAZWOPER certification that other contractors require.

"This alliance reflects a recognition of the importance of the safety and health of engineers and heavy equipment operators," said Deborah Zubaty, the OSHA area director in Columbus. "We want to ensure that all workers understand the hazards involved in operating heavy equipment and how best to protect themselves. Alliances such as this one help develop effective safety and health programs, while also opening the lines of communication among OSHA, employers and workers."


The alliance, according OSHA, is voluntary. Nevertheless, it is focused on achieving its goals via enhanced training, compliance with OSHA standards and regulations, and implementation of best work practices. Particularly, it is focused on identifying and managing safety hazards, improving safety and health programs, promoting symbiosis between labor and management, and promoting employee participation.

There is much work to be done though. In the wake of high numbers of lost-time injuries during FY 2011, OSHA has updated its Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program (FEDTARG) directive for fiscal year 2012.

Although almost all construction employers today already require OSHA 30 certification for supervisors and OSHA 10 hour training for workers (some even look for 40 Hour HAZWOPER training), injuries (even fatalities) still occur each year, prompting the need for more vigilance and enhanced compliance with OSHA standards and regulations through additional directives such as the FEDTARG.

The FEDTARG lays out the procedures for carrying out programmed inspections at some of the most hazard-filled federal workplaces. Under the directive the following establishments will be subjected to targeted (unannounced) inspection: all those with 100 or more lost time cases (LTCs) during FY 2011; 50 percent of those with 50 to 99 LTCs; and 10 percent of those with 20 to 49 LTCs.

This year’s new FEDTARG is in line with OSHA's nationwide inspection targeting program for federal worksites, which started in 2008 following a Government Accountability Office audit report that recommended the agency develop a targeted inspection program for federal worksites.

OSHACampus.com, a top provider of online OSHA training, helps OSHA and the construction industry promote workplace safety by offering its 10 Hour OSHA Training and 30 Hour OSHA Training, as well as its HAZWOPER certification programs.

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Questions on Medical Transcription, the IRS, and Some New Terms

Is an independent medical transcriptionist a contractor or an employee? It’s an oft-repeated question in the medical transcription community, even for those who are still finishing medical transcription training. The question is important because its answer determines whether a medical transcription services organization (MTSO) pays withholding tax or not.

This question in fact was the bone of contention in a well-known legal wrangling between the IRS and an MTSO. The latter won its appeal recently, sparing it from paying the IRS $500,000+ for withholding taxes and its attorney, for his fees compensation.

The IRS defines employees who are subject to tax withholding as:

"Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed."

On the other hand, independent contractors, are defined as:

"People such as lawyers, contractors, subcontractors and auctioneers who follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the public, are generally not employees. However, whether such people are employees or independent contractors depends on the facts in each case.

The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result."  

The case was won for the MTSO by a tax lawyer who was able to present the correct documentation showing that medical transcriptionists are independent contractors.

Meanwhile, another important question was recently answered—not in the courtroom this time, but in medicaltranscription.com via the article, “What’s the Difference Between an EHR, EMR and PHR?”

The piece takes up the cudgels for medical transcriptionists and those who are still taking medical billing and coding training or medical transcription training who are a little uncertain about the exact meanings and importance of these new digital-age acronyms. The descriptions below are based on the explanations in that article.

EMRs or electronic medical records are patient records in electronic form which are made within the hospital or in the doctor’s office. They replace the paper chart system that was previously used. EMRs are used by the medical provider (the doctor or the hospital) and staff to maintain patient care.

EHRs or electronic health records are electronic medical records and then some. EHRs are designed to be shared in digital form among medical providers, say between the medical oncologist and the radiology department, and then with the surgeon. This digital information may be shared with the hospital and the patient, too.

PHR or personal health record is an electronic health record that’s owned and maintained by the patient himself, but which can be accessed by others (usually a physician) if given the authorization by the patient. It’s typically stored in a secure web portal and contains such information as lab findings, imaging reports, immunizations and other data gathered by medical providers.

Meditec.com, a top portal for billing and coding training, pharmacy technician classes, and medical transcription training, gives medical coders and medical transcriptionists professionals the training they need for a fast-digitizing medical-documentation industry.

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OSHA Enhances Safety at Penn State U Construction, Upholds Whistleblower in AirTran

OSHA has partnered with Torcon Inc. to guide, train, and give technical assistance to workers involved in the construction of the Penn State University Biological Research Laboratory. The partnership is in line with OSHA’s charter to mitigate workplace hazards and prevent or reduce worker injuries, illnesses, even fatalities. It allows OSHA to work directly with Torcon, its subcontractor, and its employees.

