Friday, March 23, 2012

My Dream Car: A Nissan 370Z

I can’t help but imagine about getting my dream car once I finish my nursing program. I have always wanted something that is fast, sporty, and eye catching; All that I wanted in a car is in the Nissan 370Z.

I had always loved Nissans ever since my family bought our first Nissan, a 2009 Pathfinder. Our Pathfinder is very dependable and has helped us forge through the worst of weathers, especially in winter. I loved how we never had a problem making it start even in -40 degrees Celsius. Plus our Nissan may look bulky and huge, but it can accelerate pretty fast. Don’t even get me started in its towing capabilities.

In terms of style, the Nissan 370Z is a sexy beast. It will perfectly match the urban scene and it's sleek aerodynamic design would definitely make heads turn. The 370Z is a perfect mixture of technology, luxury, and power as it boasts a 3.7-liter V-6 engine rated at 332 horsepower running up to a 7,500-rpm redline.

Just thinking about being behind the wheels of this car gives me an adrenaline rush.





Friday, February 24, 2012

Major Domains of Posttraumatic Growth

  1. Greater appreciation of life and changed priorities
  2. Warmer, more intimate relationships with others
  3. Greater sense of personal strength
  4. Recognition of new possibilities for one’s life
  5. Spiritual development
I agree with this. This is even applicable to near death experiences, when you suddenly reflect and start a new deeper perspective on things.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Ten Tips for Staying Healthy



  1. Don’t be poor. If you can, stop. If you can’t, try not to be poor for long.
  2. Don’t have poor parents.
  3. Own a car.
  4. Don’t work in a stressful, low paid manual job.
  5. Don’t live in damp, low quality housing.
  6. Be able to afford to go on a foreign holiday and sunbathe.
  7. Practice not losing your job and don’t become unemployed.
  8. Take up all benefits you are entitled to, if you are unemployed, retired or sick or disabled.
  9. Don’t live next to a busy major road or near a polluting factory.
  10. Learn how to fill in the complex housing benefit/ asylum application forms before you become homeless and destitute.
Source: Raphael, D. 2000. The question of evidence in health promotion. Health Promotion International 15: 355-67. Table 3, "The role of ideology in health promotion."

Monday, November 7, 2011

Ethical Dilemma: Forming Biases and Judgments Towards Patients

As I was doing my patient research for one of my patients who had hepatic encephalopathy, I had found my self forming judgment and biases against my patient. I read that EMS had to transport her from her house because her home care aide reported that she had increased confusion. The EMS report stated that they found empty beer cans in her room and she reeked of alcohol. When I read this, I quickly remembered a discussion I had with a classmate about a doctor who told his patient that "She did it to herself". I couldn't help but agree with how the doctor thought. Here is a person who was terribly sick because of years of abusing alcohol, smoking, and doing street drugs. She is in the hospital occupying a bed and using up so much resources, which could have been better allocated to someone whose illness wasn't self-inflicted.

That would have been my thoughts if I wasn't more aware of the determinants of health and other ethical principles such as not judging a person by pure face value. As I have learned from my past clinical experiences, what is said on the chart is not always 100% accurate and there are other vital information that aren't included and can only be known from the patient themselves. It is very easy to fall into the trap of forming hasty generalizations because of a limited information provided to us. I do not know my patient very well but I am sure that there is a reason behind the self-abuse. Although the information was limited, I have noticed that she has bipolar disorder. From the mental health course that I have taken, I have learned that substance abuse is one way for people to self-medicate. Bipolar disorder is a condition in which people go back and forth between periods of a very good or irritable mood and depression. Mental illness is not something that people chose out of their free will and they deserve the help that they need without the negative attitude that some people would have because of the misconception that "they did it to themselves".

Some would argue that they did have a choice to abuse substances, but again as a health professional, our role is to promote health and help a patient to the best of our resources and abilities. Just like a person who smokes, we cannot change them through force, we have to form a partnership and work with them towards mutually set goals when they are willing and more accepting to learn. It is difficult not to form biases, but we have to wear our nursing caps and leave our personal biases out the door.

These are just my thoughts on this subject.