Back pain is the number 1 cause of missed workdays, and Chapter 12 of my book Invent It and Be Your Own Boss, the speaker sheet, builds my workplace program on that figure. The speaker sheet lists 4 signature topics and 3 speech titles: BACK SMART for workplace back health, PINK for women in male-dominated fields, and HIT for students and STEM. This article sets out what each of the 3 programs covers and the record each one draws on.
The 4 Signature Topics
The speaker sheet names 4 signature topics: workplace injury prevention and spinal health, women’s empowerment, leadership, and wellness and self-care. It describes me as an inventor, author, CEO and health and spine expert who helps organizations reduce workplace injuries, especially injuries related to back pain. My credential line is Eileen Durfee, NBS, NASM-CPT: a Nutritional Balancing Science degree, earned in August 2011, and certification as a personal trainer. I hold 10 U.S. patents and 6 international patents, and 9 of the 10 U.S. patents are commercialized.
BACK SMART: 5 Steps to Reduce Workplace Back Pain and Injury Costs
BACK SMART is the workplace program, and its full title is BACK SMART, 5 Steps to Reduce Workplace Back Pain and Injury Costs. The speaker sheet lists 3 of its working parts: learning how to assess posture, identifying injury risks, and implementing biomechanical solutions. Its stated aims are 3 results for the employer: protect the team, raise productivity, and reduce healthcare expenses. The introduction of the book frames the problem as $100 billion a year in lower back pain costs.
As related background, Chapter 8 of the book describes the Spinal Fitness Training and Certification Program, whose Level 2, Posture Evaluation and Exercises, teaches posture assessment, the exercises to avoid, and the 5 essential steps for training clients. Chapter 11 lists my spinal patents: the Cushioning Posterior Fulcrum Back Shaper, utility patent 10966552, which supports the lumbar curve and the neck during stretches and exercises, and 3 design patents for the Back Roller, the Back Roll Spinal Brace and the Neck Roll Spinal Brace.
PINK: 4 Ways to Empower Women
PINK names 4 qualities, 1 per letter: Perseverance, Intuition, Navigation and Knowledge. The record behind it is in Chapter 10. I worked through the 1980s and 1990s as a nuclear quality engineer, a residential land developer and a home builder. At the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, workers defied my inspections, vandalized coworkers’ property, threatened me and damaged my motorcycle, and in construction some men refused to take instructions from a woman. In those 2 decades success required me to work twice as hard as my male counterparts, and over time people recognized me for the quality of my work.
Related figures from Chapter 11 of the book: only 13% of patents worldwide are held by women, and 85% of patents never reach commercialization. Chapter 1 adds the practice I teach for women inventors: women mentoring women, with non-disclosure agreements as the norm so an idea is protected before it is shared.
HIT: 3 Motivations for STEM
HIT names 3 motivations for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Helping, Inventions and Transform. The speaker sheet lists 3 talks under it: Solving Real-World Problems, How Student Inventors Can Make a Difference, and Inventing Modern Solutions for Today’s Problems. Related background from Chapters 2 and 3, where my patents start with customer problems: a customer who turned a 4 x 4 x 5-foot sauna tent on its side led to the convertible sauna tent, and a customer’s ozone readings at work led to the Breathe Safe plasma air purifier with no ozone emission. Chapter 10 adds 5 women inventors students can study: Marie Curie, Hedy Lamarr, Dr. Patricia Bath, Mary Phelps Jacob and Stephanie Kwolek.
Where I Have Spoken
I have appeared on ABC, CBS and NBC, and on podcasts including Dr. Wendy Myers’ Myers Detox Podcast, which she describes as top 50 rated. Spencer Watson, CEO of OPENM1NDS Master Class, wrote in the speaker sheet that guests at the group’s semiannual conference took notes on things they could apply to the issue they were dealing with that very morning. Since 2011 I have worked with people in 91 countries, and that client work is where I identified the equipment problems my patents solve.
To ask about any of the 3 programs for your organization, use the contact page on this site.
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This article is for educational purposes only.
