Tax Season and What It Means for Accountants

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Anyone who intends to become an accountant and enjoy the financial security that comes with the career should know about tax season. Many professional accountants, regardless of the other business-related tasks they perform, earn up to half their annual income during just a few months of the year.

Of course, individual situations vary, but accountants who focus their practice on taxation fall into one of two general categories: those who specialize in individual tax filing and those whose clients are primarily small businesses. From a professional standpoint, there’s a huge difference. That’s because personal income tax forms are filed once per year, in April. Business filings typically take place on a quarterly basis.

What do these financial experts do during tax season and how do they get prepared for what can be their busiest time of the year?

People who want to enter the accounting field need to arm themselves with a few essential facts about the daily work life of accountants. It’s smart to learn about the different tax cycles, find out how to prepare for the “April rush,” and become familiar with common tax terms and forms. In general, prospective accountants need to know what skills are required to survive a busy tax season.

What is Tax Season?

At least once per year, but maybe more than that, accountants remind everyone that it’s the “busy season.” That usually means overtime, some weekend work, lots of telephone time, and likely some additional client meetings.

Personal Tax Season: Individuals who don’t own businesses make up the largest portion of tax filers, without question. Newly employed accountants, whether in private practice or in the employment of firms, tend to spend most of their time on these cases. Personal tax preparation is less complicated than partnership and corporate filing, so that is the usual entry-level task.

The good news is that there is only one major season for personal filing, and that’s in mid-April each year. In fact, there’s a mini-season as October approaches because a decent number of personal filers get six-month extensions.

Accountants end up with a personal tax busy season that runs from about early March (when they start putting in extra hours on personal filing preparation) until mid-April when the official, heavy filing season is over.

Then, there’s another burst of activity getting ready to file the extended returns from about mid-September until the mid-October deadline. Preparers who do corporate and partnership returns face a different set of deadlines.

Business Tax Season: Many small business owners pay taxes quarterly, which means accountants who do those returns face smaller, but more frequent, filing times each year. The middle weeks of January, April, June and September are the quarterly-filing and paying deadlines for businesses.

Partnerships and corporations are more complicated tax filers, with complex returns and different deadlines. Experienced tax accountants work on these returns. Corporations with a calendar-year cycle, often called S-corps, face a March 15 filing deadline but often opt for a six-month extension. Partnerships that work on a calendar year have an April 15 deadline, but they also like to opt for a six-month extension.

What does that mean for accountants who do these complex returns? It translates into two busy periods; one from February through mid-April and another from August until mid-October.

How Do Accountants Prepare for Tax Season?

How does any business owner get ready for the busiest time of the year? Tax accountants are no different from other independent professionals in this regard. Indeed, auto sales agents, real estate brokers, nurses, painters, entertainers, doctors and hundreds of other people in business for themselves endure seasonal cycles, ups and downs in income that result in slow months and hectic ones. But because the U.S. government mandates tax filing deadlines, accountants probably have the most defined professional “season” of any employment sector.

An Accountant’s Checklist for Tax Season

Every year brings new challenges for tax accountants and it takes a solid month to be adequately prepared for the tax filing season. There are some annual checklist items that every accountant should attend to as the busy months approach:

Make sure software is up to date

All the big suppliers add a few bells and whistles from time to time so it’s a good idea to make sure everything is current.

Stay on top of any changes in the code

Tax accountants need to keep an eye on small and large changes in the U.S. tax code. For example, the most recent Tax Reform and Jobs Act (known as TCJA or “tick-ja” to accountants) includes extensive revisions to personal and business tax laws, so this will be a very busy year for professionals who do all kinds of filings.

Reconnect with clients

Accounting is a business and it’s vital to stay connected with the client base during the “off season.” But as tax deadlines approach and taxpayers begin to receive their documents in the mail, accountants need to gather up important items like W-2s, 1099s and other pieces of the filing packet.

Double-check on secure data transmission

Tax clients should have a secure data connection via the accountant’s website for uploading sensitive documents.

Common Terms and Forms for Tax Preparers and Advisors

Business and personal taxation issues can be quite different but there are plenty of important terms common to both. Each kind of filing has its own forms, deadlines and special obstacles for clients and accountants. The following terms and forms are part of the core elements of tax accounting:

AGI – Wages, dividends, capital gains and interest, minus the allowed business expenses, IRA contributions, alimony and moving costs is the standard verbal formula for this most common of all tax terms. It helps to have it committed to memory.

Tax credits – Like a coupon for “dollars off”the bottom-line price of a retail product, tax credits are amounts that get subtracted from a final tax bill.

Tax deductions – Not like a retail coupon, deductions are amounts the IRS allows taxpayers to subtract from AGI before arriving at “taxable income.”

Standard deduction – A set figure, in dollars, that people can deduct from their AGI in lieu of itemizing. The new tax laws in 2018 changed this number considerably.

Itemized deductions – For taxpayers who don’t want to take the standard deduction, itemization lets them reduce their AGI based on specifically chosen expenses they had during the tax year.

Form 1040 – For individuals and couples filing personal taxes. This is the so-called long form.

Form 1040A – For individuals and couples filing personal taxes. This is the so-called short form.

Form 1040EZ – Taxpayers who are joint filers, single filers and have no dependents can use this simple tax form.

Form 1040NR – The most common non-resident alien tax form.

Form 1040NR-EZ – For non-resident aliens who have zero dependents.

Survival Skills for Tax Accountants

Whether an accountant has one or four tax filing cycles per year, the “busy season” can be a challenge for those who aren’t prepared, both professionally and emotionally. Skills needed to survive tax season after tax season of the peaks and valleys of the profession are part personal and part professional.

Wise business owners make sure to stay aware of changes in the law and to take the required continuing education courses. Accounting is a career that calls for continuous improvement. The U.S. economy is fast-moving with dozens of different business types and tax treatments.

A competent accountant should be ready to acquire new skills and knowledge sets as the business environment changes. At a minimum, successful accountants should possess, or be ready to acquire, the following skills:

Organization – Organization, and “attention to detail,”are at the top of any list for tax accountants’ job skills. Prospective accountants need to either already be good organizers or be willing to learn the steps for getting there. With so many forms, deadlines, rules, changing legal landscapes, and other professional changes, the accountant who has weak organization skills is not ready for tax season. The time to acquire organizational ability and an eye for detail are during the academic portion of an accounting career.