Partnerships such as those forged with Torcon complement the OSHA 30 certification (for supervisors) and OSHA 10 hour training (for workers) that most employers now require to improve safety and health conditions at worksites.

OSHA, via its Strategic Partnership Program, partners with employers, workers, and organizations to set up goals, strategies, and performance standards to heighten worker safety and health at the worksite.
"Construction is a high-hazard industry, and when multiple employers are working on a construction site, the likelihood of injuries occurring increases," commented Kevin Kilp, director of OSHA's Harrisburg Area Office.

For his part, Don Fronk, Penn State physical plant occupational safety and environmental health specialist, said that "Penn State University applauds OSHA's partnership with Torcon Inc. Safety has always been priority number one, and the university intends to maintain its fine track record."

Meanwhile, the work-safety organization has ordered AirTran Airways, a Southwest Airlines subsidiary, to reinstate a former pilot who was fired after reporting numerous mechanical concerns about the airline. In addition, AirTran has been ordered to pay the pilot over $1 million in back wages, interest, and compensatory damages. OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program revealed reasonable cause to believe that the pilot was fired in retaliation for his complaint to OSHA.

Besides OSHA standards for safety at the worksite, which are covered in OSHA 30 certification (for supervisors) and OSHA 10 hour training (for workers), the U.S. Department of Labor's workplace-safety watchdog also implements the Whistleblower Protection Program which protects the employee who reports safety or health violations by the employer.

"Airline workers must be free to raise safety and security concerns, and companies that diminish those rights through intimidation or retaliation must be held accountable," said OSHA assistant secretary Dr. David Michaels. "Airline safety is of vital importance, not only to the workers, but to the millions of Americans who use our airways."

OSHA explained that terminating the employment of a pilot for reporting mechanical malfunctions is not consistent with an airline that values the safety of its passengers and its employees.
OSHACampus.com, a leading provider of online OSHA training, has made the topic of Whistleblower

Protection Program an integral part of its 10 Hour OSHA Training and 30 Hour OSHA Training programs. OSHACampus.com also provides 40 Hour HAZWOPER training.

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Remote Pharmacy Technician Supervision, Enhanced Role for CPhTs

It’s now pharmacy technicians on remote—the latest change in pharmacy practice that electronic technology has brought. The latest innovation, just approved by the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy this year, aims to improve patient care and minimize medicine-dispensing mishaps, especially at rural hospitals.
What the board has come up with is a system that allows a Kansas-licensed pharmacist to remotely supervise a pharmacy technician (one who has finished a pharmacy technician course or is attending pharmacy technician classes) in a licensed pharmacy in a hospital in the state.

Debra Billingsley, executive secretary of the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy, said: "That's been a real concern, mainly in the rural areas. And so we've just been trying to see if we can come up with some kind of care model that would be safe for the patient and provide pharmaceutical care."

The regulations require the pharmacist to use a secure, real-time video connection to the location of the technician's work. A webcam can be used for the video link, but it has to be of sufficient resolution to let the supervising pharmacist to clearly inspect medications and view paperwork. The remotely supervised pharmacist technician performs all his duties under the watchful eye of offsite pharmacist through the video link.

Pharmacies at medical facilities are developing ways to deal with drug shortages, with the end goal of enhancing patient care and safety through the support of pharmacy technicians, reported the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhTs) in a news article last year.

Being an important link in the supply chain team, CPhTs  (pharmacy technicians who have finished a pharmacy technician course or pharmacy technician classes and have passed their state’s certification exam) act as procurers of medications and inventory keepers. They are included in current efforts by hospital and health-system pharmacies to develop strategies to prevent impacting patient care because of drug shortages brought about by such issues as manufacturing problems and product discontinuation.

“Pharmacy technicians are instrumental in managing inventory and communicating department needs to supervisors,” said Erin Fox, PharmD, a manager at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics. “By working cooperatively within the pharmacy team, they allow the department to better optimize daily workflow output and reprioritize medication distribution activities as patients’ needs change.”

Already, better management of inventory and drug dispensing has been achieved by pharmacy technicians who have taken advantage of modern technology such as robots or automated dispensing cabinets, even as they provide vital practical information on how to optimize these new tools.

“With the support of CPhTs in purchasing and automation roles, pharmacists may increase their involvement in patient-care activities,” said Melissa Murer Corrigan, the executive director and CEO of PTCB.

Proper training for pharmacy technicians is provided by a number of traditional and online schools, one of which is Meditec.com, a top portal for online pharmacy technician classes and online pharmacy technician training. It also provides medical transcription training and medical billing and coding training.

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