The upcoming transition to ICD-10 is a hot topic in the healthcare community. Learn more about the transition and how Bryant & Stratton is preparing Medical Reimbursement and Coding degree students for this change.

If you’re a student earning an associates degree in medical billing and coding, then you’ve probably heard about a big change on the horizon. The field is abuzz about the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. ICD stands for International Classification of Disease and is a United Nations-sponsored World Health Organization standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes.

This guide sets the standard for how professional medical coders assign alphanumeric code(s) to a patient’s record. ICD-10 refers to two classifications, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS). ICD-10-CM will replace ICD-9-CM volumes 1 and 2 and be used to report diagnoses in all clinical settings. The other update, ICD-10-PCS, is the procedure code group that is for inpatient hospital procedures and will replace ICD-9-CM Volume 3.

The ICD-10 implementation may hit seasoned professionals harder than individuals who are just entering the field. The codes for diagnoses and procedures are both changing with the new system, so professionals who have memorized codes may find themselves referencing guidelines more often than they are accustomed to now. Chris Schenk is a certified ICD-10 trainer and has already trained many people on the new guidelines.

“People think it’s a big scary monster,” said Mr. Schenk. “But, if you can read guidelines, look up words, correlate information, you can do ICD-10.”

Today, the U.S. is one of the last countries of its economic size to still be using ICD-9, guidelines that were created over 30 years ago. Because ICD-9 was developed so long ago, it does not reflect current medical technology and intelligence, which limits how many details can be included in a record. ICD-10 increases this ability to allow for the capture of more specific diagnoses. In the new guidelines there will be approximately 70,000 codes, an increase from the 15,000 codes in ICD-9. ICD-10 also has the ability to accommodate future changes in medical technology or know-how, making it adaptable for future needs.

The ICD-10 transition date has recently been extended and will not take effect until December 31, 2015. Still, Mr. Schenk and many professional medical and coding associations encourage individuals to learn ICD-10 ahead of the new implementation. Mr. Schenk’s advice is simple.

“Get educated and read the new guidelines,” he said.

For new coders, he suggests verifying that degree programs include a background in anatomy, physiology and medical terminology before enrolling in them. Bryant & Stratton College’s associate’s degree in medical reimbursement and coding is currently teaching ICD-10 to all newly enrolled students so graduates are prepared for the upcoming transition.

If you are interested in learning more about the degrees Bryant & Stratton offers in the medical field, particularly an associate’s degree in medical billing and coding, call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.

My four-year-old asked me how snakes hear. When I said I didn’t know, she said “Can we look it up on the internet?”

I was proud of her question, even though I have no interest in learning about snakes, because it showed information literacy.

Many people think the term literacy refers only to the ability to read. However, literacy means knowledge. Another way to think of it is competency. Therefore, information literacy means knowing how to access information.

My daughter, at four, already knows that we can look things up on the internet that we don’t know. She even guessed that there would be a video about it. Information Literacy is one of the workplace capabilities listed on all supplemental syllabi. Our Virtual Library has a large amount of academic sources. Learning how to navigate it will not only help you locate academic sources for assignments, it will help you become more familiar with the databases your local library will have.

Using these databases and other credible sources will help you stay current with trends in your field and also be an informed in your community. There is nothing more powerful than being able to research a hotly debated issue and arrive at a conclusion without being swayed by inaccurate information. Another powerful skill is technology literacy. This means learning how to use technology such as software programs and programs particular to a field. It also means a basic understanding of technology to allow for greater ease with new versions of software, for example.

Students at Bryant & Stratton College will develop technology literacy through navigating Blackboard, Outlook and the eportfolio, among other programs and websites. One of the first courses new students will take is INFT 123 Computing Skills, which is focused on learning Microsoft Office. Technology literacy also involves basic troubleshooting skills.

For example if a website is not working, you would first check to make sure your internet connection was working. Then you might try a different browser, or check for needed updates on your computer. These simple steps involve an understanding of troubleshooting that is essential in any field, as well as daily life. In each of your courses you will hone your skills, and will be able to articulate your knowledge to a potential employer. In fact, information literacy can help you locate job listings. Technology literacy will give you the skills to prepare your resume and navigate an online system for job applications.

When you graduate from Bryant & Stratton College, you will be prepared for success professionally and personally!

Paralegal studies are an ideal path to a successful law career. For some, becoming a legal secretary or paralegal is the destination point. For others, it is an opportune starting place to work their way through law school. Either way, in order to learn the skill sets necessary to work competently in one of the most competitive career fields, it is imperative that you get the right combination of practical, theoretical, and technical training so you are adequately prepared for your future job.

At Bryant & Stratton College, we offer an associate Degree in Paralegal Studies with the goal of preparing students for a career in law. When our students graduate from the program, they are fully qualified and prepared to enter multiple paralegal career options such as:

According to the US Census Bureau, these careers have median salaries higher than average, making them appealing to both continuing and returning students. In order to stand out among the field of applicants, make sure your paralegal studies include a foundation of law and ethics, comprehensive practical and theoretical classes, as well as relevant hands-on training so you have a clear understanding of your legal strengths and interests.