Time Management – Closely related to organization, time management is a specific skill that anyone can learn. It’s about setting priorities, making lists, meeting deadlines and knowing how much time it takes to do common tasks.

A good example is tax season. Preparers with experience and keen organizational skills have learned from experience that it takes about four hours to complete a simple tax return from start to finish. Armed with that data, a tax preparer won’t schedule more than two returns for a typical work day.

Flexibility/Adaptability – Laws change, clients come and go, coworkers are sometimes hard to deal with, and no two days are exactly alike. By embracing change and staying on top of the industry’s changes, accountants can build flexibility and adaptability into their skill sets. That makes every day a little bit less stressful.

Communication: Even solo practitioners need high-grade communication skills. Tax and accounting are idea- and concept-rich fields. Practitioners must explain complex situations to clients in simple terms. Accounting firms thrive on clear, open lines of communication. Prospective tax accountants must sharpen their ability to communicate even before they go into the profession.

Integrity/Honesty – Accountants deal with other people’s money, sometimes great amounts of it. Being responsible for someone’s wealth, prosperity and financial security demands the highest level of integrity.

Many accounting firms ask for multiple letters of recommendation, conduct thorough background checks, and tolerate no financial impropriety. Potential clients often choose individual accountants or firms based on reputation, so an honest image and high level of personal integrity go a long way in the profession.

Accounting, and especially tax accounting, is a financially and personally rewarding career field. It’s also one of the most demanding in terms of knowledge, education, basic skills, and dedication.

Education is the most important of the initial components of an accounting career. Those getting ready to enter the job market do themselves must focus on acquiring the academic background in accounting that will serve them for decades to come.

Interested in learning more about accounting during the tax season? The Accounting diploma program at Gwinnett College is designed to prepare college graduates to seek entry-level positions in the accounting and bookkeeping fields.  The college graduate may work as an accounts’ receivable or accounts payable clerk, bookkeeper, payroll clerk, accounting assistant or inventory control clerk.

Contact us to learn more about how you can become an accountant or bookkeeper today.

Nursing Student Saves Man Overdosing

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Nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system in the United States. You can probably remember of a time in your life where a nurse made a tremendous impact. Maybe you broke a bone in middle school. Perhaps you’re a mother who had that one *outstanding* nurse by your side during the delivery of your little one. Your dad might be a cancer survivor and there was one nurse who helped him get through chemotherapy.

For one survivor in Orlando, he will remember the time when our nursing student, David Mizzoli, saved his life. Read below;

Nursing Student Saves Man Overdosing – ClickOrlando.com

Thank you, David Mizzoli, and great job!

How to Manage Massage Therapy Clients

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The benefits of massage therapy are wide reaching. As a massage therapist, you use the power of your hands and the techniques you have learned to relieve pain and tension in your clients’ muscles and soft tissues. Your services can help encourage and increase physical circulation and even help with anxiety and irregular sleep patterns. However, you can be the most skilled massage therapist and still be unsuccessful if you don’t know how to manage your clients.

It doesn’t matter if you are working with a spa, your own business or providing massage therapy in your clients’ homes, you should know how to maintain good relationships with the people who use your massage therapy services. Client management is the nuts and bolts of how you provide and advertise your services to the people who need them. Here are some areas to consider when you are planning to begin your practice, expand your practice or trying to better manage the clients you already have.

Manage Time

Time management is a factor in all facets of massage therapy, but it is especially important when it comes to the time spent with your clients. Knowing how to manage your clients’ time will help you enhance your clients’ experiences and can even help strengthen your profit margins. Being more thoughtful about how you structure your appointment time allows you to be more efficient. There are some things you’ll want to keep in mind when considering how to budget and spend your time with your client.

Accurately Estimate How Long Things Take

The importance of knowing how long it takes you to perform a certain service or task can’t be overstated. It informs your pricing, your scheduling, and your ability (or inability) to take on new clients without fear of disappointing them. You should have a good idea of how long each of your massage therapy services take you to complete without rushing so your clients aren’t disappointed by a massage therapy appointment that was chaotic due to poor time management.

Make a Game Plan

While there are going to be issues that come as a surprise in the middle of a massage therapy session, for the most part, clients know what they want worked on when they make their appointment. Once you are aware of what your client is hoping to achieve you can plan regarding the flow of the appointment based on the amount of time your client is willing to pay for. Knowing what you can and can’t include in an appointment will allow you to make recommendations and help better inform your client of what they can expect in that amount of time. It will also help you structure your appointment in the most beneficial way for your client.

Be Smart About Your Commute

You need to account for things like travel time if you are performing massage therapy in your clients’ homes. Being late to scheduled appointments make clients feel like you are wasting their time and it decreases their confidence in your commitment to massage therapy. While there will be times when you are forced to push or reschedule an appointment, it should be the exception to the rule. If you are a massage therapist who is respectful of your clients’ time, they will be more likely to build a lasting rapport with you and recommend your services to others.

Balancing Client and Administrative Time

Overloading your schedule with back-to-back appointments can be good for money in the short term, but it is not a sustainable business model. Whether you are working in a spa or independently, you should take time out to complete tasks that are unrelated to your clients. Cleaning and purchasing equipment, restocking supplies and calling vendors, along with everyday tasks like maintaining client records and accounting are some of the many areas that will need your attention. Avoiding these areas of your business may not impact your clients immediately, but it will eventually. Make sure you strike a healthy balance between appointments and administration in a way that keeps your profits steady.

Managing Expectations

Keeping your clients happy will keep them coming back and strengthen your reputation. Client disappointment should be avoided whenever possible. There is no way to expect that you will please everyone who comes to you, but you can help manage your clients’ expectations by keeping a few things in mind.

Be Honest with Yourself and Your Clients

Massage therapy has a myriad of benefits. It can increase relaxation, stimulate circulation and enhance the overall wellness of your clients. There are things that massage therapy can’t do. Promising your clients results that you can’t guarantee or exaggerating the benefits of your service will look poorly on you. Be honest and thorough in your explanation of what the client can expect and anticipate from their appointment.

Once you have a clear idea about how to budget your time you will also have a clearer idea of what you can and can’t do with your schedule. There will be times that a client wants to quickly squeeze in an appointment or add a service last minute and you will have to say no to their request. This can be uncomfortable because it feels like you might lose them as a client or disappoint them. When you have a full schedule and a demanding clientele, be transparent about why you cannot complete their request immediately and offer them an alternative time slot or comparable service when you can.

