If you want to keep your equipment in top shape for next season, here are a couple of important steps you can follow to extend the life of your mower and keep it working hard for years to come:
* Change the oil and the oil filter. This easy step can give you an opportunity to check the system for contaminants as well as ensure youll start the next mowing season off with fresh oil. Be sure to drain the old oil while the engine is still warm to get a complete flush and prevent any contaminants from settling back in the oil pan.
* When storing your mower, John Deere recommends either emptying your tank or adding a fuel stabilizer. Because fuel can begin to decompose after being dormant for a month, the stabilizer will help protect against clogs in the carburetor from old fuel. After you add the stabilizer, run the engine for five minutes.
* Now is the perfect time to tighten all the nuts and bolts and to check all belts, filters and safety shields. Repair and treat scratched or chipped metal surfaces, and apply a light coat of engine oil to pivot and wear points to prevent rust.
* Consult the manufacturers operator manual for any other winter storage suggestions (for example, you may need to check the battery and the electrolyte levels). Then be sure to store your mower in a safe, dry area or with a waterproof cover if stored outside.
When its time to bring your mower out of hibernation, be sure to check the tire pressure and all fluid levels to ensure your equipment is ready to go. Then run the engine at low to medium idle for a couple of minutes so the oil can get redistributed throughout the engine.
By following these simple tips, your mower should be in perfect condition and ready to go come next spring.
Courtesy of ARA Content
About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
Attention Job Seekers: A Remarkable Career Opportunity ARA(ARA) - With thousands of American jobs being lost abroad to foreign workers and record levels of unemployment in many areas of the country, its understandable that many young people attempting to enter todays job market view their future with trepidation.
Nevertheless, there is at least one remarkable career opportunity that is largely unrecognized by students and others seeking a career change. That opportunity involves my profession, which carries this typical job description:
* Starting salary in the $30,000 to $45,000 range.
* Flexible hours and comprehensive benefit package.
* Excellent job security and opportunities for advancement.
* Challenging, meaningful and fulfilling work.
* Employment opportunities nationwide in large cities and small towns.
* Signing bonuses with experience.
Im a perioperative nurse -- also known as an operating room nurse -- but, the above job descriptors also apply to registered nurses in many of the nearly two dozen specialties offered by the nursing profession.
Hospitals are just one of the many areas where todays nurses care for patients. And, the versatile skills required of nurses put them on equal footing with all health care professionals.
Perioperative nurses work in hospital surgery departments, ambulatory surgery units, clinics and physicians offices. They are relied upon for their professional judgment and critical thinking skills. They are the surgical patients advocate, working closely with family members and fellow health care professionals. In short, they plan, implement and evaluate the nursing care of the patient.
An added bonus: Skills developed as a nurse are some of the most valuable and transferable assets found in todays workplace. This includes high tech computer and communication skills, as well as leadership, problem-solving and organizational skills.
The demands of a nursing career require a person who can be caring and empathetic, but who also is capable of making critical decisions based on available information.
To become a perioperative nurse, you must first graduate from a state approved nursing program and pass the nurse license exam to become a registered nurse (RN). State nursing programs can be either a four-year bachelors degree program or a two-year associate degree.
While there is a commitment to achieving the education needed to reap the many benefits of the nursing profession, the good news is that there will be a job waiting when you complete your education.
The federal government estimates that more than 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed in the United States by 2010. The current nursing shortage is expected to intensify, with nearly every state in the country (44 states) expected to have shortages by the year 2020.
There are a number of reasons for this predicted long-term shortage of nurses. The much publicized baby-boom bubble will require increasingly intense health care services for an aging population at a time when nursing colleges and universities are struggling to maintain enrollments. And, Americas nursing population is aging, with about one-half of the current RN workforce reaching retirement age in the next 13 years.