Comprehensive Course Listings. In most cases, students who begin their paralegal studies have only a nominal understanding of the law. It is important the program you attend offers a wide variety of courses so you are exposed to many legal facets. Your courses should cover everything from the fundamentals of ethics and legal research, to more specific classes such as:

Through these courses, you will not only gain the education you need to begin working for a legal practice, you will also develop a deeper understanding of where your interests lie as you begin to prepare for your practicum and/or internship(s).

Real World Practicum. While fundamental book learning and lectures are important to learn the ABCs of law, it isn’t until you have the opportunity to put your learning to use that you will understand where your strengths lie, what aspect of law suits you, and where you envision yourself beginning a career. At Bryant & Stratton College, we ensure each of our students in the paralegal studies program has the opportunity to gain real-world internship experience in an area that interests them. During your internship, you will be supervised both academically and professionally to ensure you have the support you need to be successful.

Once you have successfully completed your paralegal studies program, you will have a deeper understanding of the ethical considerations for legal professionals, set by the American Bar Association. Additionally, you will be prepared to become certified by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).

Shakespeare once wrote, “good counselors lack no clients.” Here at Bryant & Stratton, we know that good counselors require superb legal assistants and support staff. Our Paralegal Studies Associate of Applied Science Degree program will prepare you to become a superb legal professional.

Please contact the admissions office at Bryant & Stratton College for more information about our paralegal studies program. You will be one step closer to achieving your academic and professional goals.

High school students or graduates may earn college credit in one or more courses alongside peers and undergraduates. UVM offers entry level courses both on campus and online year round in a variety of subject areas in our pre-college summer programs.

UVM’s Summer Academy is a two-week on campus, two-week online residential or commuter program, designed exclusively for 11th or 12th-grade high school students. Summer Academy gives students the opportunity to learn what college life is like, while getting a head start on their college career and earning valuable college credit.

A: A summer college program, also known as pre-college, gives high school juniors and seniors an early start by helping them experience the challenge of a college-level course while earning college credit.

High school students may explore career fields with professors who are leading experts, enroll in classes with other students, and earn transferable college credit.

A: There are so many ways a summer college or pre-college program can help prepare high school students for success. Here are some of the most compelling reasons:

Get a preview of campus life. Gain insight into campus culture, student life and the opportunity to interact with other college students.

Ease the transition to college life. Socialize, make new friends and be away from home for an extended period of time. This can also can serve as a stepping stone to the transition of going away to college.

Test the school out. Some students find it difficult to choose a college. Attending a pre-college program, especially on-campus for two weeks, gives high school students a sense of whether the school is a good fit.

Assess college readiness. Get a sense of what will be expected in a college course.

Make a positive impression on admissions officials. Successfully completing a college course is a way for students to signal to university officials that they are ready for college-level work.

Explore new material. Students can try out a new subject area, such as Adventures in Neuroscience or Storytelling with Words and Photographs, possibly discovering a career field they can be passionate about.

Cut college costs. High school students will receive a 50 percent reduction of in- and out-of-state academic year tuition during the summer.

Also, Vermont’s statewide dual enrollment program for high school juniors and seniors allows students to access two college courses with tuition fully reimbursed. For example, students save money by taking a credit bearing course and then transferring those credits to their four-year school, including UVM.

A: UVM’s summer pre-college program for high school students was established in 2004 and has attracted more than 3,700 students from Vermont, New England and beyond. UVM offers more than 100 online and on-campus courses for high school students in the summer and throughout the academic year.

We also offer Summer Academy, a four-week program where students are part of a learning community and participate in off-campus and on-campus activities. Summer Academy has both residential and commuter options, and includes an online component.

A: Burlington is absolutely one of the best places to spend the summer in New England. Locals and visitors alike enjoy shopping and dining on Church Street, biking the Island Line Trail, swimming in Lake Champlain, and attending a variety of events and cultural activities.

Burlington is a vibrant, engaging place with festivals, live music, bike paths, parks, and a thriving food scene. Burlington is located on the shores of Lake Champlain and is less than an hour from some of the best hiking and skiing in Vermont. The birthplace of Phish and Ben & Jerry’s, Burlington has been named the best college town in America by Travel + Leisure.

A: Here are the following dates:

Summer Academy: The application is currently open for Summer Academy, which starts in July.

Pre-College Summer Courses: Registration begins in late February or early March.

Want to make your business sustainable? In order to do so, I think you must practice strategic leadership. In my UVM seminar on strategic leadership, I propose 12 capabilities of the strategic leader. Here’s a glimpse at two that contribute to making an organization that lasts.

First, I think a strategic leader has to be a visionary. “There are a lot more people who can take a hill than there are people who can accurately predict which hill it would be best to take…It is more likely that your organization will be outmaneuvered strategically than that it will be out produced tactically. Most organizations do pretty well what they do today. It’s what they need to be doing tomorrow that’s the missing skill” (Lombardo and Eichinger, 2000).