Communicate Clearly

Misunderstandings lead to frustration for both you and your clients. Make your massage therapy services and pricing clear up front. People don’t like to feel tricked into paying money they didn’t expect. People also don’t like expecting one thing and getting something else. When clients have questions about what you provide or if you can help with a problem, take your time and be as truthful in your answers as you can. It is also important that any websites or online ads are simple and easy to understand for this reason.

Be Authentic

People respond to authenticity. There is no question that you should always be professional and appropriate, but it’s also important for you to be yourself. Personality and connection can be an important part of the client relationship. It cultivates a level of comfort and ease in an industry that can make people feel vulnerable. When people feel genuinely cared about and have a connection to their massage therapist, it will likely take a lot for them to go elsewhere. Get to know your clients, and let your clients get to know you.

Prepare for Difficult Clients

Massage therapy is an overwhelmingly positive profession. Being in the business of helping people and making them feel better can be rewarding. But there are going to be clients who are difficult and confrontational no matter what you do. Therefore, it is important for you to think about these kinds of clients before you encounter them. Highly emotional situations can create panic and anxiety for some people and can even shy the massage therapist away from expanding their business. It is important to know your own boundaries, and what you want to say and do if a client crosses the line. Knowing these things ahead of time will keep you from feeling flustered while trying to figure them out in the moment. Being calm, even in the face of confrontational clients, will help you stay in control and maintain your authority in those situations.

Good General Management

When you have established a pattern of personal responsibility throughout every area of your profession, your clients will reap the benefits. Frantic appointments filled with confusion don’t create a conducive atmosphere for relaxation and healing. Make sure that all areas of your massage therapy practice have been attended to, and you are able to give your clients your sincere focus and undivided attention during their appointment. When you give every aspect of your massage therapy the management and attention it deserves, you and your clients feel the effects. While your certified skills are the first step in becoming a successful massage therapist, there is much more to the business than what you can do with your hands.

Interested in learning more about a career in massage therapy? Ready to become a massage therapist? Upon graduation, Massage Therapy Program students will receive diplomas and be qualified to seek entry-level positions as clinical, medical, or deep tissue massage therapists in wellness clinics and centers, spa environments including resorts and franchises, and self-employment.

Contact us to learn more about how you can become a massage therapist today.

 

Maternal and Pediatric Care Nursing Skills

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Maternal and pediatric nursing are two specialized fields among many nursing options. Although a very natural process, human reproduction is an area in which the skills of the nurse are critical to a successful outcome for both mother and child. As the child grows, preventive care helps promote health and proper physical, emotional and social development. The nurse is often the health care professional who works most closely with both mother and child, and who is uniquely positioned to identify potential problems in development or parent/child interactions. Nurses who work in the area of maternal and pediatric care will find themselves in an array of work settings, including the home. Nurses in these fields can build relationships with their patients that last for many years.

Maternal Nursing Care

Maternity nursing care begins in the prenatal period. Although some women may seek care earlier, an expectant mother is most likely to enter the healthcare system somewhere between the fourth and twelfth week of pregnancy. Should that entry be delayed until the second or even third trimester, the risk of complications rises. The nurse may provide maternal care at any point during the prenatal period, during labor and delivery or in the post-partum period. Few nurses, however, are present during each stage of a pregnancy for an individual woman, so the nurse’s ability to communicate with other members of the health care team is vitally important skill. An offshoot of maternal health nursing is the specialty practice of fertility promotion and preconception maternal health.

Pediatric Nursing Care

Pediatric care begins in the immediate period after delivery and continues until the child is considered an adult, usually at the age of 18. It encompasses all phases of development. Although pediatric care includes nursing a child who is injured, ill or has a developmental disability, in many cases, the nurse working in pediatrics is focused on preventive care and the promotion of normal child development.

Skills Needed in Maternal and Pediatric Nursing Care

The skills a nurse brings to the fields of maternal and pediatric care are similar to those for nursing in general. The nurse must perform a physical assessment and identify both normal and abnormal conditions. Critical thinking and good judgment are important skills in this field. Nurses who work in the field of maternal and pediatric nursing care must have basic knowledge of such issues as anatomy and physiology, nutrition, pharmacology, medical terminology and human psychology. In maternal nursing care all knowledge must be filtered through the lens of the stages of pregnancy, which affects so many biological functions. In pediatric care, the most important aspect is what constitutes normal human development and how illness, injury or disability can affect that development. In both areas, the nurse must have the skills to build rapport across the age continuum.

Nurses in the field of maternal and pediatric care must also be detail-oriented and alert to even subtle changes in their patients. It should go without saying that the nurse should have high ethical standards to prevent such problems as a breach of confidentiality and to ensure the accurate and safe delivery of nursing care.

Personal Characteristics of a Nurse in Maternal or Pediatric Care

Skill and knowledge are only part of the picture in maternal and pediatric nursing. Certain personal characteristics will also help the nurse be successful. For example, empathy, compassion, approachability and accessibility in the nurse are often seen as important qualities, especially by first-time mothers. If the nurse is the sort of person who is naturally good with children, pediatric nursing may be the right field. The ability to build and maintain a trusting relationship with a child who is hurt or scared is vitally important in pediatrics.

Teaching and communication skills are critically important. Nurses must have the ability to communicate concepts clearly but to change the approach according to the child’s developmental level. Nurses who work in the fields of maternal and pediatric care must also have the ability to work collaboratively with other health-care disciplines. Children with disabilities, for example, often require the services of the nurse as well as physical therapists. Mothers who have experienced domestic violence need counseling as well as nursing care. In both maternal and pediatric nursing, the ability for self-care is also important, since both fields offer satisfaction to the nurse.

Nursing Tasks in Maternal Care

Nursing tasks in maternal care include many basics, such as nursing documentation, hygiene, sterile technique and patient transfer techniques. Others that are specific to maternal nursing include:

  • Obtaining a health history specifically related to this and previous pregnancies.
  • Performing pregnancy and other lab or diagnostic tests and interpreting them for the patient.
  • Patient education about the normal stages of pregnancy and child development.
  • Assessment of fetal well-being.
  • Caring for women who have developed complications related to pregnancy, such as toxemia.
  • Assisting a woman through the stages of labor and delivery.

