How to Make Winning Medical Nutrition Therapy Goals

A common misconception about type 1 and type 2 diabetes is that there is one common meal and nutritional plan all diabetics can share. Having a customized eating plan and nutritional program is a must for diabetics. Not every person diagnosed with diabetes will have the same Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) Goals.Why Are Medical Nutrition Therapy Goals Important?Medical Nutrition Therapy Goals are set to reach your desired metabolic outcome, like blood sugar and HbA1c readings. Proper nutritional therapy can prevent and treat the complications associated with diabetes, improve food choices, and address individual nutritional needs.How Are Medical Nutrition Therapy Goals Determined?MNT goals can be determined by a licensed dietitian, a diabetes educator, or a nurse. The chosen specialist will do a detailed assessment of all aspects of your life… so be prepared. Things taken into consideration when setting MNT goals include:
foods you like/dislike
your job
what you do for fun
typical amount of calories and
regular nutritional intake
How willing you are to make meaningful changes may also be addressed.At the end of your assessment you will have a general idea of how many:
calories/kilojoules you need
calories/kilojoules should come from carbohydrates
grams of protein you need
You should also have been counseled on your activity level and exercise goals, which are an incredibly important part of managing your blood sugar levels.What If You Fall Off Your Nutritional Plan?If you slip up with your nutrition while attempting to reach your Medical Nutrition Therapy Goals don’t feel alone. You have eaten without diabetic restrictions your entire life, so it can be hard to stick with this new healthy lifestyle. If you fall off the wagon, dust yourself off and hop right back on. Try to determine why you couldn’t stick to your nutritional plan and how you can prevent slip-ups in the future.What If Medical Nutrition Therapy Goals Aren’t Being Reached?Benefits of following a customized diabetic meal plan can sometimes be seen in four weeks, however it’s not uncommon for it to take up to three months for positive results to start showing. At a follow up assessment nutritional changes may be made and MNT goals adjusted if results were not as expected.If your body is not responding to your nutritional plan as expected, your dietitian or nutritionist will try to determine the cause. Be sure to tell your specialist if you haven’t been able to follow and stick to your nutritional plan. He may be able to offer alternatives or suggestions that will help you succeed in reaching these goals.If you are not making progress and you feel you are giving it your all, it may be time to find a new specialist. Sometimes the practitioner and you might not “click”… causing important points to fall through the cracks. While you are ultimately accountable for your goals, it’s OK to find another “partner” if the relationship isn’t working out.

Nursing Careers – What Is Mental Health Nursing?

Mental health nursing is a field of nursing that delves into psychiatry, caring and assisting mentally challenged people. A mentally ill individual requires a lot of caring, empathy compassion and support in addition to administering treatment. Since mental patients are often stigmatized, supporting them and making them feel important restores normalcy the patient had before hisher illness. Common mental disorders include Alzheimer’s, dementia, bipolar disorder and epilepsy. A complete list of mental ailments can be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.The stigma associated with mental health is gradually reducing thus there is an increase in the demand for mental health nurses and psychiatrists. A mental health career is satisfactory personally and financially it has its perks even though it is complex and demanding as it involves dealing with the human mind. Nurses specializing in this field have been quoted as earning over $80,000 dollars a year besides having same number of titles as a doctor.Mental health nurses are required to have an impeccable knowledge of human behavior in order to be able to handle violent patients. They also need to have knowledge of the law as it will benefit them when dealing with police or other relevant authorities.To become a mental health nurse one is required to possess communication and interaction skills such as listening, talking and writing in addition to knowing medicine and anatomy. One is required to also be empathetic and understanding because of the nature of patients being dealt with. Mental patients need help in doing ordinary tasks such as bathing, grooming or engaging in leisure activities. They need to express their thoughts like everyone else so a nurse should be prepared to listen to them without being judgmental. The nurse should also be prepared to support the patients through therapy in order to ensure their recovery. Thus one should carefully consider why he/she should become a mental health nurse and not do it just because of the money.The career path to becoming a mental health nurse requires four years degree training course and to be a registered nurse. The syllabus includes biology, nursing theory, stigma, discrimination, law and policy, psychotherapy, developmental psychology, team- working and care management. After that, you need a master’s degree in order to become anAdvanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) or Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP).Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) assess clients, create healthcare plans and ensure all the patients’ needs are catered. They also meet with the patient’s family and assist in communication between all parties and the doctor in charge. In addition, they can arrange for counseling sessions and run group therapy sessions.A PMHNP is concerned about improving the patient’s physical health besides bettering a patient’s mental health. A PMHNP also needs to know substance abuse counseling because many patients try to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol.A Registered Nurse with experience in mental health nursing can sit for the certified Nurse Specialist in Psychiatric Mental Health (CNS-PMH) exam. This certification can help one in getting a pay increase. There are also some mental health nursing programs available online.

