Treat Your Acne Now!

Ever since I was in high school I seriously had some bad acne problems. I think I don't need to explain what acne is because I think everyone has had their own share of experience of having awful acne breakdowns! Yup having pimples or zits all over your face is quite depressing and you get to have a bad body image and you just want to have your face covered with a paper bag literally.

Without proper acne treatment and blemish treatment then one would not only suffer from acne scars and bad skin but tremendous emotional scars and severe low esteem problems as well.

Several teens and adults are afflicted with recurrent acne problems and they are in serious need of acne treatment. There are a lot of acne treatment products and websites on the internet but I only found one that is very comprehensive and very easy to understand. I highly recommend acne-treatment-answers.com as it gives you reviews on the top acne products most effective acne products as well as a thorough information about all the things you need to know about acne: what it is, how it is caused, and how it is treated. They also give out a thorough and unbiased review about existing acne treatment in the market. Their reviews are also based upon their visitors who have actually tried the effectiveness of these top acne products. Remember that you must be really careful when choosing an acne treatment for you as these are chemicals that may do more harm than good so getting the opinion of actual users is crucial.

Having a clear and smooth skin is not only for beauty reasons but for emotional reasons as well. Everyone wants to feel comfortable and at ease every time they are seen in public. That is why acne treatment is a need and not merely a want. And if you want your skin to be really perfect then you should try having a blemish treatment too.

Bumrungrad International

If you're thinking that these are pictures of a famous 5-Star hotel located in a famous tourist destination then you are partly correct.

Bumrungrad (Thai meaning "care for the people") International is an internationally accredited, multi-specialty hospital located in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. It's the largest private hospital in Asia and well known for it's medical tourism. Millions of patients come every year to have their medical procedures because health care is cheaper in Thailand and the hospital is fully staffed (700+ nurses and 945 doctors, covering 55 sub-specialties) and has all the latest medical equipment and facilities. Red Cross gives Bumrungrad its top classification of "A" – defined as "a tertiary care center which should be able to provide quality care in all medical specialties including invasive cardiology, cardiac and neurosurgery."

And speaking of specialized doctors, Bumrungrad even has a golf doctor. Yes they have a golf course and an in-house ortophedic doctor/surgeon that not only cures golf-related injuries but help you improve your game! How cool is that.

And yes, Bumrungrad is a tourist destination/hospital that offers a shopping center, restaurants, and fully furnished private rooms. The room amenities include private bathrooms, cable TV, refrigerator, DVD players (available on request) and high-speed Internet connections. Suites also come with full kitchens as well as washing machines and dryers (available at one bedroom apartment up). The shared facilities include a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room. And did I mention maid-service?

But before you pack your bags to have a cheap cosmetic surgery and recuperate in a 5-star hotel suite you better think twice. Because Bumrungrad has some secrets behind it. Just like the death of 23 year old Josh Goldberg who died because of malpractice but Bumrungrad is protected from medical suits since it is a huge money earning company that brings a lot of income to the Thai government so it's natural to protect this gold mine from being exposed.

Bumrungrad has also been speculated to harvest organs from live patients that is why it's quite easy to get organ "donors" from Bumrungrad. But all of these are not proven because they are all perfectly covered up as said by bumrungraddeath.com.

But aside from these controversies Bumrungrad International is still such a wonderful place (for the filthy rich anyway). So if you plan on staying at Bumrungrad or any hospital for that matter please take note of these reminders/tips:

• Always have a watcher with you at all times. You don't want to be a victim of organ theft or dying due to malpractice.
• Always ask for explanations for all procedures and treatment, especially medications. Doctors might be blinded by greed and over treat a patient to get more pay from insurance.
• Take note of all expenses and know the "hidden charges" are carefully tagged as miscellaneous fees and don't hesitate to ask what these fees are for even before checking in to any hospital.
• Check the accreditation of the doctors and staff.
• Refer to friends and relatives for feedback on their hospital stays so that you will be aware of what to expect.

Let us remember that health care is now a business (sadly). So let us not be victims of large greedy health corporations and let us protect our rights by always being informed.

***
Sources:
Bumrungrad International
Bumrungrad Death

Harsh CI Love

As a student nurse I have encountered so many kinds of clinical instructors (CI's). There are CI's who are very friendly, there are CI's who you admire so much for their intelligence and skills, but the CI's that you might want to get away from are the "terror" CI's with matching tiger-looks hahaha!