The visionary leader takes the organization on a journey, an adventure in success. I think of two of the many great leaders I’ve had the privilege of working with as an executive coach or change management consultant.

One, a leading voice in public health, has crisscrossed the nation building both the infrastructure and support for a level of quality assurance in public health institutions hitherto undreamed of. She inspires people with her vision of “the hill it would be best to take” for public health excellence.

Another such leader could “predict the hill it would be best to take” as soon as he became CEO. He saw that in order for his company to be a leader in the field, he had to refashion internal capacity. Seeing too much under-used talent and alarming turnover among middle managers, he first uprooted several iron-fisted lieutenants. Then he hired several senior leaders with a talent for leading others. Soon, younger managers were leading innovative, scalable projects that extended the organization’s reach, raised its profile and enhanced its finances. The CEO could devote more of his focus to a strategic imperative of “scouting” for priorities that would further extend the company’s leadership.

Both these leaders were able to survey a complex environment, internally and externally, spot “the hill,” and then infuse their organizations with energy and passion that said, “We are going places; join me – together, we are going to make a difference.”

Now think about Steve Jobs, with his boundless energy and passion to change the world through high quality, easy-to-use, and aesthetically beautiful technologies. Jobs could certainly “predict the hill;” in fact, he created several. At the same time, Jobs lacked a second strategic leader sensibility that I believe is crucial to sustaining a business.

Jobs chewed through people like a paper shredder. He saw and attracted talent, but he drove people beyond their limits, squeezed them by micro managing, and mercilessly berated them (Isaacson, 2011).

Better strategic leaders know that they will “take the hill” by getting and keeping smart, self-aware, principled fellow adventurers with strong management skills. Strategic leaders “get the right people on the bus,” as Jim Collins (2001) put it, and then inspire, develop, and support their initiative.

In Lombardo’s and Eichinger’s military metaphor, you don’t want to have to build a whole new army to take each hill. It’s much more efficient, much less wasteful, much more compassionate – and therefore more sustainable – to hire great people, given them what they need to be effective, stay in touch with them, and then let them fly.

By Jeffrey R. Wakefield
Perhaps the most endearing of the fanciful organizations that mock-sponsor A Prairie Home Companion (think the Catchup Advisory Board and the American Duct Tape Council) is the Professional Organization of English Majors, or P.O.E.M. The joke – gentle as it is, given host Garrison Keillor’s clear affection for the species and card-carrying membership in the club – lies in putting the words “English major” and “professional” in the same sentence.

That knowing wink at the career prospects of English majors wouldn’t sit well with Susanmarie Harrington, professor of English and director of UVM’s Writing in the Disciplines program.

Harrington just finished teaching a one-credit online winter session course called “Careers and English: What Next?” that made clear to the nine English majors in her charge that their job prospects – given the right preparation – were just fine, thank you.

“What an English major teaches you is that words matter,” she says. “I can’t imagine a world in which those skills aren’t important, but it does mean we have to be creative in figuring out how to talk about those talents to other people.”

Harrington’s course was one of 22 offered between Dec. 26 and Jan. 10 through Continuing and Distance Education — covering majors from anthropology and computer science to areas of interest like public health, arts administration and the environment — that sought to help students marshal their academic interests and accomplishments in the service of determining an actual career direction and strategy.

When Jeff Goulette was growing up in Shelburne, like most kids he never dreamed of becoming an actuary. In fact, he didn’t even know what an actuary was until he was 25.

In a serendipitous turn of events, the word “actuary” started popping up in his life – and at the right time, when he needed a change. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a political science degree in 2006 and working a couple of low-level jobs, “I decided I would like a more permanent job,” he says.

One day, his mother mentioned that his uncle, a doctor, was working with an actuary. Around the same time, Jeff read John Hodgman’s satirical depiction of actuaries at lunch in an Omaha steakhouse, “all pleased and prosperous-seeming, all eating the prime rib special.”

Tired of working for low pay, Jeff Googled “actuary” and not only learned more about the profession – which uses statistics and theory to analyze the financial impact of risk in areas like insurance and pensions – but also discovered that national publications consistently rank the career as one of the best.

“In the USA Today top job list, it was in the top three,” he says. “I thought, ‘Maybe I should look into this.’ I was getting sick of lower-level jobs and job hunts. It was good to find something that actually had prospects. The actuarial profession was one of the few areas that were expanding, and everything else was contracting. It’s a funny niche career that people don’t think about.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, actuarial jobs are expected to increase 27 percent over the next few years. CNNMoney reports that the profession has practically zero-percent unemployment. Other benefits: It’s a low-stress, highly paid (averaging more than $87,000) career, requiring only an undergraduate degree. And although actuaries must take a series of professional exams, they can be hired full time after passing the first two or three. After that, companies normally pay for their remaining training and exams.

