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Checking my account at Friendster, I noticed this one post at the Bulletin Board from FEU TAMbayan account:

Iam Bieryle John B. Agnir RN from class of 2007 (BSN 714-grp 53). I have received a text message from my former group leader, containing this:
This message was forwarded by mam Filoteo. Please pass as many as you can.Laury
Mam Eli dela Cruz is not an ordinary faculty member of I.N. She devoted much of her time and effort to I.N and o its students. For many of us, she taught us to be self directed, she helped us unleash our potential in use of them to the fullest. She inspired us to care for F.E.U-I.N. Though in her 60s, she is still physically, mentally, emotionally and intellectually fit. However, she was only given a few units this sem and may not teach next sem, a directive which was made known to her this sem. There are exceptions to rules. And these exceptions were granted to faculty retirees. They were allowed to teach even after retirement (eg. Ms. San Vicente, Ms. Punongbayan). For once, for someone who stood for us… Let us speak on her behalf. Join us in texting/calling/e-mailing the dean that mam Eli be allowed to teach still in INnext scjool year and be given additional load this sem. After all…SHE is far from ordinary.
—Nothing follows—
My dear colleagues, as I read this text message from my former leader, I felt sad. We clearly know who mam dela Cruz is, and we know how intelligent she is. Mam DC has a large passion in teaching the tamaraw nurses. She did a lot of change in our institute. She is one of the pillars of our institute. She was there when the institute was in its pedestal and she is still with the institute today in where the institute is striving hard to bring back its glory. Ms. Elisea dela Cruz is already an institution in our institute. And I believe that she still has a lot to share with the institute. Let us act my co-tamaraw nurses and nurses to be.

Click here and here to verify that I am not making this up.

Ma’am Elisea Dela Cruz or popularly known as Ma’am EDC was my professor during my Community Health Nursing Concept last semester. I know most of us are guilty that when we heard the name “EDC” we will immediately think about “TOXICITY”— that she is a terror, strict, serious and “will-make-you-tachycardic” professor. Well, I can definitely attest to that. She usually have recitations and she wants a “complete” and exact (well… who doesn’t right?) answer. If you’re wrong and you can’t answer her question, you’ll going to stand for as long as she doesn’t tell you to sit. If she caught you not paying attention, she’ll check the seat plan, ask you a question and then you’ll be sorry that you didn’t pay attention (I experienced that!) But then again, I managed to take back the [X] mark at my name for I have recited enough to redeem that (I remembered when I and my seat mates would coach each other when reciting we call it “Pondong Recitation“). LOL!

Me and my seatmates while waiting for Ma'am EDC's class...

I could clearly remember the palpitations and hyperventilations before my NCM class way back, thinking of the questions I might not answer and will make me stand up. Also, the tension of the class when she wants answer and we don’t know it. The brain-bleeding and neuron-damaging examinations that I can’t believe I passed (Thank God!). Lastly, the grilling-hot seat times when you are reporting in from of the class (many have shed tears maybe because of fear and shame…) Until now, when I see her at the faculty room, I still have palpitations though she doesn’t do anything but when I greeted her and she smiles, then I relax.

For once, I didn’t like her because of THE adverse effects (I am sure most of us do) but then again, I started to broaden my mind about her purpose on doing this to us, her students. For me at least, she let me see that I am NOW fourth year nursing student. She opened my mind on what qualities I should develop to be able to be a competitive nurse someday. She taught me to be responsible—more responsible.

I thought she doesn’t know how to smile… I thought our class won’t make her laugh or even just smile good thing, we did because of our group presentations. Her seriousness, I believe is just her professionalism. I once saw her near the faculty room, playing with a little girl, and then I said to myself, Ma’am EDC is not stonehearted after all.

I say Ma’am EDC should stay for your IN years won’t be complete if you didn’t experience being under her. As what was said in the Friendster bulletin, she had established herself in our institution and she really had given great efforts in producing skilled Tamaraw Nurses. I‘ll definitely NOT forget her.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a charity. I just want to share my Ma’am EDC experience.  