Who are these "terror" CI's? They are the ones who will not hesitate to shout at you in public, fail you, and even throw heavy steel patient charts (you must evade to avoid serious injury hehehe). But I understand why CI's may sometimes be strict and uptight. This is because their hard-earned professional license is on the line. So if ever students become lax in the hospital student nurses might do more harm than care to patients. and who would suffer the consequences? Not the students but the CI's because what will you take away from student nurses they don't even have any license yet. So if you hate your CI go kill a patient, joke. ^_^

But if CI's are not strict with their students the clear line that marks authority is broken and student nurses won't show respect and won't follow the instructions of CI's. Plus if our CI's don't care about us then they would just leave us making a lot of mistakes. If CI's don't inform us of our mistakes then we would never learn.

But at the end of the duty or class CI's are more friendly because they don't have to be the authority after class hours, they are now our friends. I'm really going to miss my clinical instructors especially Ma'am Asne who has always been a mother figure to us. She has always been so generous with us in terms of time and food (hehehe). I will try to be like my clinical instructors and I will make them proud me, their student nurse who gave them trouble once in a while...

I Hate Smokers!

Honestly I think smokers have a disgusting habit and I guess you would know what that is right? SMOKING!

I don't know what is it with them that they want to die that much! There are so many reasons to quit and one reason is good enough to quit! So what are these reasons? Here they are:

• CANCER! What kind of cancer? Adult Acute Leukemia, Adult Chronic Leukemia, Cervical Cancer, Esophagus Cancer, Laryngeal Cancer, Lung Cancer,
  Kidney Cancer, Oropharyngeal Cancer, Pancreas Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Urinary Bladder

• CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES Stroke, aneurysms, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular illnesses.

• RESPIRATORY DISEASES Smoking is cited as a risk for dying of pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema.

• OTHER ILLNESSES:

  A report recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggested that smoking increased the risk of developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) by more than three times.

  Studies have pointed to smoking as a risk in vision loss among older people, mental impairment later in life, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

• EFFECT ON PREGNANCY Pregnant women who smoke can pass nicotine and carbon monoxide to their baby through the placenta leading to fetal injury, premature birth, or low birth weight.

Still not convinced? Here are some fast fact from the FDA Fact Sheet:

> Number of deaths per year attributed to tobacco in the United States: 400,000 *.

> Number of deaths per hour: 45.

> Number of deaths due to:
Cardiovascular disease: Almost 180,000. *
Obstructive lung disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema: 65,000 *.

> Risk for a smoker dying of lung cancer, compared to a never-smoker:
Male: 22 times
Female: 12 times

> Number of scientific studies on the health effects of tobacco, approximate: 50,000.

> Percentage of United States adults who smoked in 1993: 25 *

> Percentage in 1965: 42 *

> Number of years of life smoking costs the average smoker: 7 *

> Number of identified carcinogens in tobacco smoke: 43

> Estimated 1993 health care costs due to smoking, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: total $50 billion. This figure includes:
$26.9 billion for hospital costs
$15.5 billion for doctors
$4.9 billion in nursing home costs
$1.8 billion for prescription drugs
$900 million for home-health care expenditures

But what do I care if these smokers die? They want to die then let them die. But what's so disgusting with these kind of people is when they drag other people down with them to their graves. Who do they kill with them? The non-smoking people! Smokers are so shameless! Non-smokers have a 20 percent greater chance of death from coronary heart disease when they become secondary smokers or when they inhale smoke from smokers. Also non-smokers have a greater risk to have respiratory diseases and lung cancer because smoke particles that are inhaled cannot be expelled again unlike smokers.

And another important fact to know is that smoking by parents following the birth of babies is linked to sudden infant death syndrome, or cot death, and higher rates of infant respiratory illness, such as bronchitis, colds, and pneumonia.

So smokers are only liabilities in society! Billion of dollars are wasted on health care for them when they caused their own illness. These people also don't have any conscience as they kill other people.

Whenever a smoker smokes in public like the public transportation i never hold back on showing my great disgust and annoyance. if you want to die do it alone don't drag non-smokers with you!

Please Honor the Milk Code!