Jeff realized he needed to take a few more college courses and study for actuarial exams. He discovered UVM Continuing and Distance Education’s Actuarial Science Sequence. Over two semesters, he took four courses – two of which covered material on the first two actuarial exams. He passed the two exams, then interviewed at two major companies. He landed a job with one of the world’s top actuarial firms – Aon Hewitt – in its Waltham, Mass., office, where he values pensions and makes projections for large, global corporations.

He quickly discovered why a career as an actuary is so appealing.

“It’s great. It’s not too stressful. I’m working with a lot of good, smart, hard-working people. I get good benefits and good pay, and it’s often casual dress,” he says. “Right now, I’m the low man on the totem pole, mostly number-crunching. But you can move up to project manager and client lead and handle a lot more responsibility. They place a lot of stock in talent retention and development. You can get all sorts of training. I’ve been encouraged to move up. Even when I first interviewed, I was told there is a lot of potential for growth.”

Thinking about spending the summer in Burlington? We love Vermont in every season, but summer in the Green Mountains is hard to beat. Vermont is an ideal place to enjoy festivals, music, food, and the great outdoors. Whether you’re participating in a summer college program for high school students or taking classes in UVM’s Summer University program, there’s plenty of fun to be had this summer in Vermont.

Church Street is the epicenter of Burlington, and for good reason. Visitors flock to the city’s brick and cobblestone pedestrian marketplace to enjoy a variety of locally-owned restaurants, food cart vendors, and cafes in the summer – including Leunig’s, Hong’s Chinese Dumplings, and Uncommon Grounds. Trust us, after enduring a winter of sub-zero temperatures, ice storms, and negative wind chills, dining outdoors in the warm sunshine while sampling local cuisine is a pretty outstanding experience.

Vermont’s most distinctive and third highest mountain (4,083 feet) is the only one of Vermont’s high peaks to remain free from major human development. Start your ascent from Camel’s Hump State Park in Huntington and enjoy panoramic views at the summit of the Adirondacks, White Mountains, and Greens. The Long Trail, one of the oldest long distance hiking trails in the United States that was a model for the Appalachian Trail, runs along Camel’s Hump. Dust off those hiking boots and don’t forget your trail map.

Established in 1886 by William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb as a model agricultural estate, Shelburne Farms is now a nonprofit environmental education center and working farm whose mission is to cultivate a conservation ethic. Open mid-May to October, the 1,400-acre Shelburne Farms offers walking trails, a children’s farmyard, wagon tours, a cheesemaking operation and lodging at the Inn at Shelburne Farms. If you love wide-open spaces, historic barns, tasty cheese, and lovely views, put Shelburne Farms on your must-see list.

Built in 1900 by the Rutland Railroad, the former rail bed is now a popular Vermont bike path. One of the best parts of the trail is the Colchester-South Hero Causeway, a narrow stretch that crosses Lake Champlain. While biking (or walking) the 2.5-mile Causeway, you’ll see panoramic views as well as people fishing, swimming, and snorkeling on both sides of the Causeway. Another reason to bike the Island Line Trail is a chance to ride the Bike Ferry, which transports passengers and their bikes across a 200-foot gap in the Causeway near the southern tip of South Hero in the Champlain Islands.

The opening of Route 108 through Smugglers’ Notch is a rite of spring in Vermont. This scenic road, also known as “The Notch,” winds through a narrow pass between Mount Mansfield, Spruce Peak and Sterling Mountain. Located near Vermont’s tallest peak, the route opens for the season once the snow is finally gone. The Notch has a unique feel with giant boulders, thousand-foot cliffs, and thick forests. In the spring, summer, and fall, thousands of visitors descend upon the Notch to hike, rock climb, and camp.

Known as the “sixth Great Lake,” Lake Champlain is 120 miles long, covering 435 square miles bordering Vermont, New York, and Quebec. The lake offers many access points for sailing, swimming, fishing, and kayaking. Visitors can also enjoy ferry rides, beach access, and lakeside resorts, including Basin Harbor Club and Tyler Family Resort. Lake Champlain is 400 feet deep in some places, which according to local legend, is deep enough to harbor our very own prehistoric monster, “Champ.”

Burlington hosts the outstanding Discover Jazz Festival, an annual, week-long celebration featuring local talent and jazz. Established in 1983, the festival showcases incredible local talent with jazz legends from every corner of the globe. Performances are held throughout the city at indoor and outdoor venues, including Church Street, the waterfront, and the Flynn Theatre. Hands down, Discover Jazz is one of the best summer festivals in Vermont

Ten University of Vermont students will get hands-on public health experience this summer when they travel to Uganda to work and study in the rural village of Kamuli, about three hours north of the capital, Kampala. They will pick up where UVM nursing students left off, working directly with community members on projects that improve public health and promote sustainable practices.

“Kamuli has many of the rural health problems and farms that we have in rural Vermont. It’s a great comparison for students,” says Sarah E. Abrams, Ph.D., R.N., who has taught undergraduate travel courses and conducted research in the area for several years. She is teaching the three-credit UVM course, Uganda: Health and Community in Rural Uganda (HLTH 295), scheduled for May and June 2014.