What to do when you wait for Operating Room and Delivery Room Cases at the wee hours of the night—or morning should I say?

playing BLUFF

Roe, PLaying Jackstone LOL!

playing pick-up sticks

after playing Hi Jack...

I know, it’s illegal but what can we do right? We could sleep but some of us, including me can’t sleep properly…

Lyne, mastering her skills at sleeping... LOL!

as well as Llanah...=p

For the third time, our group was assigned at Rizal Provincial Hospital only this time, we are at the OR/DR. During this rotation, (sad but true) was my first time at really performing the “handle”— the one who will catch the head of the baby and deliver the placenta. Though, I haven’t got the chance to catch the head because I don’t know what to do and the baby’s head was already out, I was the one who delivered the placenta. It was easy though the gush of blood stained by OR shoes and scrub suit. Waaaah!!! Nevertheless, it was a great experience. At least, I experienced that before I graduate…=p

with our clinical instructor

Another thing was, our group experienced our first mortality. Though, it really wasn’t our fault and the hospital itself, the baby was delivered dead already. It’s a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death wherein the baby died inside the mother’s womb. It’s really heart-breaking to see the baby violet-colored, cold, unresponsive. He was just covered with white cloth on his side, lying in his own arms. I want him revived but there’s no resuscitation done because he was already dead probably hours before his delivery. My other group mate even cried. It was really sad.

During my DR completion last summer, I was able to observe a baby being resuscitated for almost 15 minutes because I will do the cord care. My heart stop as well as my breathing because the baby has no reaction to stimuli. Good thing, with constant compression, hyperventilating and suctioning, the baby was revived. As soon as he was revived, my breathing resumed and my heart started to pump.

I don’t want to see a baby dying as much as possible. I want them to live. After killing the baby during our VINES exposure, I’ll definitely make it good!

P.S: Pleasssseee… don’t tell this to the authority… or else… we’ll bite you and kill you with our venom ’cause we’re a PAITON snake (one of my group mate’s surname)… LOL!

.....hisssssssss.....

Field trips are always fun. Not only it enables you to learn and appreciate your environment but also it brings bonding to your group. Honestly, I have gone to Rizal’s Shrine both in Intramuros and Laguna a couple of times already, whether I am with my family or with my classmates but that was when I had a not-fully-developed memory and understanding of things. Now that I have refreshed my blurred vision of what Rizal’s Shrine looked like in Intramuros and in Laguna, I thought there would be no learning because of the aforementioned statement but I was wrong. There was indeed a difference. A Difference in looking, in perceiving and in understanding things. For the reason that I have grown and I have different group of people as my companion, who at some point had influenced the way I recognize things.

We first visited Intramuros where I saw Rizal’s footprints— again. Being nostalgic, I remembered when I was a little girl, I enthusiastically follow Rizal’s metal footsteps, which I thought was big but now, my feet doesn’t even fit in Rizal’s shoes. I still tried to follow it, and as I went farther, I realized all his efforts just for freedom to reign in our poor country. I knew that with each step, are his hardships and dedication for the betterment of the future Filipinos— us.

Second stop— Rizal’s house at Calamba, Laguna. I honestly thought going there was just a waste of time, money and energy but again, I was wrong. Upon entering Rizal’s house, I saw their utensils, bedroom, dining room and even their bathroom but one thing I noticed is that, their things are small, this made me conclude that Rizal’s family is not that big or tall. Then it made me think of something worth realizing, I realized that even if Rizal is not a tall person, you can never step onto him, his principles and his philosophy. Even if he is just small, he has a magnificent and brilliant heart and mind, in which until now, his life and works affect each one of us. It is still the basis for each crucial decision our country needs to take.

Visiting places where memorabilia of Rizal are in, is just one of the ways in depicting Jose Rizal as a Filipino Hero. Preserving his properties is one way of giving and paying respect to his great contribution in the Philippine History but we should all remember that it is not only through that, in which we can show our tribute to him, it’s by living with his teachings from his essays, novels, poems and most especially, from his example. Through that, he will much appreciate it as he delightfully envisioned the future Philippines.