It was in the OB Ward when I was on duty that I first heard of the "Milk Code". Executive Order No. 51 (Philippine Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes) or more commonly known as the "Milk Code" protects babies from dying by barring milk companies (like Nestle) from promoting their product as a substitute for breastfeeding which of course is morally wrong!

The milk code clearly states that breast milk should exclusively be given to babies younger that the age of one and that milk substitutes is a big no-no! Why? Because failure to breastfeed leads to the deaths of 16,000 children in the Philippines each year and 1.5 million infants die around the world every year (from The Manila Times and Baby Milk Action).

So why is breastfeeding so important that taking it away may lead to the numerous deaths of infants around the world? Here are the reasons:

1. The babies immune system is still inactive and they only get their protection from a great number of childhood diseases EXCLUSIVELY from breast milk, specifically from the colostrum. Antibodies are passively given from the mother to the baby. Without these antibodies babies could die!
   
2. Breast milk is the ONLY COMPLETE source of nutrition. Artificial food supplements that Nestle and other milk companies could never be a substitute no matter how many minerals and vitamins they add to their formulas.
3. Formula milk is NOT STERILE! It’s been proven that some infant formulas contain enterobacter sakazakii, a highly lethal pathogenic microorganism. Milk formula labels don’t have warnings on these (from UNICEF).
4. ONLY breast milk contain necessary growth factors that help babies develop physically, mentally, and emotionally!
5. Bottle feeding will confuse the baby and will prefer to be bottle fed than breast fed making it very difficult to return to breast feeding.

Aside from protecting the baby from dying from diarrhoeal diseases, breast feeding has countless benefits not only for the baby, but for the mother, and society as well. You don't only strengthen family ties with breast feeding, you also help the government save a lot of money! Don't believe me then visit MotheringFromtheHeart.com for the list of some of the numerous benefits of breast feeding!

So why is Nestle an INFANT MURDERER? It's because their infant formula advertisements present artificial feeding as healthy and comparable to breastmilk therefore discourages mothers to breastfeed. Health claims such as “contains all the nutrition babies need for all-around visual, mental and psychomotor development” or “helps your baby fight against harmful free radicals of the environment” manipulate mothers. “Formula milk does not provide babies immunity from infection. It provides inadequate level of nutrition making babies susceptible to infection, malnutrition and death” stresses Sterken, a key player in the 20 country two-decade international boycott against Nestle & breast feeding advocate (from UNICEF). And with all said, Nestle even has the audacity to counter and challenge not only the Milk Code of the Philippines but of the codes of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF)!

Help protect our babies from greedy unethical companies like Nestle! Join the boycott and spread the word that breast milk has no substitute! For student nurses and nurses, or any medical professionals working in the hospital especially in the Philippines, always confiscate milk bottles from mothers! We are the empowered deputes who will enforce the Milk Code. If the mother says that she is only using the bottle but the milk is breast milk and not formula, inform her to use droppers or tablespoons instead because again, using baby bottles for infants below age confuses them and makes breast feeding difficult.

***
Breast Feeding Resources:

• Baby Milk Action
• Department of Health (EO 51 or Milk Code)
• UNICEF
• Manila Times
• Mothering From the Heart
• Infant Feeding Action Coalition Canada

My Morning Workout Nightmare

I'm quite proud of myself that I was able to partially complete my objectives for this day. After a month of procrastination and exhausting my scapegoats I finally did it! I went jogging early in the morning! I was quite amazed at my determination to lose weight hehehe. I woke up at 4:30 and started jogging at around 5:00 am on the highway. Yup the highway since of some reasons that I have posted here. The dawn was actually beautiful, it seemed as if it was still 12:00 am and the stars were still twinkling and the moon was still up. I told myself that this was a good day to jog. But the beautiful "evening like"-dawn turned to a scene taken out from a horror movie.

So there I was jogging with my headset on and my workout playlist playing. I was running and occasionally slow down my pace when I see people passing by and I keep a safe distance (for all I know they could be dangerous and I couldn't see their faces). The wind was very refreshing but suddenly I realized that this part of the road was very dark and the branches of the trees were like reaching towards the road. This is where hell broke loose. I didn't stop and continued running as fast as I could making sure that I'm at the middle of the road because I don't want to be jumped by "anything" at the sides of the road that had very thick bushes and foliage. My feet were already aching when all of the sudden I see these glowing eyes jump out from the bushes! Damn did I get the scare of my life and I quickly evaded the tiny eyes just to discover more of them ahead. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a cat because a cat's eyes don't glow in the dark. They only shine when there is light pointed toward their eyes. I still am not sure what those creatures I saw but I didn't want to stop and find out. I'm thinking that they were frogs because the body was small (but do frog's eyes glow in the dark?).