The course is designed for students from a wide variety of academic disciplines who want to explore global health issues and overseas development work.

“The goal for the summer program is to get students from different backgrounds helping with research and getting to know what it takes to make a program sustainable,” says Abrams, associate professor and associate dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “We will be looking at how the health of the community is affected by agriculture and the changing environment, by the economy, and by both the health care delivery system and the social structure.”

Students will work with Abrams on her ongoing “community participatory action research,” called as such because it promotes local empowerment. Students won’t tell Kamuli residents what to do; instead, villagers will gather data and decide what steps to take, and students will chip in as needed.

“Ultimately, what I want to happen is to work with the people of Kamuli on what they need, what they want, what’s lacking, and help them get to a better state of health and well-being from what they currently have,” Abrams says.

Through her research, she works closely with two non-governmental organizations (NGOs): the Vermont-based 52 Kids Foundation, which provides education and services to orphans, and Uganda’s Kamuli Area People’s Integral Development Association (KAPIDA).

“The partnerships with community members are really important to sustaining the efforts and building something the community owns that won’t go away when I leave,” Abrams explains. “From working with the community and working with an NGO in this area, we hope to resolve some of the basic issues of health.”

This summer, students will learn the ways in which water and sanitation, nutrition and air quality all have an impact on human health, especially disease.

“They will build fuel-efficient stoves to help women’s respiratory systems and also protect children from accidental injuries,” Abrams says. “The rural Ugandan women traditionally cook on an open fire, and they deforest their own properties to provide wood. The fuel-efficient stoves use charcoal. Because of how the stoves are built, they burn longer and they are vented outside, so that’s better for women’s lungs, preventing asthma and pulmonary diseases.”

The students also will learn about Kamuli’s lack of access to clean water; villagers must travel miles each day to government-built bore holes, which have been drilled and installed with a pump. “The children pump the water and then they carry it back,” she says. “That takes up to seven hours a day, so there are places where people still use groundwater, which is contaminated.”

Students will dig latrines to improve sanitation; in the past, they have created pits for composting. The compost boosts crops such as corn, squash and beans; as subsistence farmers, each family provides food for itself.

“We’re a great motivating factor,” Abrams says. “If you can get 10 students to help build these things, it can go much more quickly.”

Overall, the Uganda trip will help students “become more comfortable in examining culture and what effects culture has on health care,” she says. “The students get to understand what people’s health is like in sub-Saharan Africa; they learn about cooperation and international development; they get much more sensitive about cultural competency. What I stress to them is that the systems here in the United States work for here, not necessarily for Uganda. Maybe the Ugandans don’t have everything we do, but they do a pretty good job nonetheless.”

Whether they end up working overseas or in rural Vermont, the students who travel to Uganda will learn lifelong skills. “What is critical to me, regardless of whether it’s in Vermont or Africa,” Abrams says, “is the willingness to take people where they are, value them, and work with them as a community.”

The Washington Post reported in 2013 that the future looks unclear for the Myers-Briggs questionnaire – “the gold standard of psychological assessments” used by employees and business leaders alike to figure out how their personality styles mesh with others in the workplace.

But career consultant Markey Read says such reports are nothing new – and should not have any long-lasting impact on the popularity of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) instrument or the personality type theory that underpins it.

“MBTI is the most widely used instrument of its kind in the entire world, translated into more than 35 languages. It has a reach that is quite significant,” she says. “It’s a phenomenal door opener; it opens the door to conversation.”

A History of Myers-BriggsDeveloped by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, and based on Carl Jung’s theories of introverted and extroverted personality types, the multiple-choice questionnaire was purchased by the Educational Testing Service in 1962. In 1975, Consulting Psychologists Press (now CPP), a company founded by a Stanford professor, began publishing the indicator for wider application instead of its initial use as a research instrument.

An estimated 2 million people a year take the MBTI to determine their personality type: extroverted or introverted; sensing or intuitive; thinking or feeling; judging or perceiving. The result – ESTJ, INTP or 14 other combinations of the four areas – helps them explore which careers might be a good fit, how they connect with others, how they lead, and more.

As the MBTI enters its fifth decade, the third generation of the Myers-Briggs family has no interest in carrying on the family legacy, and psychologists continue to question the test’s validity, according to the Post article.

Exploring Your Personality TypeRead, owner of Career Networks in Williston, Vermont, has known the family for years and, like many other certified MBTI administrators, never expected the third generation to remain involved. She has used the MBTI for two decades; she became certified in 1994 and contacted CPP to begin offering certification training in Vermont. Over time, she has heard psychologists dismiss the test, but believes that has more to do with an internal debate over who should be allowed to conduct academic research.

“Here’s what’s true: Personality type works, and there’s tons of research,” Read says. “And more research is under way.”

Since Isabel Myers first began administering her questionnaire to medical students in the 1940s and assessing results, even more instruments have been developed to compete with the MBTI in ferreting out personality types.

Read could choose to administer any instrument – or none at all – in uncovering personality types, but she finds that most clients still ask for the MBTI, the most highly regarded.

