Ayur means life. Veda means knowledge. Together, Ayurveda is the ancient wisdom or knowledge of life that is 5,000 years old. The practice of Ayurveda includes intentionally resetting the digestive system at the junction of seasons. The reset creates health, wellness and balance. There are three body-type constitutions (Doshas) in Ayurveda. Vata is fall and winter; Pitta is summer; and Kapha is early and mid-spring. 

Perhaps you're a little restless with your current work as a healthcare professional, wishing you could find a new focus or add responsibility without leaving your current job. One of the interesting part-time opportunities that you could potentially do on evenings or weekends is working in clinical research trials, helping researchers who need a team to meet with research subjects and administer the protocol accurately to get the best possible data.

Let's look at how to get involved in clinical research and participate in research studies as a healthcare professional.

Nearly every field in the twenty-first century has room to develop, with new techniques, research, or resources becoming constantly available. Many professional organizations require continuing education because industries don't stay the same. Many of the best practitioners are the ones who learned in their initial training or degree, then kept building that knowledge, whether they were required to do formal education or not.

If you need to earn continuing education credits or want to stay at the front edge of your field and the modern aspects of the work, these continuing education opportunities are a great idea.

Whether you've never worked in healthcare or as a CNA, Medical Assistant, or other medical-field work, you'd be surprised by the need for certified phlebotomists. Phlebotomy involves knowledgeable blood drawing and blood handling.

It's a process that may look fast and easy when a trained person does it but a procedure that takes some time to perfect while offering excellent patient care along the way. Finding a path into healthcare has never been easier than working on a phlebotomy certification and getting started in this high-demand field.

The world of medical research is constantly advancing, but breakthroughs often feel like they come slower than we would prefer. However, participating in research can help push research further. While we want excellent research with clear outcomes, research takes time and a lot of personnel. One of the best ways to ensure that clinical research proceeds quickly, bringing lifesaving treatment plans to the world, is by hiring excellent, well-trained staff. A significant error in managing a research project would delay and muddy the findings, so great training is one of the most crucial factors in creating this work.

As it turns out, training in clinical research is also a great way to widen job opportunities for people with biology and research backgrounds or who already work in the medical field. If you've considered how to participate in research studies and get involved in clinical, read on to see how it happens in a flexible, online, or hybrid setting.

Dental assistants are a significant area of need in both urban Portland and in rural dental practices around Oregon. Getting your basic dental assisting certification and an Expanded Functions exam helps raise your qualifications amongst dental assistants. What's more, Portland Community College offers the Integrated Community Dental Assisting program to train versatile dental assistants with a wealth of classroom and hands-on knowledge going into their first jobs. Let's look at why this role is so crucial.

Casey Campbell is founder and owner of Elemental Studios, a community ceramics studio that offers classes, workshops, and monthly memberships grounded in wellness education and practice. With a mission to help build community around ceramic arts education and wellness principles and practices, Casey and his team work to help people engage creatively and develop self-care practices they can use in and out of the studio. Casey worked with the PCC SBDC to start his business and now, after hiring five employees and continually increasing revenue, Casey continues to work with the PCC SBDC as Elemental Studios reaches its next growth phase.

Sheldon Levy, PhD, MPH is an instructor in the RCC-Institute for Health Professionals Foundations of Clinical Research. 

When managing a collaborative team, you'll occasionally mediate between team members experiencing conflict. Even collaborative team members can sometimes butt heads and disagree in ways that stall communication and your work. It's the manager's job to fairly evaluate what has gone wrong, assist in group reconciliation, and find a path forward that accommodates everyone.

Explore the Mediation program at PCC.

That is harder than it sounds, and it still sounds pretty difficult! Many managers opt to train in specific strategies for mediation rather than assuming they'll just muddle through it. As a result, their teams can grow confident that their managers can handle and resolve conflict actively, rather than leaving everyone to fend for themselves. Actively resolving conflict helps teams work together better by not leaving tensions unspoken, where they could fester and damage working relationships or become a bigger issue later. These are just some of the benefits of mediation training for managers, with bigger boosts in confidence and effectiveness that can come down the road.

When planning a trip, airfare and accommodations take center stage, but ensuring a seamless, worry-free vacation involves more than booking. If you aspire to an illness-free adventure (and who doesn't?), packing your essential herbal travel emergency kit is as crucial as your tickets and reservations. Don't embark on your journey without it

A smooth stomach is a travel pleasure, but things often don’t go your way. All that flying and driving can lead to a pretty snarly tummy. If you get queasy all too easy, think ginger. Ayurveda calls ginger the "universal medicine", and for good reason—it's a medicine cabinet in a jar. Ginger has long been recommended as a remedy for many conditions, but no condition has been studied more in connection with ginger than nausea.