Nursing Care of the Newborn

Pediatric nursing care begins in the immediate postpartum period. Once the child is safely delivered, the nurse must:

  • Provide immediate care such as suctioning mucous, keeping the infant warm, cleaning the baby and administering medications.
  • Assist the mother in breastfeeding or basic newborn care.
  • Assess for signs of problems such as respiratory distress.

Pediatric Care of the Toddler, Child and Adolescent

During the first five or six years of life, children grow and change very fast. Nurses who work in this field must have extensive knowledge of the stages of child and adolescent development. Much of the focus of pediatric care is on physical, emotional and social development. Nursing tasks in this area include:

  • Building relationships with parent and child (outpatient pediatric care occurs over a period of years).
  • Assessing vision, hearing, height and weight.
  • Administration of immunizations according to the standard schedules.
  • Performing child and parent education.
  • Obtaining specimens for laboratory tests.
  • Serving as a child advocate.
  • Identifying signs of abuse and neglect.

Work Settings in Maternal and Pediatric Care

Nurses who work in maternal and pediatric care have three major options when it comes to work settings which include outpatient care, hospital care and community health.

Outpatient Care

Outpatient work settings include doctors’ offices, clinics and outpatient surgical care. Clinics may be freestanding, such as a community health center, or part of a larger hospital system. Home health is often a hybrid of outpatient care and hospital care, as the nurse performs tasks that may occur in both work settings.

Hospital Care

Nurses who work with children in the acute care environment might work in the newborn nursery or in the neonatal unit, caring for high risk newborns. In a general pediatric unit, the nurse works with children who have an illness or injury or who require surgery. Specialty pediatric units in a hospital include the pediatric critical care unit, oncology and other specialty units.

Community Health

Public health departments provide employment for many nurses. Pediatric nurses also work in school settings. Community groups dedicated to the health of mothers and children may also offer employment in this field. For example, community groups might work in the field of nutrition for mothers and children, in child abuse prevention or in parenting education. A final option for a community health work setting is in the field of nursing education.

Nursing is a demanding field but one that also offers the opportunity for great personal and professional satisfaction. In addition, nursing offers considerable flexibility in terms of work setting, time of day and specialty. Maternal and pediatric care nurses can have a major influence in the health of both individuals and the community by promoting healthy child development and good parenting skills through their work. Since they often work with individuals over the course of months or years, they are uniquely positioned to recognize subtle changes with a high potential for problems. It is often the nurse who has the potential to prevent adverse outcomes by recognizing signs of child abuse and neglect, or maternal health issues such as domestic violence and substance abuse.

Did learning about maternal and pediatric care interest you? The Associate of Science in Nursing degree program at Gwinnett College provides training to prepare college graduates to enter the nursing profession as a registered nurse.  Classroom theory, challenging assignments, skill labs, simulations, and clinical experiences help to prepare college graduates for an entry-level nursing position. 

Upon successful completion of the program and demonstrated nursing competence, the college graduates will be eligible to apply to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination.*   Upon graduation and licensure, college graduates will be eligible to seek employment in hospitals, clinics, private duty, urgent and acute care centers, and various other medical or business facilities requiring the services of registered nurses.

*While Gwinnett Institute provides test preparation and review assistance to college students, it cannot guarantee any college student will be able to take or pass any type of licensure exam.  College students must be mindful throughout their entire training program that licensure is a pre-requisite for employment as a nurse and to diligently prepare themselves to meet this important requirement.

Contact us today to learn more about becoming an RN at Gwinnett College.

What Does an Administrative Assistant Do Day-to-Day?

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The role of an executive secretary has evolved over the last couple of decades to include more knowledge of trade and responsibility. Administrative Assistant is the title used to represent this new support role. Depending on the field of employment you select, your position meets the needs of your department or industry. Executives depend on administrative assistants during a normal work day. Being an administrative assistant is now considered a professional role and a position of prestige. For those with exemplary administrative skills, it is considered a great start to one’s career path.

Monday through Friday and 9:00am – 5:00pm schedules are common for an administrative assistant. Schedules may vary depending on the employer’s needs and business operations. Benefits are at the discretion of the employer and size of the business. Opportunities are available for flexible schedules.

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses simplifies the job selection process. You want to seek a position where you perform well and enhance your current skill set. If hired, you should be confident that you will fulfill their clerical tasks and be an asset to the team.

What are Administrative Assistant Skills?

The general support that an administrative assistant provides revolves around the organization, communication, and clerical needs of the staff. As an administrative assistant, you will cater and report to managers and members of the executive team. The skill set acquired to qualify for this position will service any field or industry.

What are the Skills That Make You A Qualified Assistant?

There are many different skills that support an administrative assistant to succeed at an organization. The top skills include customer service, technology savvy, organization, verbal and written communication, time management, strategic planning, being detail oriented, billing and research skills.

Skill #1: Customer Service – knowing how to interact with others under a variety of circumstances is a crucial component in recruiting and sustaining client relations. The administrative assistant is strategically located at the entrance as the face of the business. They must emanate the company’s mission through your actions, expressions, and delivery of services. The administrative assistant must know how to handle unfavorable situations that are inevitable in business. They will be relied on to diffuse these issues so that management does not have to be involve themselves unless necessary.

Skill #2: Technology Savvy – staying updated on the latest office equipment is essential to remain a competitor in this field. Technology is always changing in the workplace. The phone systems can be monitored via software and used in business analytics, desktop computers are upgraded, and faxing through a facsimile machine is becoming extinct.

Skill #3: Organization – not only must the administrative assistant structure their work in a productive fashion, the administrative staff needs organization as well. Keeping things in a specific order, creating schedules that function properly for all parties involved, and planning a variety of events are among the many tasks that will keep the business moving forward. Creating records, reports, logs, and reminders are some of the methods used by administrative assistant to stay organized.

Skill #4: Verbal and Written Communication – administrative assistants communicate in person, on the phone, by email, and by postal mail. The delivery of their message must be concise. The administrative assistant’s tone should reflect enthusiasm, empathy, and confidence. The administrative assistant is the primary resource for the business.

Skill #5: Time Management – the office schedule is managed in a way that works for everyone. Setting deadlines and reminders will assist with meeting an administrative assistant’s goals. Enforcing schedules and time limitations will keep everyone in sync. Proper time management skills include allowing for extra time on schedule for unforeseen circumstances.

Skill #6: Strategic Planning – pertinent to ensuring that everyone is effectively working toward a common goal. Meetings develop goals where goals, and a strategy of execution is planned. The goals are based on the needs of the company, the clients, and the industry.

