Monday 20 June 2016

Laura Motes - Tips For Preparing Your Home For A Flood

Laura Motes lives in rural Northeastern Georgia and is keenly aware that her home is in an area that is at risk of flooding, should weather conditions become particularly adverse. As such, she has taken a number of measures to prepare her home in case of such an emergency. These pointers will prove useful to anybody who is in a similar predicament.
Laura Motes
 Establish An Evacuation Route
You should always plan for the worst possible outcome when considering flooding, which means that your priority should be you and whoever else lives in the home. As such, when preparing your plan, you need to map out an evacuation route that will take you out of the at-risk area as quickly as possible. You may want to conduct a few drills as well, to ensure you keep the route clear in your mind.

Establish Contacts
It is important that people are aware of your situation should you ever have to deal with a flood, so it is a good idea to establish a primary contact who you will be able to call in cases of emergency. This person should ideally be out of the area and can act as a central point of contact for all of your family members and friends so you can focus more of your time on dealing with the flood.

Pack Supplies
By keeping an emergency kit of supplies handy, Laura Motes notes that you will be able to survive should a flood leave you stranded. Pack long-lasting food, some basic first aid equipment and some useful equipment, such as multipurpose tools and portable phone chargers.

Monday 13 June 2016

Laura Motes - Tips For ImproLaura ing Your Bedside Manner

As she prepares to start her studies in nursing at Georgia Regents University, Laura Motes has been putting a lot of thought into the skills that she will need to develop in order to excel in the role. The bedside manner displayed by medical professionals is crucial when offering care to patients, so try to keep the following in mind if you work in a medical role or have aspirations to do so in the future.
                                                       Laura Motes                                  

Focus On The Patient

If you appear distracted when talking to your patients, the odds are high that they are going to be less likely to talk to you and provide information that you may need to provide treatment. This is because you will be giving off the impression that you have more important things to do, rather than speaking to the patient. Pay attention and deal with distractions after the conversation.

Establish Common Ground

By creating a personal connection with the patient, within the confines of professionalism, you can have conversations that extend beyond the treatment that your patients are undergoing. This is useful for building trust in the relationships that you have with patients, making them more likely to talk to you when you need information from them.

Keep Thing Simple

Laura Motes understands that many patients will be intimidated by hospital settings, especially if they are dealing with a new condition that needs treatment. By using too much medical lingo you run the risk of further confusing patients and making them feel even less in control. Keep things simple and explain issues in words patients will understand.

Monday 6 June 2016

Laura Motes - Tips For Preventing Underage Alcohol Sales

During her time serving with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Laura Motes spent three years as part of the Alcohol Compliance Unit/Vehicles For Hire Unit, during which time she worked with the Georgia Department of Revenue to deal with alcohol license violations, while also placing much of her focus on the issue of underage drinking. There are a number of things that premises that sell alcohol can do in order to remain compliant and ensure they don’t end up selling alcohol to minors, including all of the following.
                                          Laura Motes

Always Check ID

It may seem like a simple tip, but many new store owners or employees often end up becoming incompliant because they have assumed that the people they are serving are of legal drinking age. If you have any doubt at all about a person’s age, ask to see some ID. Be wary of any customers who make a big fuss about showing ID and don’t give into any pressure that may be placed on you by people who haven’t brought a form of identification along. You should also improve your knowledge of the various forms of ID that people can use to purchase alcohol, so that you are abler to spot fakes.

Train Employees

Your store’s employees are essentially representatives of your premises, so if they make mistakes or purposefully sell alcohol to minors the responsibility will usually fall on you. As such, you need to make sure that you are careful when hiring new employees and that you have a rigorous training program in place. Put special emphasis on the consequences of selling alcohol to minors and try to train employees in the best ways to spot when an underage person might be trying to acquire alcohol.

Keep Alcohol Separate From Soft Drinks

In many cases, minors may pick up alcoholic beverages, particularly those commonly referred to as “alcopops,” by mistake if they are on display next to soft drinks or other beverages. As such, it is good practice to create a display specifically designed for alcohol. It may also be a good idea to have that display somewhere that is in the line of sight of employees, so that they can keep an eye on any suspicious behavior.

Assess Groups

If a group of people attempts to purchase alcohol from your establishment, Laura Motes notes that it is important to examine everybody in the collective. In some cases, somebody of age may try to purchase alcohol for minors who are with them, so if you have any suspicions that this is happening you should ask to see the IDs of every individual. Try to keep an eye out for awkward body language, such as a member of the group who is fidgeting or purposefully avoiding eye contact.

Thursday 2 June 2016

Laura Motes - The Characteristics of Good Police Officers

Laura Motes served with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department for 21 years, spending 10 of those years as a Police Sergeant in the Uniform Patrol Division in West Precinct. She achieved career progression because she worked hard to develop on a professional level, in addition to having the many attributes that a person needs in order to be a successful police officer. If you are interested in a career in the police force, you need to have, or develop, the following characteristics to stand the highest possible chance of success.

Laura Motes 

  • A Thirst For Knowledge
At no point during your career as a police officer should you allow your knowledge to stagnate. What you learn during your basic training should be treated as a foundation for your development, rather than the end of it. During your career, you will be presented with many opportunities to train various skills, so consider your career goals and make sure to select courses that will bring you closer to achieving them. Furthermore, keep your eyes and ears open at all times, so that you can learn from those who have more experience than you.
  • Confidence
You must be able to demonstrate an air of confidence, even when you are approaching risky situations. This is crucial when working with members of the public, as you will be taking on the role of authority figure. As such, a lack of confidence may lead to people doubting what you have to say or not trusting that you will do the things you claim you will. However, an important caveat to this quality is that you don’t allow yourself to descend into arrogance. Temper your confidence by recognizing that you always have room to develop, no matter how experienced you are.
  • Resilience
Police work offers a wide range of challenges, many of which will test your patience as well as your abilities. It is important that you develop a thick skin and don’t take the emotional reactions of people that you encounter too seriously. Allowing the words of others, particularly those involved in crimes, to get under your skin could lead to undesirable reactions that damage cases or lead to misconduct in the field.
  • Physical Fitness
Laura Motes has always focused on her physical fitness and she ensures that she eats well and engages in activities that improve her conditioning, such as long-distance running. Good police officers all have the same focus, as they must stay in top condition to stand the highest chance of successfully dealing with potential criminals. Focus on strength training, so that you can subdue people if the situation calls for it, but also ensure your cardiovascular conditioning is maintained in case you need to engage in on-foot chases.