“The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is simply a questionnaire that helps us understand what people’s personality types might be,” Read says. “Most people equate the actual questionnaire with the entire theory, but it’s important to separate them out. Personality type theory is a very rich and very alive community of people, and it’s international. When we can break MBTI apart from personality type theory, that’s when personality type will come into its own and people will fully understand the power of it.”

For now, Read emphasizes that the MBTI is not a test but “a descriptive tool. You’re not diagnosed with a type; it’s a discussion and a motivation. It’s an exploration, and it’s effective in helping determine our preferences, and our preferences happen to be in four areas: how we get our energy, how we gather information, how we make decisions, and how we orient to the outer world. And when we know those preferences, we can become more effective.”

Interpreting ResultsMBTI results should not be used to force someone down a career path he or she doesn’t want, Read says. “There’s nothing about your type that says you can’t do what you want to do,” she explains. “There are 16 personality types that I call 16 definitions of normal, and in those 16 definitions of normal, there is wide variety of expression.”

For example, an introvert can become a successful leader – just a different style of leader from an extrovert. “Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert has little to do with your ability to lead; personality type simply looks at your style of leadership,” Read says.

When taking the MBTI, it’s important to answer the questions as honestly as possible to get the most accurate snapshot of your personality type, she explains.

“Your personality type is just a good place to understand where you start out in the day,” Read says. “It helps you understand that you have a base from which you operate, from where you start, and then you move into all kinds of areas that require you to stretch or flex out of your preferences. Throughout the day, you have to get out of your ‘happy place,’ out of yourself, and interact with people, and that’s called communication. That’s where personality type comes into play, and we use that to talk about leadership styles, teaching styles, learning styles, training styles.

Paying attention to health care reform recently? If so, you’ll have heard the acronym “ACO” bandied about . . . . maybe even at cocktail parties, since rumor has it that saying “ACO” makes you sound, well, knowledgeable!

But as with so much in health care, what “accountable care” means, and how it gets translated into reality by an “accountable care organization,” is not so easy to define.

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to their Medicare patients.

The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. When an ACO succeeds both in both delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars more wisely, it will share in the savings it achieves for Medicare.

The Idea Behind an ACOThe concept of an ACO was first put forward by Elliot Fisher and his colleagues at The Dartmouth Institute in a paper they wrote in 2007. At its most basic, the idea of an ACO capitalizes on the fact that data demonstrate that most of us get the bulk of our health care through providers in one health service area, located close to where we live. Dr. Fisher and his colleagues asked the question whether those providers, then, could somehow join together to be “accountable” for the care people in their service area get.

ACOs and the Affordable Care ActThat idea – holding one set of providers financially accountable for the health of a population – is what Medicare is now promoting under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA authorized Medicare to approve provider-led ACOs, who would be held “accountable” for the care given to all of the Medicare patients the ACO’s network participants care for over a three-year period. If Medicare’s costs for those patients is less than what would otherwise have been expected, then – with some conditions – those network participants get to share in the savings.

Providing High-Quality CareIt’s important to remember that ACOs are about a lot more than trying to save money for Medicare.

In fact, they’re one of the primary tools for reshaping both the delivery system and the payment system – moving us away from fee-for-service medicine that pays every provider for every service they do, to a system that consistently rewards hospitals, doctors and others for providing high-quality care

As I boarded the plane to Belize, I felt a little nervous and didn’t know what to expect. As the UVM teaching assistant for the Belize: Women’s Health & Spirituality course, it was my role to help support and assist UVM students during our 14-day trip. Some students were less experienced with traveling than others, so I wasn’t sure how well they would adapt. I also worried about group dynamics and the challenges of traveling with students in a new environment and different culture.

It turns out that my fears were completely unfounded. The students were incredibly engaged, curious, and thoughtful, which reaffirmed my long-held belief that study abroad is critical to personal and professional development. Here’s why:

Engagement: We go to college to learn about diverse perspectives, and to develop ourselves and our ideas. Still, we often find ourselves gravitating toward things that make us feel comfortable. The study abroad course blended exploration and social support seamlessly. While traveling with this group of students, I learned so much about their different interests, experiences, and areas of focus. With a mix of social sciences and pre-med majors, the students asked questions from diverse academic angles and from their own personal experiences. They learned together and from one another, bringing our understanding of comparative issues in health care to a new level.

Opportunity: Traveling as a group gave us the freedom to try new things and find comfort in each other’s company. When placed in a new environment, it’s hard to know how you’ll adapt. Together, the group had many giggling fits, interesting discussions, and even some emotional moments. As a group, we climbed Mayan ruins, explored the Mayan “underworld” on a cave tubing excursion, and visited an iguana conservation center. As individuals, we tried new foods, engaged with complex and challenging ideas, and felt safe to explore our identities and experiences together.