Skill #7: Detail Oriented – dotting your I’s and crossing your T’s is essential in this administrative support role. Human error is expected. An administrative assistant will want to review their work before final submission. It should become second nature to look for errors or missing items.

Skill #8: Billing – it is important to balance the company budget to meet its internal and external needs. There are several software programs designed to assist businesses with managing their finances. Creating invoices, purchase orders, creating deposits, and processing payments are all parts of billing.

Sill #9: Research – being a skilled researcher is invaluable to a business. Information, statistics, and comparisons are usually needed to stay in sync with competitors. Administrative assistants need research skills to successfully perform their job.

What Business Related Software Does an Administrative Assistant Use?

Microsoft Office is the most used software suite by administrative assistants. Word processing, creating spreadsheets, presentations, and databases are part of the job description. Excelling in this area is vital to an administrative assistants’ success.

What are the Personality Skills Needed to Succeed?

An administrative assistant needs specific personality skills to perform their job successfully. These personality skills include multi-tasking, being a team player, being discreet, showing patients, and being ambitious.

Skill #10: Multi-tasking – being able to handle multiple tasks at once and execute them as requested is a skill an administrative assistant must master. Answering a call while performing data entry and greeting a guest is a common occurrence at a business.

Skill #11: Team Player – working well with others is essential in a support role. The team must fulfill the company’s mission as one. Helping or being one step ahead and getting something done without being asked is a valuable quality of an administrative assistant.

Skill #12: Discretion – some companies require an administrative assistant to sign a Non-Disclosure agreement that prohibits them from sharing inside information. In absence of this agreement, an administrative assistant should still be discreet. Earning an employer’s trust is important to their future with the business and in the industry.

Skill #13: Patience – an administrative assistant comes across many circumstances where patience is key to resolving the issues. If they lose their cool it could cause a domino effect and set the entire office in a frenzy.

Skill #14: Ambition – exuding interest and satisfaction with the work an administrative assistant is doing will reflect in the atmosphere of their workplace. Voluntarily learning things outside of their job description will expand their qualifications. Adding on new skills may qualify an administrative assistant for a promotion.

What Industries Require Tailored Skills?

There are many different industries that an administrative assistant can work in. Along with getting an administrative assistant diploma, on the job skills and education will prepare the administrative assistant for entry-level positions. The industries include the medical field, law, government, construction, automotive among other businesses.

For the medical field, an administrative assistant will need to supplement their education with medical terminology, safety procedures, and employment policies. Joining a law firm will involve legal terminology, legal documents, and legal procedures. An administrative assistant that joins a government agency will also need to learn government policies, protocol, and safety procedures. An administrative assistant working in the construction industry will need to learn general contracting terminology, contracting law, and the Department of Buildings procedural process. Working in the automotive industry involves learning car industry terminology, safety procedures, cross selling and upselling.

Some businesses provide onboard training to orient an administrative assistant in the company’s policies and procedures. Most expect the administrative assistant to come with the skill set or the experience necessary to fill the role immediately. Employers look for knowledge of the industry and its terminology. They depend on an administrative assistant to execute their basic responsibilities tailored to their services.

Typical Administrative Assistant Tasks

An administrative assistant performs many tasks working within an office and supporting the executive team. Trip planning entails booking flights, hotels, renting vehicles, getting directions, confirming reservations, and any special directives provided by management. An administrative assistant will manage the executive team’s daily itinerary. They’re expected to manage everyone’s schedule to enable the most productivity. The administrative assistant is responsible for keeping track of all changes, cancellations, and emergency situations. The schedule must be adapted accordingly. Everyone must be aware of what they are doing, where they are going, or who they will be meeting with at all times.

The administrative assistant handles documents, reports, and presentations. These tools are a vital source of communication and education of the business. The administrative assistant will educate the clients every step of the way through client communication. Some services will require an administrative assistant to process a payment before the client leaves or after the services are rendered. Administrative assistants call potential customers with the hope of luring them in for an appointment. Follow up contact will be the most repetitive task. It is good practice to follow up with clients, vendors, and in-house personnel. This ensures everyone is in sync. It avoids confusion and chaos.

An administrative assistant creates a welcoming atmosphere to work in. To be productive, they must put in place a functioning system. Order will prevent delays, miscommunication, and unnecessary errors that could cost the business money or clients. Cleanliness will contribute to making their space healthy to work in. Adding a personal touch solidifies their bond with the business. It conveys that the administrative assistant cares about the environment they work in. Less clutter equals more space for productivity and clear thought

Final Thoughts

What are you looking for in a new career? Becoming an administrative assistant opens many doors of opportunity. With businesses adapting to modern strategies, the administrative assistant may also opt to work from home. There are many positions offered remotely by reputable companies. An administrative assistant can work from home as an independent contractor for several clients. They can also work directly by telecommuting with one employer as a full-time employee with potential benefits. After gaining experience they may choose to further their education to advance their career. Experience, staying up to date on one’s skills, and a willingness to learn may help an administrative assistant advance.

Did learning about what an administrative assistant does interest you? The Administrative Assisting diploma program is designed to train Gwinnett College students to seek entry-level positions in the office administration or secretarial field. The Administrative Assisting graduate may work as a secretary, receptionist, executive assistant, or administrative assistant.

Contact us to learn more about becoming an administrative assistant.

Compassionate Patient Care: A Registered Nurse (RN) Guide

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The foundation of nursing is compassionate care. It’s a simple statement that sounds obvious, but it’s more complex than it seems. Compassion is much more than ordinary kindness. It can’t be measured by a test or be seen under a microscope, and it’s tough to define clearly because it’s patient-dependent and may never look the same way twice. In a world where health care is increasingly ruled by technology, the compassion of an RN is every bit as important to patient outcomes as pills and procedures.

What Does Compassionate Care Look Like?

Compassion is about treating people holistically, not as the sum of their illnesses and complaints. Patients in any medical setting feel vulnerable. Their stories and bodies sit before strangers and that evokes strong emotional responses. For an RN, it means recognizing and addressing the unique physical, psychological, social and cultural needs of each person.

