Monthly Archives: September 2011

Technology and your Traveling Practice – CR



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Out on the road, and across the country, people travel to do business. With these travels comes, of course, the advantages of technology- easing our everyday lives. Dentistry, as a growing profession, also takes people out on the road, helping and working in new and unfamiliar areas. This is where technology comes in handy, especially for those in this industry.

Find out where you’re going

Technology is great for finding out where you’re going. GPS isn’t just limited to the device you put on your dash nowadays, it is held in your hand too. A smartphone is an amazing device, and most series, such as the iPhone and the Droid readily carry these apps. If you’re on the road, knowing where you’re going is very important. But it isn’t limited to just finding the right path, especially once you’re there. Finding your way around a new and often unfamiliar area can be difficult, unless you know where to go.

So what if you’re flying? Well, here such things as your iPod, mp3 player, smartphone and even the Nook can keep us electronically entertained during a long term flight. You can jam while you read the latest bestselling novel.

Planning the stay

This is where planning comes into play. A busy schedule balanced with your own personal desires to let your legs wander the new town takes some organization. The old analog planners (notebook and pen) have been replaced by laptops and even handheld notebooks specific for organization. The technological advances allow us to plan our day, to make the most of it, and are definitely a must for any modern traveler.

Now consider where you’re staying. A simple call or message can often ensure that your lodgings are ready to go, and even when it comes to selecting, you can visit places online before you even see them in person.

Pulling Teeth

So how do these electronic devices help a person in dentistry? Well, consider the fact that you are headed to a new area, looking to make the tooth fairy rich and keep people smiling pretty, but you neither know the town, nor the people. This is where technology comes in handy. Social media offers one of the easiest and largest windows to the public. Using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and even personal blogs, can allow your new patients to get a “feel” for you. It is always nice to know who you’re working with, and keep in mind that people want someone they trust working around their mouths (I know I do).

This is where the almighty laptop and smartphone can greatly assist you. You can keep in touch with clients, and even learn about your new surroundings. It is good to explore and experience more than just the physical aspect of your travels; take in the people and feelings too.

Technology is a great tool, especially for the modern day traveler. Wagons and horses are indeed a fancy delight, but they won’t get you as far as a smart phone and a jet plane. But what it comes down to is making your journey enjoyable, removing the pressure of work from your trip, and try to enjoy your time in a new and interesting place.

Business Trip Feels Like Home



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Though your job can take you places, it still feels like work. Business meetings, paperwork, and time spent looking over and reading documents can make you feel like you’ve been taken away from your comfortable home and now you still have a job to do. But what if you could make your business trip seem more like a vacation? It can easily be accomplished with the right planning and the right mindset (see the glass half full).


Plan to enjoy

Planning always makes a difference. Ask any business person. So why not plan to have fun too? Research the new area you are going to be in. Look into sights to see, and places to dine so that you can have a good idea of what you may be interested in doing while you’re there.

Your trip is going to take you somewhere new, so why not use some vacation time at the end of your journey? Take a later flight back and enjoy the sights and sounds. Lots of times, people get to where they’re going, stop long enough for business and hop on back home. Tack on a few vacation days at the end of your trip as a breather, and stop to smell the roses.

Even if you don’t have vacation time, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the sights. Try scheduling meetings for mornings and lunch, so that it will leave your afternoons and evenings free and clear for you to do some exploring, or even spend time with some friends (make new friends, great idea for business owners).

Bring a few special things

There are some things you can bring with you to make your trip feel more comfortable. Consider what makes home feel like- home. Often it is the small things that come to mind, such as pictures, your bed, your couch, or even a game system, depending on your interests. Well, these things don’t have to stay at home, they can come with you. Pictures that remind us of loved ones always add a bit of color to any room. Your pillow, the very thing you spend time with every night is always a great way to make your stay more comfortable.

But what about family? Well, if they can make the trip with you, all the better. Family and friends are always great to have around, and will liven up any trip. This is a great chance to use those vacation days too!

Where you are matters

So where are you going to set that familiar pillow? Corporate housing is one of the homiest places to reside and are great for business trips. They keep you from hotel hopping and living off of room service or fast food (not very healthy). These places offer a living space that is just like home. A kitchen, bedrooms, and all the amenities that make home (minus the people and pictures, which you must bring) feel comfortable. What’s great, is that corporate housing offers space for your family, and becomes more like home with their addition, rather than getting cramped up in hotels. With you family there, and the space you need, this is definitely a time to take a short vacation, check out the sights, and spend some time with your family and friends.