Access: Planning study abroad into your academic schedule can be challenging when you have strict requirements for your major. Many of the students in the group were able to fulfill credits in their major, including those students with science majors. For those students who had never imagined they would be able to study abroad, the UVM Travel Study program allowed them to earn credits toward their degree and maximize their time during the break. Also, the application is simple and convenient because you don’t have to transfer credits, financial aid, or scholarships – making it a more accessible option to many students.

Getting Ahead: This two-week travel course offered students the opportunity to delve into a new cultural experience and earn UVM credit outside of the classroom before the semester even started. Starting spring semester with a few credits already completed, the students were able to maximize the number of courses they took and/or focus on a few core courses during the traditional semester to boost their GPA – thus, maximizing their credits while minimizing their stress and work load. Genius!

Preparation for a Professional Career: With the opportunity to engage with people from widely different backgrounds, both within our group and with the people we met in Belize, the students are better informed about cultural diversity. In particular, students who are interested in social work, public health, and medicine benefited from the opportunity to experience life in another part of the world and understand how lived experiences might impact a person’s beliefs in health care and medicinal practices. No matter what your major, learning about identities is important for developing yourself as a professional and for working effectively with others.

Increased Resiliency: Over the course of our two-week trip, students engaged with challenging and exciting new ideas. Trying new things and experiencing life through a different cultural lens can be an emotional process. Together, we worked on ways to deal with environmental and emotional triggers and built our capacity to address challenging situations. Whether enjoying a conversation over coffee or practicing yoga and meditation, we learned and practiced ways to advocate for our own needs. Developing skills in communication, self-care, and personal resiliency, the students grew both as individuals and as a group. The result was clear both in how the students supported each other and in their ability to take care of themselves.

Looking back, I am so impressed with the emotional maturity and strength of the group. My concerns about the students’ initial anxiety was quickly allayed by their warmth and genuine interest in learning about the people and practices in Belize. Through this process, I learned a great deal not only about the cultures and medicinal practices we explored in the country, but also from the experiences that the students brought to the group from their own lives.

In two short weeks, I watched as the students channeled their inner strength and saw how experiencing life in a new place truly supports personal development and emotional growth

More than 2,000 Vermont food system jobs have been added to the local economy since the launch of the Farm to Plate initiative. In only four and a half years, Vermont has surpassed what had been predicted to occur over a ten year period by 500 jobs.

Food entrepreneurs have added at least 2,220* new jobs and at least 199 new businesses have been created since the 2009 launch of the Farm to Plate Investment Program. Over the same time period, total employment across all economic sectors grew by 7,654 new jobs. Food manufacturing jobs are at the heart of Vermont’s “Recession” recovery, increasing from 4,628 to 6,121 jobs (a 32 percent increase). These numbers were released in January by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund in the 2013 Farm to Plate Annual Report.

Companies like Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Commonwealth Dairy, Black River Produce, and Vermont Smoke & Cure have all made large investments in order to expand their operations and have experienced significant sales increases, which has led to adding full-time employees.

Sodexo, a food service company that provides more than 30,000 campus and school meals per day in Vermont, sources approximately 15 percent of its food locally.

“There are over 59,000 private sector jobs in our food system, and we expect this number to be even higher when the 2012 Census of Agriculture figures are released in March,” says Ellen Kahler, executive director at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, Farm to Plate’s backbone organization. “We are pleased with how the Shumlin Administration is investing in the further development of our food system, by supporting the Working Lands Enterprise Fund and Farm to Plate, because it represents a strong and growing sector of our economy.”

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund actively tracks the progress of the 25 goals connected to the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, which are reported annually to the legislature. The 2013 Annual Report can be accessed on the Vermont Food System Atlas—the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, Network, and food and farm inventory website.

In 2013, more than $70 million in public, quasi-public and philanthropic loans and grants were made available to Vermont farm and food businesses, in addition to the private lending and owner equity that has gone into fueling these expansions.

In January 2011, when the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan was released, an economic analysis (using REMI, the same revenue forecast calculator used by the State of Vermont) indicated that with every 5 percent increase in food production in the state, 1,700 new jobs would be created. Goal #1 of the Farm to Plate plan is to increase Vermonters’ local food consumption from 5 to 10 percent over ten years.

Erica Campbell, Farm to Plate’s program director, coordinates the 300+ organizations and businesses within the Farm to Plate Network responsible for implementing the Strategic Plan. “The Network was formed just over two years ago and its impacts are already tangible—by working together collaboratively, we will reach the 25 goals of Farm to Plate faster than we could by working alone,” she says.

Chuck Ross, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Market adds, “Vermont’s Farm to Plate Network has emerged as a national model in its effectiveness in initiating and supporting changes in our local and regional food systems. As a result of our Farm to Plate conversation we are seeing the growth and evolution of a community-based food system that is growing healthy food, new jobs, and sustainable communities. The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and all the various Vermont and regional partners are to be congratulated for this nationally leading collaboration.”

What does a person’s future look like without a post-secondary education? In all likelihood, it’s going to be tougher for many reasons. Let’s face it, the days of only having a high school diploma are long gone. But here in Vermont, an alarming number of students are still not furthering their education. While Vermont’s high school graduation rate is significantly higher than the national average, the percentage of Vermont graduates who go on to college is much lower.