To wrap up our exposure in Rizal class, I gained something unique by simply walking through the walls of his home in Calamba and chronicling his long walk at Intramuros. How I missed field trips. Good thing we had this activity. Rain or shine, we still pursued the trip for we know, it’s a blessing and indeed, it was.

Learning outside the four corners of the classroom, I believe is the best way in which an individual never forgets because he explores on his own and yes, it is life changing.

Though Jose Rizal is just a small person, Indeed, There is no small thing that can’t blind your eyes.

Last Saturday, I have had the most shameful experience so far being a student nurse.

My patient is a 10 year-old male with a provisional diagnosis of T/C CNS Infection. He has body weakness, episodes of vomiting and he was very irritable. However, he still is conscious, coherent and oriented in three spheres (person, place and time).

During the shift, I took his Vital Signs, I noted that he had fever with a temperature of 38.2C so I performed Tepid Sponge Bath for my nursing intervention, then I rechecked his temperature after 30 minutes and it was 36.8C. I took his blood pressure though he is just a pediatric because of his episodes of high blood pressure. True enough, I noted 120/90 mmHg for his BP and it’s really high for his age.

For about 5 minutes later, a medical intern (or is she?…hmmm I don’t know) rechecked my patient’s Vital Signs, she copied the temperature I got but she, on her own got the cardiac and respiratory rate. Here comes the problem. When the doctor checked his BP, at first she didn’t got it because of the patient’s constant movement and noise and do she pumped again. I observed what she was doing, she pumped at 140 mmHg then release. She read the measurement and relay a 140/100 mmHg reading.

I was shocked. REALLY SHOCKED.

What the HELL happened there? I was really definite of my reading few minutes before. The mother was also shocked because I said to her that her child’s BP is just 120/90 mmHg. I didn’t take any move.

The doctor explained that the other doctor endorsed that the patient has consistently high blood pressure since admission, he even had a reading of 160/140 mmHg (as far as I can remember). At the back of my mind, I was battling with her statements I mean, that BP reading was before the client got medical management for his condition. If she could review the chart, which I thoroughly reviewed, his BP now was ranging from 110-130 systolic and 80-90 diastolic.

She even tested for Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s sign roughly. She didn’t asked the patient face to face if he experienced nuchal rigidity even if he can answer it directly, she just asked the patient’s mother to do it for her. What’s the point right? What kind of assessment was that?

Minutes after that “i-don’t-know-what-kind-of” doctor, the mother approached me. She said “Minuto lang ang nakalipas, sabi mo 120/90 lang, ngayon ang taas na…” I just said in a low tone of voice, “yoon po talaga ang nakuha ko… 120/90 po talaga yon…” then I left.

If ever I’d be assigned to the same patient again next week, I don’t know if I still have the face to render care to him. I was on shame at the same time I was pissed.

FEU Student Nurses are trained to get Vital Signs accurately without altering the results (well at least for my group). It is our forte considering it is what we do almost all at the time during clinical rotations especially if the hospital is benign (non-toxic) with matching NCP and Drug Study making. It has become our routine and our specialty. Sad but true. To be questioned in what I know I do best is a big slap on my ego.

I reported this incident to my clinical instructor and she just said “Hayaan mo yang mga yan, mga insecure lang yang mga yan. Ganyan talaga yang mga yan.”. I still can’t move on with what happened. I just said “Sige, kaysa naman yung doktor yung mapahiya, ako na lang kasi estudyante lang naman ako…” even though I know I am right.

Altering Vital Signs is crucial for the well-being of a patient. It can kill. If you would refer to my previous post.

I hope health care providers will possess the virtue of veracity because it is life that we are dealing with and not just a toy which you could by another if broken.

So yeah, after I have finished one module in our E-Learning, here I am today enjoying myself in our cozy home at the same time, being absent for my E-Learning schedule. Yes, my mom knows about it. I actually asked her permission regarding my absence. LOL!

For the past 2 weeks, I have been on straight duties and lectures. No free day, as in no time for rest.

Here is what happens when you are sleep deprived.

taken at Q.I

He is really sleeping...

