What I Will Miss In the Philippines

I have been reading Mrs. APB's post about her wishing to go home to the Philippines as one of wishes on her wish list and me being curious and all asked her how long she has been away from the Philippines and then she had created an entry that answered my question.

Well for me I will miss the fiestas of course and all those Filipino-made dishes like dinuguan, batikolon, anything ginataan, and all those deserts that I love eating but don't know their name hehehe. Oh if you're not Filipino, fiesta is a time where the whole barrio (town) celebrate the feast day of the town's venerated saint. In my neighborhood our saint is St. Lorenzo Ruiz and his feast day is on September 28.

The only fiesta that is most memorable to me (and the most recent one) was the fiesta at Patag, Cagayan de Oro City. I remember that day very well because after our duty at the hospital our friend and duty mate Melissa invited everyone to her house to celebrate their fiesta. Of course everyone had their game face on and party mode is switched on. We didn't even bother going home first to change our duty uniforms and headed straight to Melissa's house. It was still early and dinner time was still 2-3 hours away so we decided to take a nap. Yup sleeping is a leisure for nurses that's for sure. After napping we bonded with each other sharing stories and then we ate dinner watched a DVD then went home to study for tomorrow's big exam.

I'll miss my friends, my duty mates, my school, and those precious bonding moments that we have. I'll miss my life... because I know that life in Canada would be quite different. But we'll see.

The Attack of Missy the Doggie

This is one of my best writing so far that I have done in my blogging life that is related to health. ^_^ Just thought that I would share it again with everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a cute doggie called Missy and she's very hyperactive! But there are times that she's calm and just lays around sleeping. Sometimes I think that she might have Bipolar I disorder but again how would I know? A Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) for dogs doesn't exist... yet hahaha!


As I was saying, Missy has these manic times and it's quite alarming! She runs back and forth and then she jumps on you! Good thing she's not that big. One thing that is quite alarming is she loves to bite as her sign of affection. Ouch that's a painful way to say you like someone.

It's a good thing though that we have already vaccinated Missy with Anti-Rabies. Rabies (Latin: rabies, "madness, rage, fury") by the way is a viral zoonotic neuroinvasive disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in mammals (Wikipedia).

The first symptoms of rabies may be nonspecific flu-like signs — malaise, fever, or headache, which may last for days. There may be discomfort or paresthesia at the site of exposure (bite), progressing within days to symptoms of cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, agitation, progressing to delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and insomnia. The acute period of disease typically ends after 2 to 10 days (6). Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive (CDC).

The virus is spread through the saliva so if your pet is infected and your pet licks you and you have breaks in your skin, you could be infected! You don't have to be bitten to be infected! It could also be spread through aerosol (or saliva droplets when your dog barks) or when you touch contaminated items.



Anti-rabies vaccines are always available at health centers for free so if you are bitten by any animal always consider that animal rabid! Wash the wound, apply antiseptics, and rush to the nearest health center or hospital. Don't wait until the symptoms progress and it's too late!

And also, be responsible pet owners! Have your pets vaccinated and don't allow them to stray outside (they can get rabies from stray dogs).

Remembering that I am a Student Nurse

After being stuck at home doing nothing but blog (not bad at all, Lol) I kind of wanted to remember my life as a student nurse. And my life as a student nurse started on June 23, 2007 and this was my Cap & Badge Investiture & Candle Light Ceremony. This symbolized my being a student-nurse and eventually becoming a Registered Nurse. As my clinical instructors have said, we have no where else to go but up. Hearing these words somehow made me think and I am struck by fear of the great unknown. Will I really be able to face the challenge that my profession has for me?

I thought that being in third year would be easier than second year because of the lesser number of units and subjects, but boy was I wrong. Being in third year is the most difficult stage and this could either mean staying in heaven or going to hell (staying at XU or transferring to Liceo/CU, no offense). I have always been proud of being a consistent dean's lister since 1st year and have received QPI's of 3 and above. But all of that is worth nothing as I struggle to even pass my very demanding and challenging nursing subjects. The fear of failure is my greatest fear today and this fear has made me more humble. There are days that I arrive at my boarding house at 9 pm and the first thing I do is sleep as fatigue, hopelessness, and as I said fear overwhelms me. As everyone thinks, nursing is not just memorization. It also entails problem solving, analysis, and common sense. And these are the characteristics that I am trying so hard to enhance.

But being able to go on duty at Northern Mindanao Medical Center and being able to wear the nursing uniform is consolidating enough for me. I won't give up. The finals are still far away and I will put my heart and soul in order for me to reach my dreams. I have gone this far to go back or go astray from my destiny. I can't seem to picture myself in any other profession aside from nursing (and perhaps medicine).

My experiences as a student-nurse only made my respect and admiration for the Nursing profession grow. Nursing is not just a tool to go abroad for it is a service-oriented profession and it's professionals are not only smart but have empathy and TLC.

I am proud to be a nursing-student, and I will try even harder to be a nurse with knowledge, skills, and attitude!

This is my challenge...

Full Patient Confidentiality

We all have secrets and secrets were meant to be hidden so that no one else would find out. we want to hide our secrets because of our great fear that people will judge us and will make fun of us for something that we have done or have that we are ashamed of.

It is this attitude that makes health problems worst. Some patients will refuse medical treatment because they fear that their doctors will betray them and their privacy will be trespassed upon. That is why it is good that there is 1stonlinepharmacy.com that is one, if not the first, to offer an online telemedicine. Here patients can fully disclose their signs and symptoms as they really are without their privacy and confidentiality be invaded.

One would also be free of judgemental eyes if one orders Valtrex online because there wouldn't be any nosy pharmacist who would give you that look when you buy that Valtrex medicine. For those who don't know what medicine this is, this med is used to treat people with Genital Herpes.

If you are uncomfortable to see a doctor you may have a consult with a doctor online and the doctor could give you a Valtrex prescription.

Technology is therefore making health care more accessible to everyone and this is really great.

Nursing Doubts

I really hate it when I'm not doing anything and I just sit and do nothing because it's the perfect opportunity to re-examine one's life and I don't want to re-examine mine. But since I had no choice and had nothing better to do I looked at myself and where I am going to go now.

I know that I want to be a nurse but there is something within me that says that I could be anything I want since I'm starting all over again. But I have already begun nursing and it's a waste if I'm just going to let go of my nursing career when I already have started building knowledge, skills, and experience in nursing.

Maybe this is just a phase I'm going through because I don't have any nursing stuff to do. But when I start my studies again I'm sure that my nursing spirit will kick in! ^_^