The shortage also feeds on itself, leading to increasing turnover because of increasing demands and fewer health care professionals to meet the demands. When forced to assume responsibility for more patients than they feel they can safely care for, some nurses experience emotional burnout and leave the profession.
But, in many areas of the country, the shortage is not about the sheer numbers of nurses, but about nurses -- such as perioperative nurses -- who possess the needed specialties, skills and experience to cope in the increasingly complex and technologically-advanced health care arena. As national president of AORN, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, I am proud to say that the organization and its members throughout the country are working diligently with schools, lawmakers and others to address the nursing shortage.
Now is an excellent time to consider a career in nursing. There are reports of some hospitals giving signing bonuses of up to $14,000 to attract experienced RNs. Last August, President Bush signed into law the Nurse Reinvestment Act to combat the nursing shortage. While not yet fully funded, the new law is expected to provide millions of dollars in scholarship money to attract new students into nursing.
The current nursing shortage and increased complexity of the health care system have created a broad selection of challenging career choices never before seen in the profession. There is increased compensation and increased professional respect for nurses. But what has remained constant in the profession is what attracted me to nursing 35 years ago -- the enormous personal satisfaction and pleasure that comes from helping others.
Courtesy of ARA Content
EDITORS NOTE: Perioperative Nurse Week will be celebrated from November 9 to15 this year. The theme for 2003 is Perioperative Nurses: Providing Safe Patient Care In the OR and Beyond.
Betty Shultz is president of AORN, the professional organization of perioperative registered nurses. The organizations mission is to promote quality patient care by providing its members with education, standards, services, and representation. AORN is composed of more than 41,000 perioperative registered nurses in the United States and abroad who manage, teach, and practice perioperative nursing; who are enrolled in nursing education; and who are engaged in perioperative research. Perioperative nursing practice is defined as those activities performed by the professional nurse in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of the patients surgical experience.
AORN provides continuing education opportunities for perioperative nurses through seminars; clinical articles in the AORN Journal; and its annual Congress, which offers technical and scientific exhibits and educational sessions by speakers recognized in their fields. AORN publishes SSM-Surgical Services Management and hosts SSM Online, both featuring information about trends in management and the surgical environment. For more information about AORN, log onto AORN Online at www.aorn.org or www.ssmonline.org.
About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
New Product Offers Benefits for Singles ARA(ARA) - According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 80 million singles in America today. Many singles looking to find a perfect mate dont always find the dating scene fun. Many find it downright stressful.
52 Card Pick Up -- a new product aimed at the singles market specifically for breaking the ice and making an introduction -- was designed to help ease some of the stresses of dating.
Packaged like a deck of cards, 52 Card Pick Up features 52 different conversation starters ranging from open-ended questions such as What are you waiting for? and Sushi on Saturday? to fill-in-the-blanks like Please join us because were celebrating and fun sayings such as Single seeking same. With space to write personal messages, the cards provide instant messaging capabilities at nightclubs, parties, gyms and more.
Not only are the cards popular with singles looking to have a good time, but many bars and restaurants are using the cards to drive business with promotions such as 52 Card Pick Up parties where decks are either provided as giveaways or sold to customers. These promotions not only drive people to an establishment to meet other singles -- they also have a positive track record of keeping people there.
The cards were developed by two former advertising professionals, Christa Sorauf and Lesley Johnson, who, after watching singles react in various social situations, saw an opportunity for new ways to break the ice.
We see so many people agonize over how to approach someone that theyre interested in, so we started developing our own ideas for success which led to 52 Card Pick Up, said Johnson.
After watching many men send round after round of drinks to women in bars without ever speaking to them, we thought, what if they had a really cool card that they could send over to break the ice? added Sorauf.
Four different 52 Card Pick Up decks -- Classic Collection of Really Good Lines, Collegiate Collection, Dude Deck and Babe Box -- are sold for approximately $6.95 at bars, nightclubs, specialty retailers and online at www.play52cardpickup.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
No comments:
Post a Comment