I was already running a kilometer or more when I suddenly felt dizzy. I immediately knew that this was it. I had to go home if I didn't want to collapse on the highway with those creatures around me. I felt like I was going to have a stroke but this must be because I didn't warm up and I was working my self too hard. This was when my fatigue took over. My music wasn't helping since I had a headache. I couldn't run too because I was so tired so I had to walk home. Geez, i was thinking that I'm such in a miserable state.

I was walking home when all of the sudden a dog walked across me to the other side of the street when *Bang*! a truck just passed by hitting the dog. I didn't even notice the truck as it was going real fast and it did not have bright lights. I was thinking that that dog could have been me if I suddenly crossed the road... the dog yelped in pain and I was guilty because I couldn't do anything for him. I can't bring him home because I'm still very far away and that he might be rabid and bite me and all. I had to be safe so I did what i could do, leave him behind. I'm still guilty up to now.

Upon arriving home I gave a sigh of relief but my doggie. Missy, was acting crazy and played with me by nibbling on my lower pants. But at least I'm home. I made sure that my heart beat slowed down a bit and I crashed into my bed with aching legs and an aching head. I arrived home at around 5:45 am and woke up at around 9:00 am.

With my bad experience I swore never to jog again that early in the morning. I'll just have to wait until we move in into our condo unit in Canada so that I could have the right exercise facility. It's safe and it's near my home so I have no problems about collapsing anywhere (but collapsing would be bad of course). I just have to let my body adjust to my exercise routine of course. Overworking my body will do more harm than good.

My Workout Songs

I actually don't workout hahaha! But I plan to do some jogging and decided to create my workout playlist. It is undeniable that music affects our emotions, intelligence, and health. Even without words, music can make us joyful or depressed, energized or sleepy.

Listening to music that induces relaxation, before taking a test has been proven to temporarily enhance IQ and improve scores. Music also has unending benefits on our health.

With regards to health, it has been proven that music reduces blood pressure and music is also used as a form of therapy to pain and to calm patients in mental hospitals.

Mark Tramo, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School, commented on a study which "showed that the heart muscle of people exercising on treadmills didn't work as hard when people listened to music as it did when they exercised in silence."

That is why I spent some time creating my perfect workout playlist and here it is:

1. Any songs from Britney Spear's Blackout (yup I love it!)
2. Stronger - Kanye West
3. Elevator - Flo Rida Feat Timbaland
4. I Got It From My Mama - Will.I.Am
   
5. Low - Flo Rida feat t-Pain
6. Feedback - Janet Jackson
7. pump it - Blackeyed Peas (or any songs from them actually)
8. Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
9. Like This - Mims
10. Dance Like There's No Tomorrow - Paula Abdul
11. Easy - Paula DeAnda
12. Aikoi - Kajiura Yuri
13. In the Church - Kajiura Yuri
14. 19 Sai - Suga Shikao
15. I'm Coming - Rain (Bi)
16. Fergilicious - Fergie
17. Tokyo Drift - teriyaki Boyz
18. Get It On the Floor - DMX
19. Show Me The Money - ???
20. Not Gonna Get Us - t.A.T.u.
21. Any Song from Panic! At the Disco!
22. Please Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna (or any other of her songs like Break it Off, etc)
    
23. I'm A Scatman - Scatman Jack
24. maria - Kim Ah Joong
25. Outta My Head - ashlee Simpson
26. Me & You - Cassie
27. Die Another Day - Madonna
28. Do It Well - Jeniffer Lopez
29. Push It - Salt & Pepper
30. Fighter - Christina Aguilera (or her other fast tempo songs)

So how do you choose songs for that incredible workout playlist? Here are some guidelines:

• The song must have a fast tempo with a nice beat to it that would want you to move more
• A song that you personally love (therefore don't just copy other people's workout playlist)
• A song where you lose yourself making you forget your fatigue and make you go an extra mile.