Despite having one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country, only 53 percent of Vermont high school graduates go right from high school to college. Fayneese Miller, dean of the UVM College of Education and Social Services, said in an interview with VPR that about 60 percent of Vermont high school students enroll in college within 16 months of graduation. Still, those figures are below the national average, and are the lowest in New England.

Last week, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced the statewide launch of Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs) for all Vermont students. The goal of the PLP program is to create a path for all Vermont students toward post-secondary education.

That’s good news. I applaud Governor Shumlin and Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe for their efforts and commitment to helping students plan beyond high school. It’s also worth noting that the newly expanded Vermont Dual Enrollment Plan can provide some affordable options and access. At the University of Vermont, we offer an extensive summer college program for high school juniors and seniors who can earn college credit, explore campus life, and beginning in 2014, take up to two college courses tuition-free over two years under Vermont’s Dual Enrollment Program.

Last year, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 77 – the Flexible Pathways Bill – to expand Vermont’s Dual Enrollment Program by offering Vermont students up to two college courses tuition-free at several Vermont colleges, including UVM. Overseen by the Vermont Agency of Education, Vermont’s Dual Enrollment Program introduces college-level work to high school students and gives them a head start on college. The Dual Enrollment program is open to Vermont high school students who attend public schools.

A summer college program gives high school juniors and seniors an early start by helping them experience the challenge of a college-level course while earning college credit. High school students may explore career fields with professors who are leading experts, enroll in classes with other high school college students, and earn transferable college credit.

The University of Vermont is dedicated to affordability and access. With the help of Vermont’s Dual Enrollment program, a summer college program can help open the door for Vermont high school students who might not otherwise consider college as an option.

A tweet from best-selling author Michael Pollan changed Rex Manchester’s life.

“Breakthrough Leaders Program in food systems at UVM opening enrollment for this summer,” Pollan shared on his Twitter feed. That was all it took. In less than 140 characters, Pollan’s tweet set Manchester on a new career path to food systems and public health.

A Cornell graduate with a degree in economics, Manchester’s heart has always been with food, health, and renewable energy. The Denver resident was aware of Vermont’s commitment to a sustainable food system and its innovative approach to support local food. Even though he had never visited Vermont, reading Pollan’s tweet prompted the 28-year-old to register for UVM’s Breakthrough Leaders in Sustainable Food Systems.

“I chose UVM because I’ve heard so much about Vermont and how food independent it was compared to other places in the country,” said Manchester, who previously worked in fitness education, nutrition, and wellness. “I had heard about the program through Michael Pollan’s tweet and looked into it further. In so many of the readings I’ve done on food systems, Vermont is consistently featured as a model for success.”

The Power of FoodThe Breakthrough Leaders in Food Systems Certificate Program is an online and on-campus program addressing problems and opportunities relating to sustainable food systems and leadership.

Manchester said he enjoyed the program’s opportunity to learn with a diverse group of students from a variety of career and educational backgrounds. Taking an in-depth look at Vermont’s food systems, interacting with farmers, and hearing their stories inspired Manchester to make a career change.

Since returning to Denver, Manchester has worked with an organic wholesaler to connect small, sustainable organic farms with commercial markets. “I’ve developed relationships with farmers, done farm tours and visits, and truly feel that UVM’s program has helped set me on a path to change the food system and start drawing parallels between what we learned in Vermont and what I see here on the ground,” he said.

Manchester is now setting his sights on applying to graduate school for a master of public health with a focus on healthy food.

“With the experiences that I’ve had in the last couple years in Denver and through UVM’s program, I’ve decided I can be challenged the most and make the biggest overall impact by going for a public health master’s degree,” he said. “After completing the UVM Breakthrough Leaders program, I kept thinking about the helpful ways to improve the health of a community. I kept asking myself, what’s the best way to solve so many issues that are important to me – mental health, obesity, substance abuse? It always kept coming back to food.”

Inspired by Vermont
While in Vermont, Manchester took notice of the Green Mountain State’s hands-on, educational, and passionate approach to local food. For example, Vermont has the highest number of farmers’ markets and CSAs per capita than any other state. It’s also consistently ranked as one of the healthiest and greenest states in the nation, a fact that doesn’t surprise Manchester in the least.

His four weeks in Vermont influenced Manchester to pursue a master of public health degree with a focus on nutrition and agriculture. “I’m going into public health to learn the tools to help communities in need through healthy, sustainable food. I want the skills a master’s in public health will bring, but through more of a nutrition and agricultural lens.”

Ultimately, Manchester sees himself working at a not-for-profit agency and doing research for public health policy to help implement community programs.

While he isn’t sure where he will pursue his graduate degree, Manchester said he’ll always remember the sense of community he felt in Vermont.

“In Vermont I experienced something I’ve never felt anywhere else. People in Vermont care about each other, and they care about their land and their neighbors,” he said. “When you are in a place where people care about where they live, their health, and their community, then you have something really special.