Month: August 2021

Steps in Getting Physical Therapy Continuing Education

Physical therapists work every day with people suffering from everything from a bruised hip to combat trauma. As a result, physical therapy continuing education is critical in keeping up to date on the latest therapies.

Selecting a Speciality

As with many things today, the term PT encompasses a broad range of disciplines. So, in looking at physical therapy continuing education, you really have to focus or one or two areas. You can take classes in athletic training, massage therapy, occupational therapy, special education, and then speech and language therapy. Under occupational, you can further specialize in helping people recover from severe trauma. This can include vehicular accidents and military injuries. There are also geriatric and paediatric specialities; the former helps the aged, and the latter deals with children.

Checking Your State’s Requirements

Every state has varying degrees of requirements as to physical therapy continuing education. As a physical therapist, you’ll be licensed by the state, and can check with their department of professional regulation to see what those rules are. In some cases, classes are required to be taken yearly, others every two years; some classes can be taken online, and with others you have to appear in person. Also, the state’s website can give you a list of approved continuing education providers.

The Four Forms of Physical Therapy Continuing Education

As of 2000, a bachelor’s degree was declared to not be enough to practice in this field; a master’s or doctorate is required, and there are four ways to earn either. With the master’s degree, you can either get a direct entry or a transitional. The former is if you have a bachelor’s degree in another subject and you want to switch to PT, and it generally lasts two years. The latter is if your bachelor’s is in PT, and is often completed in a year. The doctorate is the same way – direct and transitional – and it applies in the same manner.

Online Classes

With physical therapy continuing education, it’s hard to believe that some classes could be offered online – as it is a hands-on profession. However, there are classes related to the non-physical therapy aspects of the profession that you can take this way. You can learn about reimbursement policies, dealing with managed care (HMO’s), professional ethics, and fraud and abuse. Then there are some physical courses that also don’t require you to practice on a live patient. You can study the anatomy of various areas of the body, and learn about skin lesions and their treatment. Depending on the requirements of your state, these forms of physical therapy continuing education may be enough.

Check with the Association

The American Physical Therapy Association can be helpful in dealing with physical therapy continuing education. Their website – – has a plethora of information about the various educational programs available – both online and at colleges near you. They can also advise you as to dealing with state regulators to insure they accept the classes you take.…

Continuing Education for Insurance Agents and Brokers

The life insurance industry is as dynamic as it is competitive. For agents, advisors and brokers to survive in this field, updating knowledge and skills about latest government norms and state rules and policies is very crucial. This is the reason why every state has made it mandatory for insurance professionals to enroll themselves for some stipulated hours of training for earning insurance credits for retention of license. Insurance agent continuing education is available in traditional institutions in classroom style as well as online training centers. Insurance continuing education online is a boon for those professionals who are pressed for time and do not have enough hours free to spend in regular classes. This enables them to gain credentials and education credits without taking the trouble of attending actual classes.

Continuing insurance education online has got its own share of benefits. For beginners it’s an easy portal from where they can accumulate formal training and become life insurance agent, broker, underwriter or advisor. Insurance agent continuing education is variable from state to state and individual to individual, depending upon the area of existing or required license and the state from which the agent is operating. Each state has a specific set of guidelines for the same and online certification courses are available for each and every type of training that is targeted. The courses focus on varied field of knowledge, ranging from risk management, managerial services, financial services and so on. The main aim and objective of all the courses remain to hand over the most updated information about guidelines, rules, regulations and laws that operate in the insurance industry, to the participator so that he/she becomes equipped to achieve greater sales target in his career.

Insurance continuing education online is relatively cheaper than what is offered by physical insurance training schools. Apart from this, registering online can help the applicant to save on time as he does not need to be physically present at the place at any stipulated hour. It is also convenient as it can be continued as per one’s own convenient time and schedule. The internet is full of resources on insurance agent continuing education and hence you can get ample material to study for the field or topic you need certification for. The popularity of continuing insurance education online can be seen in the surge of participants enrolling in such programs for taking new courses or switching over from classroom courses to these ones in the virtual world.

Online institutions offer a multitude of courses for agents taking up continuing insurance education. All specialty areas are covered in the programs which cover commercial as well as personal lines. Every state makes it mandatory for the agent to conform to its set guidelines and rules, while selling insurance products or receiving Insurance CE and hence the course needs to be approved by the particular State Department of Insurance. If you are interested in participating in insurance continuing education online, check out the courses on offer and enroll for the right one.…

Selling Insurance? Make Sure Your Continuing Education Is Up to Date

Professional fields such as medicine, law and science are always in flux, with new information being added constantly. If you hired a professional in one of these areas, you would expect him or her to be completely up to date in their field of knowledge. You wouldn’t want a doctor who is practicing medicine from the 1800s, would you?