Traveling Medical Professions – Why Use Corporate Housing?



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The medical career can be difficult, and traveling for your job often makes it far more challenging. That’s why it is important that you enjoy your stay. How you feel and what you experience while you’re on the road can change your perspective about your line of work. When you get home, you get to lay back, kick off your shoes and enjoy some rest, but that can be hard to achieve out on business. Corporate housing is a great way to feel comfortable during your stay, so you can enjoy your trip rather than find it stressful.

Experience

Corporate housing offers more than just some simple place to rest your head at night. It is likened to a place much like home. Here you possess such accommodations like a furnished kitchen, living quarters, bathrooms, and even special requested options such as desks and office equipment. Your housing is just that- housing. It isn’t a hotel where a multitude of people stay or children run around in the room above you preventing you from sleeping (nightshift knows what I’m talking about). Even parking is individual; sometimes garages are available for use. Regarding business and entertainment, internet and television networks are readily available to you. Depending on what type of housing you settle in, you may find yourself in a complex, or even an actual home which is great if your family joins you.

Expensive?

Corporate housing isn’t as expensive as it might seem. Contracts are dependent on how long you want to stay and are often negotiable throughout. Because the housing furnishes your kitchen and other essentials of home living, you don’t have to spend your cash on room service or eating at the local diner every day.

Don’t be fooled by long-term hotels though, as they are quite different from corporate housing. These locations don’t offer the commodities that housing offers, such as fully furnished kitchens, safe parking and are often quite expensive by themselves. You may find yourself spending a lot more here than you would at a corporate home- food and laundry being some of the everyday needs we don’t always consider.

Savings

Staying in a long-term hotel or suite can definitely run up the bills. Most options they offer are indeed just that- costly options. Valet parking, Laundromat and dry cleaning, and room service (don’t reach in that fridge or it’ll cost you at least five bucks). Corporate housing offers these things along with your room. Because everything is furnished for your living needs, you aren’t dependent on options and can live a flexible schedule without intrusion. You are able to save your money and don’t have to rely on a waiter or a bell boy every day.

Traveling medical professionals know what it’s like to need some peace and quiet, especially when working nights. Corporate housing offers them not only a comfortable home to catch the Z’s, but it’s also more financially efficient.

Traveling for Business When Your Children are Small



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Just about any line of work may require you to travel at some point, but how do you prepare for it, especially if you have young children? It isn’t easy to leave your kids at home and sometimes it may not always be an option. Preparing yourself and your children for your business trip depends on what your situation offers you. There are many variables to consider before you decide what needs to be done to prepare for your business travels.

Your spouse


Young children should definitely not be left alone, as you well know. So consider what your spouse or significant other has planned. Are they going to travel with you, or will they have work to attend to while you’re gone? If they will be traveling with you, childcare won’t pose much problem, but that doesn’t mean that it will be problem free. Perhaps they too have work or situations to manage during your travels.

If you will be traveling alone with your kids, other options must be considered, such as daycare centers. This takes a lot of investigating, as a new town with new people will take some getting used to. The internet is definitely handy, allowing you to check out references and investigate potential centers. In addition, consider showing up a few days early so that you can see the location for yourself and make the best decision for your children.

For how long and how far

Travels take us to new towns, but how far are you going? Traveling with your children isn’t as easy as a solo journey (although it can be more interesting). You’ll need to adjust yourself to fulfilling their needs as well, such as eating, entertainment and bathroom breaks. Don’t forget to interact with them concerning the trip, make sure that they are going to be okay about it, and consider what they may want to do during the stay.

The next thing to consider is how long your stay is going to be. Depending on what line of work you’re in, you may be staying for a weekend or a month. You’ll need to find comfort for not only you, but your children as well. Corporate housing offers a great solution to your comfort needs, and it’ll be a lot better than hotel hopping. These facilities offer a home-like atmosphere that serves the needs of your family.

Family helps

Everybody needs a wild-card sometimes. Consider if your family is also going to be traveling simultaneously. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles all come in handy, especially when you’re traversing the world with a handful of children. Don’t underestimate the value of family, so consider investigating the option of a relative traveling with you during your trips (hey, they may find it exciting too).

Traveling with your children- especially younger rascals- takes some getting used to. An extra hand is always helpful, but sometimes you just have to help yourself. Preparing for and knowing what to expect during your trip will help you better adapt and ensure that your family is taken care of while you’re taking care of business.