Music is a great motivation to keep on going and it is fun to listen to music right? Happy workout guys!

Corazon Aquino & Colon Cancer

I was actually shocked to discover that the former Philippine president, Cory Aquino, was announced by her daughter, Kris Aquino, a famous celebrity, that Mrs. Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer. We know Mrs. Aquino as a living symbol of democracy as she was swept into power by a peaceful EDSA I revolution to overthrow the then President, Ferdinand Marcos. She also was the one that helped bring the current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to power and is also ironically the one joining protests to bring President GMA down. But this time she faces a far more bigger battle, a battle for her life as she fights against colon cancer.

So what is colon cancer? To know that we must first define what cancer is.In a normal body function, rapid division and multiplication of cells are needed to regenerate and heal the body. But there are times when the growth is uncontrollable and spreads (metastasizes) into other parts of the organs where it continue to divides and replaces normally functioning cells with abnormal cells. Cancer cells multiply so fast that they may occlude blood vessels and steal blood flow by forming their own vasculature stealing normal organs their blood supply thus the organ dies. And for the people who are confused, tumors are abnormal proliferation of cells and there are two kinds of tumors, benign and malignant. Benign is non-cancerous and does not spread so it can be safely removed by surgery. The dangerous kind of tumor is a malignant tumor as it is cancerous. Even if the malignant tumor is removed, remaining cells could still multiply at a more rapid rate that is why chemotherapy (the use of medication to kill cancer cells) is also required to kill cancerous cells, but unfortunately it also kills normal cells but that would be a different topic.

I'm not sure if Mrs. Aquino's cancer is malignant or benign, but I'm guessing that it is malignant because she wouldn't have let the whole Philippines know that she had cancer. So let me share the some relevant information as to what causes colon cancer, signs and symptoms of colon cancer, what the treatment is, and what the preventions are. These are very important to know as this could save your life one day.

So what causes colon cancer? It's still unknown but it is believed that a high fat diet increases one's risk for colon cancer. Why? Breakdown of fat leads to the formation of carcinogens (cancer causing substances). Although cancer is not contagious, it is hereditary so if you have any relatives with any kind of cancer then you are at high risk for cancer.

Symptoms of colon cancer are numerous and nonspecific. They include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, change in bowel habits, narrow stools, diarrhea or constipation, red or dark blood in stool, weight loss, abdominal pain, cramps, or bloating. Other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (spastic colon), ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, diverticulosis, and peptic ulcer disease can have symptoms that mimic colorectal cancer (from medicinenet.com).

The treatment for colon cancer, like any other cancer is surgical removal to prevent the metastsis or spread of cancer cells to other organs. But treatment does not mean that you will be treated immediately. Factors as to how much the cancer had progressed plays an important role. This is why prevention is better than treatment because one only notices that one has cancer when it is already too late when the cancer has already grown and spread causing the signs and symptoms.

Preventing cancer entails a healthy lifestyle like eating healthy avoiding fatty foods, carcinogens like charred meat, drinking too much alcohol, etc. But the best prevention is early detection. It is recommended that all individuals over the age of 40 have yearly digital examinations of the rectum and their stool tested for hidden or "occult" blood (from medicinenet.com).In a digital rectal exam a doctor inserts his finger through your anus and feels for polyps (abnormal growth). For males, a digital rectal exam is like hitting two birds with one stone as the prostate gland can also be checked for prostate cancer at the same time.

Other early detection procedures are flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. Here a video camera is inserted to see how your colon looks checking for abnormal growths and other anomalies.

For more information please visit this site: medicinenet.com

Deciphering the Doctor's Handwriting

We all heard about the Da Vinci Code right? But there is something more difficult to comprehend and very difficult to decipher: the doctor's handwriting... it's a great mystery why Doctor's handwriting is illegible. There is also this study conducted by the British Medical Journal to check if doctor's handwriting were legible. Guess what the result is? Doctors Fail Handwriting Test!