  • For a frightened mother of a sick son, it may mean keeping her informed about changes in his condition or just holding her hand.
  • For a new father, it may be patiently answering the same questions over and over until he feels reassured.
  • For a religious person, it means delivering care with respect for one’s beliefs, whether shared or not.
  • For a child with cancer, words of encouragement and hope may be what it takes, along with a few toys and games.
  • For an elderly man with dementia, it may be listening to the same tired joke a thousand times without forgetting to laugh.

And for all patients it means paying more attention to them than the IV pump by the bed, listening without interruption, addressing them respectfully, supporting their dignity, respecting their rights and not minimizing their concerns, no matter how minor they may seem.

What it Takes to Be a Compassionate Caregiver

Anyone considering nursing school has a basic grasp of what caring means, but an RN learns to build on that understanding to provide compassionate, patient-centered care.

What does patient-centered mean? It means that in a relationship between an RN and a patient. The many needs of the patient come first, and while that seems reasonable, caregiving relationships can be intense and emotional, pushing the limits of professional boundaries.

To be a truly compassionate caregiver, an RN must be:

  • Honest without being judgmental
  • Open without oversharing
  • Kind without neglecting their own needs
  • Empathetic without losing themselves in others’ problems
  • Hopeful, but realistic
  • Strong, but vulnerable
  • Helpful while respecting personal boundaries
  • Knowledgeable, but open to learning new things
  • Caring while encouraging personal responsibility
  • Thoughtful, but practical

Compassion is the foundation of caring, and nurses must be as gentle and understanding toward themselves as they are to others. It’s a skill, and it takes effort to learn, but the good news is that with patience, a simple spark of kindness can nurture and cultivate into the mature compassion an RN needs on the job.

Does Compassion Improve Outcomes?

Outcomes have historically been reported from the medical community’s point of view. Doctors and hospitals report how successful their medical treatments are, and nurses document how patients respond to those efforts. As measured in raw percentages, it’s an important way to tell what’s working, what isn’t and when it’s time to make changes. What it doesn’t tell is the patient’s perception of what happened and how it affected them personally. Without that, the outcome picture isn’t complete.

The effects of compassion are hard to measure. Therefore, the use of patient- and-family-reported outcomes is on the rise today, and it’s proving to be the truest, most effective way to measure total wellness outcomes.

Consider this case and how a nurse’s compassion made a difference:

An older, obese woman saw her doctor about back pain. The doctor told her not to eat for six months and to call back then if the discomfort didn’t subside, blaming the pain on excess weight without considering other potential causes. Three weeks later, she went to the emergency room for the same symptoms and was admitted for a serious ascending urinary tract infection and treated with ten days’ worth of IV antibiotics.

On a post-hospitalization survey, the client was asked about her satisfaction with hospital services. She discussed her negative experience with her doctor and reported that in contrast, her primary RN spoke candidly with her about weight issues without being judgmental, sharing her own struggle with excess pounds and helping her identify new treatment options that could help. As a result, she felt encouraged and willing to consider another weight loss effort. She further commented that she waited three weeks to seek additional medical help for her symptoms because of embarrassment about her weight.

From the compassionate care perspective, there were clear successes and failures in this situation, starting with a physician who demonstrated an astonishing lack of human kindness, poor communication skills, prejudice toward those suffering from obesity and little understanding about the diverse circumstances that lead to it.

He was not wrong to suggest that being overweight is a top risk factor for back pain. In fact, it was his responsibility, but his crass comment slammed the door on effective communication, inspired no meaningful action on the part of the client and contributed to a lengthy delay in care that could have had significant health consequences.

The nurse, however, found a way to relate to her compassionately. She openly discussed her own weight loss story, intervened with words of encouragement and gave her actionable information about new treatments for obesity. She understood the practical, emotional and social needs of her patient, demonstrating empathy while emphasizing personal responsibility. The result is a woman who now views the health care system more favorably, and although she may not ultimately be successful in her weight loss journey, she feels encouraged to try. That is a positive outcome.

Consistently, hospitals find when clients and families take the time to return outcome surveys, comments are more focus on the level of kindness and compassion they experienced during their stay than the treatments they received. When measuring outcomes, can the improvement in a patient’s compliance with their doctor’s weight loss recommendations because of the encouragement of a compassionate caregiver be measured as a percentage? Is the happiness of a man with dementia quantifiable in numbers?

Not yet, but as the importance of compassion in health care grows, assessment tools are evolving that are helping capture patient satisfaction with things like emotional support. In the meantime, the obvious benefits of compassion on final outcomes can’t be ignored, making it a vital part of nursing education and creating exciting opportunities for RNs in the future as the medical community looks for ways to make compassionate care the standard across disciplines, not just a buzz-word.

Did learning about compassionate patient care interest you? The Associate of Science in Nursing degree program at Gwinnett College provides training to prepare college graduates to enter the nursing profession as a registered nurse.  Classroom theory, challenging assignments, skill labs, simulations, and clinical experiences help to prepare college graduates for an entry-level nursing position. 

Upon successful completion of the program and demonstrated nursing competence, the college graduates will be eligible to apply to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination.*   Upon graduation and licensure, college graduates will be eligible to seek employment in hospitals, clinics, private duty, urgent and acute care centers, and various other medical or business facilities requiring the services of registered nurses.

*While Gwinnett Institute provides test preparation and review assistance to college students, it cannot guarantee any college student will be able to take or pass any type of licensure exam.  College students must be mindful throughout their entire training program that licensure is a pre-requisite for employment as a nurse and to diligently prepare themselves to meet this important requirement.

Contact us today to learn more about becoming an RN at Gwinnett College.

Being a Small Business Accountant

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Being a small business accountant is a great career choice for those who enjoy helping small companies maintain their 59 million employees. Those small business employees make up 47% of the total workforce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Since having accurate financial records is a mandatory requirement for small companies, it is an essential part of running a business. The services of a small business accountant assist a small business through the preparation of taxes and record keeping. Business owners must maintain their financial records, and the services of a small business accountant will always be in demand. Accountants provide a great deal of value to small businesses.

Although there are many software programs to maintain financial records, there are some skills needed to perform accounting-related services. A small business accountant has certain responsibilities that are performed to provide accurate accounting services. Most small businesses will require an accountant to have credible training from an accredited vocational school.

How to Receive Credible Training to Work as an Accountant

It’s important to learn the skill of accounting at an accredited vocational school. The vocational program can provide all of the accounting fundamentals needed for an individual to provide accurate financial services to a small business. They teach bookkeeping skills, computerized bookkeeping, basic office skills, Microsoft Office software, QuickBooks, Business Math and English courses.