The Rise of Online Payment Gateways

The cashless payment system is growing exponentially with evolving payment methods, rising e-commerce use, enhanced broadband connectivity, and emergence of new technologies. Can increasing incidences of cyberattacks and spams hamper the growth of online payment market or will it continue to grow at a rapid rate?

The global digital payment industry is expected to hit the USD6.6 trillion mark in 2021, registering around a 40% jump in two years. The cashless payment methods are rapidly evolving with ground-breaking innovations such as mobile wallets, peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payments, real-time payments, and cryptocurrencies. In the growing digital age, many payment technology companies are collaborating with traditional financial institutions to cater to the latest consumer and merchant preferences. Due to enhanced broadband connectivity, increasing mobile commerce, emergence of new technologies such as Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and rapid digitization, billions of people have started embracing contactless payments in both developed and emerging countries. Besides, surging e-commerce businesses, digital remittances, digital business payments, and mobile B2B payments are boosting the non-cash transaction ecosystem.

Cashless transaction method users across various generations are widely adopting the digital peer-to-peer (P2P) apps as they are more appealing and flexible to use. In-app payments or tap-and-go transactions take seconds at the checkout and allow users to make payments anytime and anywhere. Tokenization, encryption, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), etc., offer multiple ways of securing payments while enabling digital transactions. Moreover, the users do not have to fill in information every time to complete the payment process. Thus, online payment gateways play a crucial role in the economic growth, enabling trade in the modern economy. With social distancing rules in place, digital payments have become an obligation for contactless transactions rather than just a transaction alternative to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Digital Commerce Empowering Businesses
Electronic payment systems have become a crucial part of businesses as consumer inclination towards online shopping is expanding. With broadening internet penetration, increasing use of smartphones, and diverse options for e-transactions, most consumers are preferring online channels over traditional brick-and-mortar stores for shopping. Therefore, businesses are shifting online with an electronic payment solution to maximize their profit earnings. Automating the electronic payment system eliminates the scope of errors and saves a considerable amount of time and effort. High standards for detecting and preventing fraud in digital transaction systems and AI-based fraud detections protect users from security breaches. By providing the flexibility for making payments through credit/debit cards, mobile money, e-Wallet, etc., the businesses can expand their customer base. The electronic payment process improves customer satisfaction as customers do not need to count cash or deal with paperwork whenever they want to make the transaction.

Biometric Authentication Enhancing Security
Biometric authentication involves recognizing biometric features and structural characteristics to verify the identification of an individual. The verification method can involve fingerprint scanning, facial recognition, voice recognition, vein mapping, iris detection, and heartbeat analysis. With the rise in identity theft and fraud, biometric authentication has become a reliable and secure alternative for making digital transactions. According to a recent research, biometrically verified mobile commerce transactions are expected to constitute a massive 57% of the total biometric transaction by 2023. Biometric payment cards are also becoming popular as they support tap-and-go payments, allowing users to make faster digital transactions. The digital payment technology provider, Worldline is partnering up with the French FinTech, A3BC (Anything Anywhere Anytime Biometric Connection), to protect mobile phones from intrusion with a two-factor authentication process. The combined solution eliminates identification through a single touch, rather it recognizes fingerprints through a picture of the hand. MasterCard is planning to bring FinGo’s vein-scanning payment solution that facilitates users to authenticate transactions.

Dominance of Mobile Wallets
In 2019, mobile wallets overtook credit cards to become the highly adopted payment type globally. Digital wallets offer flexibility to users to store multiple payment methods in one digital home and turn cash into electronic money required for online or in-store purchases. Financial institutions have already started to embrace the digital wallet trend by offering virtual cards to business customers. The virtual cards stored in digital wallets consist of details like 16-digit card number, CVV code, date of expiry and work just like the physical plastic card. Currently, only 37% of merchants support mobile payments at the point of sale, but with the rising adoption, merchants are willing to invest in technologies facilitating digital wallets. The virtual wallets can save money due to low processing costs as they limit transaction values and frequency. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is improving the user experience with regards to transactions with ChatBots, designed to execute and robotize essential exchanges as per the user’s interest. Besides, cryptographic money-based e-wallets are being embraced by new companies to small-medium organizations for storing digital money. Smart voice technology is contributing to the growth of smart voice wallets ever since Amazon propelled the principle of this platform, which is now being followed by Google and Apple.