Using Technology to Navigate Your Travels – Traveling Physicians



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As roads twist and turn throughout our journeys, we may often find ourselves lost if not for our technology (and an occasional gas attendant). Traveling brings us to new places, often very unfamiliar and even strange. Luckily our technological advances have done more than upgrade our entertainment systems, they have made our pathway clear.

Internet

There are an assortment of devices that you can use to help you navigate your travels. The classic way is of course to get the old road map out- but with the Internet, the map is readily available to you. Using your good old laptop can help you choose the best route before you ever get on the road. Google offers one of the most popular used sites to help you choose which road to take.

Here you can organize and print out maps to follow. While this is not a device you can necessarily utilize on the road, it can play a vital role in the planning stages of a trip and ensure your safety.

Global positioning

GPS devices that you plug into your car are still amongst the best traveling companions available. Choosing a destination is relatively easy, and you can watch yourself traverse the roads and highways on an instant basis. While these devices can be somewhat expensive, their ability to help you find and locate rest areas, gas stations, and even food are a blessing when it comes to traveling in unfamiliar territory. Some even offer traffic information to help you adjust your direction and avoid sitting still.

Smartphone

Of course there is the ultimate device- the epitome of handy technology to date. The smartphone offers so many applications, such as GPS, allowing you to find out where you are with the touch of a screen. Because Internet is readily available to these devices, you can search maps and locations in areas that have yet to be seen. Even research about your destination is convenient (just not while you’re driving).

Smartphones also offer the benefit of weather updates, traffic, and even road closures on a quick and effective basis. These devices keep you connected to the world via news channels through apps such as Facebook and Twitter. News channels can be some of the most insightful locations to frequent, especially because most people have satellite radio or mp3 players plugged into their dash. News applications are a big plus for any traveler, especially if you don’t know what to expect out of the weather.

Pay attention

Unfortunately for us, technology also offers a bit of distraction as well. Often we can find ourselves clicking on our GPS device or trying to plug our smartphones in. As you drive, you must always practice road safety and trust yourself before your gadgets. If you find yourself struggling with a device, pull over to the side of the road and correct any problems.

As the roads can change- sometimes slipping by the intelligence of technology, we must remember our own common sense. Safety comes first in all things- especially when it comes to technology and the road.

SITORSQUAT.COM – CR



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We all do it while we travel- yes, we snack. We drink our soda and coffee and chomp down on some crunchy nuts. But what does that lead to? Oh yeah, it’s time to get to a bathroom. Whether you’re a traveling nurse or dentist, the road takes us to such unacquainted places far away from the familiarity of our own toilet, so what must we do? Rest stops and convenience stores don’t always offer the deluxe version toilet and sink, but it is often nice to at least know where one is.

Sitorsquat.com is a website that is growing in popularity amongst travelers. The site displays not only where the nearest toilet is, but also offers ratings about its sanitation. It can be nice, especially if you have to sit to do your business, to know what conditions you’re going to be spending the next five minutes in (shorter if it smells).

As an addition, you can add new toilets to the site; say for instance if you come upon a new store or stop that has added a place to relieve yourself. You can also add your own ratings, and leave comments, helping the site to grow in accuracy. As a member, you can even personalize your own settings, per-say that you don’t want to sit or even stand in an area that rates low (perhaps a little filthy) so you adjust your likings to track down a relief spot that meets your standards.

Simple Solution

Overall, the site is relatively simple and can be used from either a standing device such as a laptop or a desktop (if you have one of those, it’s likely you may not be far from a toilet). But the biggest help comes from the smartphone applications ready for iPhone, Blackberry, and even for SMS and texting use. Their website has the downloadable application available at the click of a button, and also offers video tutorials to help you navigate the use of the app. While the iPhone and Blackberry are easily used via tracking, SMS and texting require you use their number and they will find your nearest location, giving you directions to the nearest toilet through texting. Hopefully the Droid will find its way onto the list in the future.

This site is extremely valuable to people who travel around, or are exploring new cities. If you don’t have a Smartphone, use of the site would be somewhat limited, but you can always use your laptop to find general hotspots, and even get an idea of where you may need to run to when you’re exploring.

For traveling physicians and physical therapists, this can often be a bladder saver, especially when you’ve just gotten into town for work and are still exploring the area. Larger cities can indeed offer the scenic walk, which is great for physical therapists who may be out and about on a morning jog through the park or a relaxing walk with a patient. Often times you may find yourself, or even a patient, in sudden need of relief, which sitorsquat.com can guide you quickly to the nearest bathroom to suit your needs.