2 in a row! LOL!

Student Nurses, if given the chance (even if there is no chance…LOL!) would steal even just a minute for sleep. Yeah, I am dead guilty. I have actually learned a skill for that— Sleeping in anywhere (be it on public transportations or in the hospital itself) and in any style you want as long as you don’t get caught. The best part in that skill is I can sleep with eyes OPEN. LOL!

I just realized, taking stolen pictures will help me not to have sleeping pictures. LOL! My skill in taking such unique photos is another story…=D Beware…LOL!

Oh wait, I still have loads of things pending to be done… arggghhh!

Free day is the new “Do-My-Schoolwork-Day” *sniffs.

*Now this would make me a good student. (Sarcasm again. tsk)

I am sure every one of my batch mates would agree to me if I say we are…

B.S in Nursing Major in Rizal and Speech!!!

Why?

In Rizal’s class, we were asked to create a dramatic play of the characters in Noli Me Tangere or El Filibusterismo as our Final Exam… (how demanding right?)

I played Maria Clara

In Speech’s class, we were asked to formulate our own product and advertise it to the whole class as for our Midterm Exam. This Finals, we were asked to act dramatic speech for our Final exam and a news reporting for our Finals Recitation grade. Whew!

Sorry for the rough shot...

I feel the need to prioritize them for they entail much time for practicing. But that’s not the case right? I should be focusing more on my NCM 103-B subject because it is a 16-unit subject and definitely on great weight with my future career.

You could just imagine how much students would do just for grades, you will see them doing crazy stuffs just for a 3 or 4-unit subjects. Meeen! That’s rough. If you just watched our performances with each class… Some of them are in my YouTube account. It’s fun but if you would look at it closely, it’s not of great weigh with our course.

My Classmate, Jojo (selling deodorant)

Mon as Maria Clara and Jo as Tiya Isabel

Good thing I finished the Rizal’s play and the Speech’s product endorsement.

However, THERE’S MORE TO COME!!! *horror tune…

Good luck to all of us…

Honestly, when I learned that our clinical exposure for our communicable disease is at Quezon Institute, I was dismayed for I really wanted to rotate at San Lazaro Hospital, where there are grave cases of different communicable diseases. However, I knew that Quezon Institute is also a tertiary hospital, which caters not only Tuberculosis, one of the most common communicable disease but also other respiratory diseases. In that case, I can appreciate my communicable disease concept.

Before entering the ward, I envisioned of the normal room setting and everything for a tertiary hospital. My expectation was right. The beds where side by side with each other with enough space for each client and a window. This is not to belittle the hospital because honestly, I really want to be exposed to the real scenario of hospital setting in the Philippines. Quezon Institute, at least though, in just a small span of time opened my eyes to what at real hospital set-up is.

Compared to my previous clinical exposures, the difference of Quezon Institute is the personal protection equipments that are being used by the care providers. This fact, in my own point of view, is a hindrance for building rapport with the client and providing the proper nursing management for them. If only I would not put myself at risk for acquiring the disease, I would not wear those. It is also true with the stigma attached to the tuberculosis patients, which made them receive less nursing interaction and management because of fear and disgust— for some.

Honestly, I am not afraid of the TB patients because I believe I have the knowledge as my tool in proper approach and management for them. I was just not at ease with the PPEs we wore. Good thing, my clinical instructor really assured us that we are safe. She really assisted us with everything that we do for our patients. That, made me confident enough for I can see her handling patients with just a mask as her protection. I admire her for that (not to be a teacher’s pet or what so ever…).

When it comes to the care I gave with my patient, my assessment skills was improved though there are some observations that I wasn’t sure of. I proved that with the proper knowledge, you can never go wrong. I also learned that, nursing profession is really a risky job. Nursing is not just a job and you don’t do it just for financial purposes. As from what I can see, it is like a vocation, which entails passion and dedication. You have to take care of your patients but not compromising yourself.