Many business owners are grateful for the services that accountants provide. It helps them make key business decisions based on their historical financial performance. Without proper financial records, it’s often difficult to determine the financial position of a small business. That’s why obtaining the proper training as an accountant is important.

What is a Small Business?

A company may be considered small based on different factors. A company is considered small to some if it is a privately-owned company, has fewer than $7 million in annual sales and less than 500 employees. According to the US Small Business Administration, a small business is a company that generates $35.5 million in annual sales and has at least 1500 employees. These numbers vary by industry. Nonetheless, small businesses make up a large portion of the U.S. economy and the required accounting skills from a well-trained accountant are in high demand.

Anyone who possesses the skills to provide financial services to small business can utilize these transferable skills between a variety of different industries. The basic accounting practices are transferable between different small businesses. Each small business will just have its own specifics that build upon the accounting basics.

What Does a Small Business Accountant Do?

A small business accountant may oversee a company’s financial activities. For example, a company with 50 or fewer employees may require the accountant to be full-time and responsible for overseeing all of the accounting functions. An accountant working in a bigger company may focus on one aspect of accounting and work within a team of accountants. The day-to-day functions of a small business accountant consist of:

  • Processing payroll and payroll taxes
  • Accounts receivable
  • Accounts payable
  • Making bank deposits
  • Bank reconciliations
  • Credit card reconciliations
  • Posting journal entries to the General Ledger
  • Asset Management
  • Cash management
  • Inventory control
  • Preparing financial reports
  • Overseeing other bookkeepers
  • Preparing and filing local, state and federal taxes

A business can also hire accountants on a contractual basis, where they are issued a 1099 at the end of the year rather than a W2. In either case, accountants are responsible for discussing the financial activity with the business owner and alerting them to any potential risk factors that the small business faces. These could include internal or external risk.

Examples of Internal risks may include:

  • The threat of cash shortages
  • A drop in sales due to a poor performing item
  • A decrease in gross profit margins
  • Slow moving inventory

Examples of external risks may include:

  • The potential loss of sales to new competitors
  • An increase in supplier’s purchasing cost
  • An increase in cost from members of the supply chain
  • Changes in new laws that could have an impact on cash flows

Accountants are good at identifying financial trends and identifying areas that will help the business owner improve their bottom line. Accountants are also responsible for working with CPAs and auditors. The small business accountant prepares the accounting according to GAAP guidelines, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and other legal guidelines to ensure that the business is in compliance.

How Properly Trained Accountants Can Create Job Security and Transferable Skills

A career as a small business accountant has many benefits, including transferable skills that are needed in a wide variety of industries. If a company goes out of business, the accountants’ services are ready for many different businesses. In addition, accounting services are needed throughout the life of a businesses. That means small business accountants can provide accounting services for a lifetime as they will always be in demand.

Interested in learning more about small business accounting and the financial statements an accountant works with on a day-to-day basis? The Accounting diploma program at Gwinnett College is designed to prepare college graduates to seek entry-level positions in the accounting and bookkeeping fields.  The college graduate may work as an accounts’ receivable or accounts payable clerk, bookkeeper, payroll clerk, accounting assistant or inventory control clerk.

The Gwinnett College accounting vocational diploma training programs trains college students to prepare financial statements and perform common accounting tasks with accounting computer applications. The computer applications include bookkeeping software, spreadsheets and databases. The accounting diploma training program covers fundamental accounting concepts, that include journalizing, posting, adjusting, closing, cost accounting, assets, liabilities, amortization, depreciation and tax liability. Also included in the courses are reconciliation of income statements, balance sheets, accounts receivable, accounts payable and general ledger.

Contact us to learn more about how you can become an accountant or bookkeeper today.

6 Reasons to Get a Phlebotomy Certification

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Are you a medical assistant that is looking to get a phlebotomy certification? Receiving a phlebotomy certification provides the medical assistant with the education needed to advance in an ever-growing medical field. Medical assistants get into the medical field and stay there because they love what they do. It takes quite a knack to find veins and draw enough blood for the specific tests. With a phlebotomy certification, a medical assistant is in a better position to help their patients. Training is supplied for those attending continuing education training to obtain a phlebotomy certification.

Why Get A Phlebotomy Certificate?

A phlebotomy certification is essential for advancing your medical assistant career. Employers will look to their medical assistant and identify if they have received training and certification in phlebotomy. Phlebotomy is also rewarding, as you are an integral part of the medical team and helping patients at the same time.

Six Reasons to Get a Phlebotomy Certificate

If you are wondering if adding a phlebotomy certificate as a medical assistant is right for you, there are six reasons to consider. Getting a phlebotomy certification only takes a few months, the medical assistant will help patients feel comfortable during a blood draw, they work in a field that is constantly growing, medical assistants work alongside colleagues that care about their patients, a medical assistant will improve their chances of advancement by obtaining a phlebotomy certification, and medical assistants that have a phlebotomy certification are a valuable asset to the medical field.

Quick Phlebotomy Certification

It doesn’t take very long to complete a phlebotomy certificate program. It only takes a few short months to complete this training at a vocational school.

Help Patients Feel Comfortable

Going to have your blood drawn is often uncomfortable, especially for children and babies. A medical assistant will work to calm patients down before and during the blood draw. This can provide satisfaction to the medical assistant that performs phlebotomy.

Work in a Field that is Constantly Growing

Because of the aging population, medical care is needed now more than ever. More and more people are in need of a blood draw for testing to determine their health and current diagnosis. The field of phlebotomy is in high demand and you can constantly grow with it.

Work with Colleagues Who Have a Passion for Patient Care

It helps to have a passion for patient care and you’ll find that most of your coworkers feel the same way. Working alongside doctors, nurses and medical staff that want to help patients is why so many medical assistants stay within this field.

It’s a Great Start for Advancement

Even if your plan is not to stay working as a medical assistant, learning phlebotomy helps you to get your foot into the medical field. With your skills as a medical assistant and phlebotomist you can begin working in hospitals, laboratories and doctor’s offices. Medical assistants that perform phlebotomy can be found in many different medical offices, so opportunities to advance are within reach.

Be a Valuable Asset to the Medical Field

While medical assistants that perform phlebotomy may seem like they are overlooked, they are an integral part of the medical field. Without their phlebotomy skills and certificate, patients wouldn’t have blood drawn for special tests and diagnostics. This could result in patients getting sicker and not receiving the right treatment.