The same holds true for the insurance industry. It undergoes legal shifts, innovations and refinements regularly, and not keeping up with the latest information can hold emotional and financial consequences for clients. For this reason, the industry’s licensing boards have set standards that all agents must meet to keep their license current. This way, consumers have the peace of mind of knowing that their life, health or home insurance agent is privy to the very latest products, innovations and laws.

If you are a licensed insurance agent, continuing education is serious business. In fact, the most state Department of Insurance Agent and Adjuster Licensing Divisions considers continuing education so important that they now sending courtesy notices to license holders around the time of license renewal so they are aware they have continuing education hours to complete.

If you hold a license for Life, Accident, Health, Property and Casualty, Managing General Agent, are a Life or Health Counselor or a Public Adjuster, most states will require 30 hours of continuing education credits for each two year licensing period; sometimes with a fraction of those hours focusing on ethics and consumer protection. County Mutual and Limited Lines licensees usually require fewer total continuing education hours in total, but generally still must take some type of classes on ethics as part of the requirement. For all agents, these classes typically must be completed by the day prior to your license expiry date, even if you are not using your license. If you miss your date, there is generally a fine of a certain dollar amount per deficient continuing education hour. Some states offer grace periods–make sure your understand your state’s particular requirements.

Luckily, most states allow you to earn hours by being active in a state or national association. Beyond that, you must participate in qualifying courses that are offered by accredited universities, colleges or law schools; are part of a national designation certification program; approved by the continuing education approval authority of a state bar or state board of public accountancy; or approved under the guidelines set forth by the state in which you are licenses. Luckily, there are many online courses available to make meeting this requirement easy and painless, especially if you are trying to fulfill your requirement at the last moment. Online study is often engaging; many companies use a multi-media format to capture salient points and make them easier to comprehend and remember.

Whether you choose an online format or a classroom, remember to make sure your classes are given by an accredited source, and within the appropriate timeframe to keep your insurance license active.…

Does your home appear dull and uninteresting? If so, perhaps it’s time for landscaping! Just a token amount of landscaping can really make an old home look like a stunning piece of art. This article contains many great landscape tips.

Fill your yard with native plants. These are easier to tend to since they are already used to your climate. This makes them a low-maintenance variety for any yard. You can research native plants in your area by going to your local home and garden store.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to pay a landscaper or designer to do your landscaping projects. This will cause you to lose a lot of money. However, it could be wise to consult a landscaper that can give you advice on the things that you need to do.

Shop on the Internet for better deals and more variety. There’s lots of websites offering quality landscaping items at great prices. Read customer reviews before ordering to ensure a quality product. Check several web sites to do comparison shopping.

Do not focus too much on trying to keep costs to a minimum. You may not get the high quality supplies you need if you always purchase the least expensive House Improvements versions of supplies. If you are a beginner to landscaping, a more pricey specialty shop will give you advice to select the right stuff.

You don’t always need the most expensive product. You do want to purchase quality tools that won’t break easily, but inexpensive items like compost & decor can work just as well as higher priced versions of the same. You need to examine plants carefully before buying them, however. Cut rate plant sellers may not have taken good care of the plants before selling them to you.

You home doesn’t have to look drab and uninteresting. Use a few tips you have learned here. The changes can be small but still offer profound differences in the look of your property. Take advantage of this advice and you are on your way to a spruced up home.…

Small Businesses – Unable to Provide Expensive Benefits – Cultivating Employee Loyalty in Novel Ways

The slow recovery from the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 has most small businesses scrambling to cut costs and increase revenue. Employee benefits are very expensive. For instance if a 401k plan is offered the admin, associated fees, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance, continuing education, and statutory testing devour a disproportionate amount of time and dollars. Matching contributions compound the expense. Many small businesses simply cannot afford to offer these benefits.

For many employees, over spending and no easy way to budget and track expenses has led to overwhelming consumer debt. This staggering debt has caused tremendous challenges for the average worker in preparing for retirement. The average American family owes $120k including $10k+ on credit cards. With personal finances stretched beyond the limit some pay just the monthly minimum toward credit card debt, delaying payoff until the twelfth of never. $5k in credit card debt at 18% APR takes forty years to pay out completely if just minimum monthly payments are made.

Half of your employees will experience at least one tax or legal issue this year, causing 57 hours absent from work, and costing them anywhere from $200 for a traffic ticket, $1k for identity theft, $3k for audit representation or collection defense, to up to $20k for a divorce. This can wipe out their entire savings or cause even more debt. Over the past three decades the net return (after fees) on most retirement plans offered by employers has averaged less than 2.7% annually. 90% of employees are overwhelmed by financial issues compared to physical issues such as: only 20% exercise regularly, 20% are obese, 20% smoke, and 35% have high blood sugar. 45% are stressed and 60% are depressed as a result of financial overwhelm; stressed and depressed employees have higher absenteeism and are less productive at work.