E-Commerce Boom Accelerating Digital Payment Market Growth
E-commerce growth at an exponential rate is creating shock waves, and the sonic boom is reverberating across the FinTech sector. The growth of many e-commerce companies is driven by the kind of financial services they provide. Digital transactions make it convenient for the buyer and seller to make transactions and remain loyal to the market space. The COVID-19 pandemic added a different dimension to e-commerce innovation, introducing newer trends such as payment alternatives at checkouts (not with digital wallets), virtual cards, QR codes, and other touchless transactions. Besides, the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) trend is dominating the e-commerce industry as it relieves the financial burden on the buyer. BNPL involves a soft credit check, so the consumers can buy what they need, keep the inventory moving, and pay overtime without affecting their credit score. BNPL provides businesses with much-needed liquidity and greater flexibility at the checkout.

Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Payment Market Growth
Digital payment systems have moved beyond their peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and bill payments. The COVID-19 pandemic allowed digital payment systems to showcase their strengths, such as a strong understanding of hyper-local markets and its ability to establish strong local partnerships. Businesses and consumers increasingly “went digital” for providing and purchasing goods and services online. When the pandemic hit, people did not want to touch or exchange cash due to the paranoia of catching the infection from physical currencies. Several governments around the world introduced digital financial transfers to provide COVID-assistance. Owing to lockdown measures, consumers shifted to online platforms, which catapulted the demand for digital payment systems. Now, digital platforms have become an essential component of people’s lives, and consumers are more likely to continue shopping online in the post-pandemic period. The dramatic shift in consumer behavior is likely to augment the demand for e-payment systems even more. Therefore, companies are focusing their attention on digital mediums to meet the new customer demands and thrive businesses in the changing market scenario. Organizations are reimagining customer journeys to reduce friction and provide new security features. Payment companies such as PayPal and Square Cash are staffing up across the board to better understand the rearrangement of societal norms and stabilize the business in the near future.

e-Payment Systems are the Future
With increasing smartphone and internet penetration, consumers are becoming tech-savvy, which presents endless opportunities for the digital payment markets. Post-pandemic, digital payment systems are anticipated to continue to flourish over the years to come. While cards remain the first choice for payments around the world, mobile wallets are quickly gaining traction. The traditional cash flow is declining in bank branches and ATMs, demonstrating a power move towards a cashless society. Currently, China dominates the global mobile wallet consumption, followed by South Korea. However, there are still many countries that are highly dependent on cash due to lack of trust towards financial institutions and lack of proper broadband infrastructure, etc. In the near future, social media-initiated payments, biometric payments, voice-activated payments are likely to become mainstream in developing countries as well.

Cybersecurity and Privacy Concerns with Online Payment Solutions
Cybersecurity and privacy threats have become a troubling concern with the increasing incidences of online fraud. According to the Mastercard survey, one out of four consumers experienced some kind of fraud in 2020, ramping up the cybercrime rate by 49%. In the first half of 2020, online scams increased by 73.8% from 2019. However, adopting new-age technologies such as multifactor authentication, biometrics, 3D security, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning can help control fraudulent activities such as phishing, virus attacks, etc. Shifting to contactless cards, QR codes, and tokenization can also help mitigate risks associated with digital payment solutions. Besides, sensitizing end-users about the secure application of e-payment solutions through amplifying efforts towards building financial literacy can help to prevent frauds. The emergence of mobile commerce and the evolution of e-payment platforms backed by robust security solutions can help to drive the goal of making the economy truly cash-less.

According to TechSci research report on “Global Payment Gateway Market By Type (Hosted, Self-hosted & Bank Integrated), By Enterprise Size (SME and Large Enterprise), By End-User (Retail, Travel & Hospitality, Healthcare, Education, Government, Utilities & Others), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2026″, the global payment gateway market is expected to cross USD15 billion mark in 2019, registering a CAGR of 22% by 2026. The growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for online transactions, rising broadband connectivity, and exponential growth of e-commerce across the world.