In Quezon Institute, my learning is pure realizations, which I know, will never be placed into my unconscious mind…=)

I would just like to share my sentiments regarding our clinical rotations during this semester. Yes, I know its only the middle of the semester to conclude about our clinical rotations but I am a bit frustrated because we we’re informed that our rotations this semester will be on specialty areas, specifically, National Center for Mental Health (which we have gone through), San Lazaro Hospital (NOT and I believe we are the only one’s who haven’t had our duty there) and the Philippine Orthopedic Center (NOT again but instead, we had our duty at FEU-NRMF our base hospital but only in a medical ward pfft! I can’t find any connection!).

We had the most boring rotations we have ever had (except for VINES). I want action. Honestly, I can’t feel that I am on my senior year except for the fact that my Rizal and Speech classes demands like a dramatic play and a commercial endorsement for our midterm exam. LOL! Our rotations last for only 4 days with just plain vital signs and NCP( Nursing Care Plan) making. It’s like we are just paying for nothing.

I want to voice this out to our coordinators but I don’t even know their names, only their faces. We once had an Open Mic with our Dean but sadly, they just gave reasons that only made us nod and pretend that we’re fine with that. In that case, I proved that nurses are really good at giving RATIONALES. I can’t blame them because of the big population of nursing students at FEU (we are 2000+ in our batch).

With our rotations, nothing’s new except for the infection exposure we are experiencing (I don’t think that’s a great thing). But being a nurse, the positive side of that is we could strengthen our immune system and be resistant to those diseases.

This week, we are going to have our exposure at the Quezon Institute, which is known for respiratory diseases which make me conclude for the aforementioned statement again because our concept is now on Communicable Diseases.

Timing is just so busted because I currently have Coryza, which made me immunocompromised. My mom advised me to take vitamins but I hesitated because the last time I tried to double the dose of my Vitamin C, I turned out to be out of my mind. I constantly forget things and I become clumsy. I hate those adverse effects. To testify to that, my group mates also share the same experience as mine. LOL!

Anyway, I hope few rotations that our group will going to have will be at least fruitful just to feel that our tuition fee is worth paying and just to feel that we are in our senior year. I hope somebody’s listening to my concern.

Please bear with my SARCASM.

I always envision myself as a registered nurse since I took up B.S Nursing. I even affix “R.N” after my name (which is indeed a violation) and see if it sounds good. Also, I always put the phrase “Future RN” in one of my accounts on the web. To my delight, yes, it does fit my name so good. It even feels good.

However, during my VINES rotation, there was a sudden change of cold weather.

It brought deaths of my patients… (dummies considered as real patients)

Then, I found a new profession…

“RM” a Registered Murderer (instead of RN, which is a Registered Nurse)
(We joked about it but on the other side, it isn’t funny)

From Day 1 to Day 4, I wasn’t able to save lives. All the patients who needs resuscitation was left not resuscitated despite of all the efforts because of a few little mistakes.

I killed Hal (refer to my previous post)
I killed the baby with a case of cord prolapse (but I saved the mother, being a high-risk pregnant)
I killed another baby who coded after delivery (it should be Pedi Blue but he wasn’t available during our simulation)

Fatality with just simple mistakes pffft! Mistakes that I won’t elaborate anymore.

I REALLY NEED TO STUDY AND IMPROVE MY CRITICAL THINKING

(during simulations and not just on theories)

My time being a student is not getting any longer. Oh well, at least I learned. Next time, I will be very careful with my actions because in the near future, DUMMY TIME IS OVER.

One thing I learned at our VINES exposure yesterday:

Never compromise the experience you can have into something lighter just to avoid or prevent frustrations. Let the worse comes to worst because with the worst, you will gain the best learning you can ever possess.- dianne

It’s just sad that some of the experience that I should have experienced was not met because (I don’t want to talk about it. Conflict just around the corner…LOL!) Maybe that experience will happen again years from now and it sucks (I feel our group {just the 6 of us} are the only ones who didn’t experience it). It’s so disappointing because I really want to experience everything into its fullest even if there are frustrations rather than experiencing a little with no frustrations (with the same learning) because it’s harder to accept the learning if you are not satisfied with your experience.

Now I am only left to count years… *sigh