How to Get Started

If you are ready to start your career as a medical assistant that performs phlebotomy, it is important to receive the right training and education. By receiving a phlebotomy certification, you can begin your work in the field of blood drawing and can become a beneficial asset to the medical facility and patients.

Once you make the decision to get a phlebotomy certification, you are doing something that is going to benefit you and your future career. You will also help countless patients to feel comfortable about this anxious situation.

Did learning about a medical assistant’s role in phlebotomy interest you? Gwinnett College offers a variety of continuing education and professional development courses that are designed to be an “add-on”to existing knowledge and experience in the medical field. Applicants wishing to take a phlebotomy continuing education training courses must provide documentation that they have prior medical backgrounds, either through coursework or work experience. The phlebotomy continuing education training courses are intended to enhance a person’s ability to work in their chosen field by adding additional skills and knowledge and are not to be considered as a direct path to a new career.

Ready to become a medical assistant? Gwinnett Colleges & Institute offers medical assisting courses to gain essential skills and training. The core curriculum focuses on the medical assisting skills and training you will need to seek entry-level employment in physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and other medical settings needing the services of associates trained in both front and back office medical assisting skills. These medical assisting courses will be the first step in starting a rewarding career.

 

10 Benefits of Attending a Vocational School

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Choosing a career early in life is imperative. However, the path towards achieving that career goal is not often straightforward. That dream to become an artist, accountant, medical assistant, computer technician, nurse, business analyst, or paralegal is available for those that attend a vocational school.

Before making that decision to go to college, evaluate the full impact of that decision. One must evaluate all the options and benefits first. The choice can be between choosing vocational school, trade school or a traditional 4-year college. A vocational or trade school offers hands-on skills applicable in a work situation while a traditional 4-year college offers relevant knowledge mixed with elective courses. Vocational schools prepare their students for a specific trade, making them better prepared for the workforce.

Benefit #1: Vocational Schools Have Higher Employment Rate

Vocational and trade schools prepare a person for the job market. This means graduates are prepared to accept a job immediately after graduation. Most vocational schools also work with employers in the industry to give students an education within their technical field. When the graduate is ready to transition to the job, vocational school graduates have seamless transitions. This is thanks to a vocational school’s training approach. Since the vocational school trains with real-life examples and equipment, the graduate can benefit.

Traditional 4-year colleges depend on theoretical frameworks. Vocational and trade schools rely on specific industry situations, better equipping the workforce with technical job skills.

Benefit #2: The Student Transitions to Their Career Choice Directly

A traditional 4-year college degree equips the student with general skills. There is little guidance on the career path with limited interaction by career services. While this is ok for some, it does not translate to a specific job title or career path.

Students go to vocational or trade schools because they have decided what they want to do in life. After one to two years of vocational education, the student has a definite career path. Students come out of vocational school and join a specific trade. The graduate will benefit by not waste time thinking what to do after college. This is common among traditional 4-year college graduates. Many vocational school graduates go through externship programs for them to benefit from industry experience.

Benefit #3: Relevant Skills in Less Time

Vocational and trade schools offer benefits to high school students and adults switching jobs. Most vocational programs take less than two years to complete. Once completed, the classes give graduates enough skills for an entry-level position in their given trade. A graduate can start earning right away. If they have a student loan, they can start repayments as soon as possible.

Benefit #4: The Chances of Graduating Are High

Did you know that 40 percent of students who enroll in traditional 4-year colleges do not graduate within the 4-year duration? This is reported by the National Center for Education Statistics. On the other hand, approximately 2 percent of vocational or trade school students fail to graduate within the course duration. The chances of graduating and joining the workforce are better when a student graduates from a vocational school. The vocational programs are short, which encourages maximum concentration and performance. Students who attempt college education and don’t graduate are not ready for the job market. They may also have to service their student loans.

Benefit #5: The Future for Trades Is Bright

Research shows that some of the fastest growing career paths lie in the technical fields. Some of the trades with high job growths include medical assistants and massage therapists. Surprisingly, many people who go to traditional 4-year colleges can end up working in positions that don’t require a degree. Their salaries will reflect this.

Benefit #6: Smaller Classes

The average vocational or trade school classroom has less students than many traditional 4-year colleges. This means teachers can offer thorough training with supervised hands-on experience. Small classes mean the creation of strong relationships with fellow students. Students will make bonds that last a lifetime. This will also help vocational graduates network when it is time to find a job.

Benefit #7: Flexible Schedules

Many vocational or trade schools offer day and evening classes for those that have obligations during the day. Do you have a day job or care for a family member? The flexible schedule of a vocational school may benefit you.

Benefit #8: Hands-on Training

Students experience lab work and externships. Many vocational or trade schools offer hands-on training that prepares students for real world situations. With hands-on training, the student is one step ahead in landing the entry-level a vocational career.

Benefit #9: Career Services

The goal of Career Services is to assist all graduates to get in-field or related-field employment. Career Services is available to assist vocational students throughout their technical training programs and continues to offer assistance beyond graduation. It should be understood the career services offered are not a guarantee of employment.

In order to facilitate employment efforts, a vocational school’s career services team works closely with the employment community that may offer in-field or related-field employment opportunities to qualified graduates. This is accomplished by maintaining active involvement in the community, holding on-campus career fairs, scheduling on-campus graduate interviews, hosting guest lectures, scheduling opportunities for vocational students and graduates to interact with potential employers, and conducting routine visits to new and established employment partners.

Benefit #10: Financial Aid

Vocational and trade schools are accredited and participate in various federal student aid programs.  During the admissions interview, a student’s admissions representative will arrange for them to meet with an associate from the vocational school’s financial aid office.  This associate will explain the various types of federal aid for which the student may qualify.  The difference between college grant and loan programs will be explained so they can make a final decision regarding the creation of a financial aid package that best meets their needs. The associate will prepare an estimated award letter to help explain how the student’s financial aid package will help cover the cost of tuition, books, and fees.  Financial aid is available to those who qualify.

Did learning about the benefits of attending a vocational or trade school interest you? If you are ready to find the right vocational college, learn more about Gwinnett Colleges & Institute. Choose from one of our vocational college diploma or associate degree programs and take the next step towards your future career. The Gwinnett Colleges & Institute programs are offered in the day and evening making it easier for you to schedule the technical training you need to meet your vocational career goals.