Is there a solution? Indeed there is! Suppose you could offer your employees a complete financial wellness plan that costs you little or nothing, got them out of debt in 1/2 the time, gave ID theft protection, tax returns & advice, legal services, and includes a voluntary companion retirement plan offering stock market like gains without stock market risk, and ZERO matching, zero minimums, zero fees, zero admin, zero ERISA compliance, zero continuing ed and zero statutory testing? You would have healthier, wealthier, happier and more loyal and productive workers. And that’s a win-win.…

Continuing Your Education As a Licensed Insurance Agent: 3 Important Tips

No matter which state you are licensed in, the process of becoming an insurance agent does not end with a license. The insurance industry is dynamic, constantly adapting to meet the changing needs of clients and their various insurance requirements. It is therefore crucial for you to continue to evolve as an insurance agent by completing a full spectrum of insurance agent training through certification exams.

There are, of course, multitudes of available preparatory online education courses for you to choose from, including online insurance continuing education courses. For instance, if you specialize as an independent life insurance broker and you search Google for “life insurance continuing education,” you will encounter no less than six million results! Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to give you the means to sort through the thousands of options out there with respect to online insurance courses. In other words, I’m going to help you find the continuing education courses that will work for you and your career goals.

First, consult with your employer, informing your manager, or perhaps a specific human resources representative, that you are pursuing further education in your field of insurance. Today, the majority of employers provide some kind of tuition assistance or other financial support for employees who seek to better their standing in an organization through education.

It’s important to know what your employer’s procedures are. How do you sign up? Will you be paid directly, will the education provider be paid directly, or will you be reimbursed? Are books and exam fees covered? Moreover, if you work for a large insurance firm, the chances are pretty high that they will have preferred training programs; some even offer in-house training for certification exams.

Second, choose how you prefer to study, and what you want out of it. Most people with full-time jobs tend to prefer independent study, which is the most flexible option. Keep in mind that this flexibility necessitates the most self-discipline on your part to succeed. Other agents prefer insurance continuing education that combines self-study with the support of a class. In this case, completing assigned tasks will keep you on track, reducing the amount of self-discipline needed to finish. Finally, if you have the time and prefer structure to independence, consider locating traditional classes or study groups-your place of employment might even offer one of these.

Third, no matter how you choose to prepare, keep in mind that certification will necessitate serious study and preparation on your part. If you are not committed to achieving your educational goals, then you are wasting your time. When you register for an exam on a specific date, it will provide you with a clearly defined end-point for your goal. Be certain you’re ready to meet it. Doing so will guarantee your success, whether you are seeking to continue your education in order to advance into management, or if you are simply trying to become the best insurance agent that you can be.…

Enrolled Agent Tax Topic: Amended Tax Returns

Taxpayers may need to submit amended tax returns when a mistake is discovered on a previously filed return. However, amending is not necessary when the IRS locates math errors and sends a notice of correction. In those cases, taxpayer agreement with the corrected amount is all that’s required. A tax enrolled agent can respond to the IRS by representing the taxpayer. These professionals also possess training from enrolled agent CE to assist taxpayers in determining the correct response to the IRS. This is especially critical if an amended tax return is necessary.

When an amended tax return is required to accurately resolve a situation with the IRS, following the correct procedure is essential. This causes faster processing of any refund or accurate assessment of any tax owed without incurring additional penalties. These proper measures to attain final resolution are a subject of EA continuing education. An amended tax return permits corrections to originally reported income, deductions, tax credits, or filing status.

A copy of the originally filed tax return is required before proceeding with preparing an amended return. Copies of any pages with inaccurate information are marked “As Originally Filed” for submission with the amended tax return. Then, new schedules and forms are prepared with the corrected figures. In some cases a schedule is required that was not included with the originally filed return. Enrolled agent hours cover this detailed process of comparing original amounts to changes. A new Form 1040 tax return is compiled after all income, deductions, and credits are accurately calculated on the appropriate schedules and forms.

Finally, Form 1040X is used to summarize the lines on page 2 of the new Form 1040. The tax calculation on Form 1040X shows any additional refund for the taxpayer by reflecting any overpayment already refunded from filing the original return. The IRS will determine any interest payable with the refund. Interest is added to the refund check.

Alternatively, Form 1040X may reflect an amount of tax owed because the original refund was more than the taxpayer was entitled to receive. Penalties and interest apply to such situations. The services of an Enrolled Agent may benefit a taxpayer seeking abatement of penalties due to reasonable cause for the error.

A statement is required on Form 1040X explaining the reason for amending. Sometimes, documents that explain the changes are attached.

Tax professionals are valuable to the entire process of amending tax returns. The expertise they possess from completion of enrolled agent continuing education requirements is helpful to taxpayers. Enrolled agents are particularly beneficial because they can communicate with the IRS on behalf of a taxpayer.…