For years now I have always been told that my handwriting is like a doctor's. This is meant to be a joke of course, but can also be misunderstood for an insult. It is true that I had my own share of horror and eye strain from trying to read and make sense of the scribbles and marks written by doctor's on their Doctor's Order.
In fact I always have to team up with my other duty mates to help me break the secret of the doctor's handwriting. But we always end up making mistakes. It amazes us though that my clinical instructors are able to understand this foreign handwriting. We always ask our CI's in wonder how in the world do they understand those scribbles and doodles? Their answer? Lot's of experience with doctor's orders. But even the experienced staff nurse also makes mistakes because there are doctor's handwriting are so encrypted to the point that deciphering it is no use. Just a thought: Doctor's should get into the date security business.

But what is so important about doctor's having legible handwriting? Simple, a misunderstood order could lead to death of a patient. Don't believe me then take some time to read this article from BBC News: Health Doctor's Scrawl Blamed For Patient's Death. As the article shows a poorly written order or prescription could lead to a patient's death.

But let us not flame our doctors because it is not their fault too that they have such illegible handwriting. We also have to think that they have a lot of patients to take care of that is why they have to do their charting very quick. But how come nurses are able to have more legible handwriting when nurses are the ones who are with the patient 24/7 and are always documenting every procedure they do for every patient?

But there is nothing we can accomplish with complaining that we can't understand the doctor's handwriting. What we can do is look for a solution. The best solution with this problem is electronic orders or prescriptions. The orders and prescriptions are just flashed into the monitor with beautiful and neat computer generated text. This may be already true to First World Countries like USA, Canada, and the UK. But in the case of the Philippines? We can't do anything but pray that the doctor writes in print or we nag them to death to interpret their handwriting or our license is on the line. Wait, I don't have a license yet.

Skipping a Meal Leads to Brain Death

Hypoglycemia is the medical term for a level of blood glucose (blood sugar) that is too low to meet immediate energy needs of the body. Glucose is a sugar that our bodies use for energy. A normal level of glucose in the blood is between 60-110 mg/dl . If you are hypoglycemic you will encounter the following symptoms: sweating, feeling warm, dizziness, difficulty speaking, inability to concentrate, hunger, drowsiness, anxiety, confusion, nausea, trembling and headaches.

There are two types of hypoglycemia. And these are:

• Fasting hypoglycemia can occur when a person goes without food for eight or more hours. It can be caused by certain underlying diseases (tumors of the pancreas, severe liver disease, adrenal failure) that upsets the body's ability to balance glucose.

• Reactive hypoglycemia is when blood glucose levels fall too low within a few hours after eating. This type rarely has a serious underlying cause. and is not easy to diagnose.
  

But I guess that the type of hypoglycemia that students are more associated with is Fasting Hypoglycemia. Nursing students are guilty of skipping breakfast especially if the duty is very early in the morning and don't expect them to eat lunch either. My duty mates said that they don't want to eat because they want to finish whatever they are doing first. But I wonder what makes them so busy that they don't eat lunch? But I can never go on if I don't eat lunch. I can skip breakfast (I'm used to it) but I can never skip lunch because if I do I'll just end up very grouchy because as shown in the symptoms above, I get a headache and my body weakens because there isn't enough energy being created because of a rapid decrease in blood sugar.

But skipping a meal is not the only cause of hypoglycemia. Other causes are: alcohol on an empty stomach, taking too much insulin, exercising hard without eating a snack first, eating excessive amounts of carbohydrate foods.

But if you think that hypoglycemia can only lead to headaches and body weakness, think again! Hypoglycemia an lead to the decrease supply of glucose as fuel to the brain, resulting in impairment of function (neuroglycopenia). Derangements of function can range from vaguely "feeling bad" to coma (rarely) permanent brain damage or death.

So never skip a meal guys! If you do skip meals because of uncontrollable circumstances then always bring food with you that are high in sugar like candy or chocolates so that you can have something to munch on even when you are on duty.

***
SOURCES:
University of Iowa
Wikipedia

Nursing: Back To Basics

Today I have heard what I have feared the most... It's bad enough that I have to transfer to another school and lose my chance and my dream of graduating from Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan. But my fear had been realized. My mom has told me that I might have to take some 12th Year Subjects and then go back to 1st Year College just like what a friend's child had gone through...

I was at first at denial and I was rationalizing, a defense mechanism, that I would not actually have to go back to the very beginning because I already have an Associate in Health Science Education and I had already been capped and badged... but then I realized that the education system in Canada is different from the Philippines and that some of my subjects might not be credited at all.

It's sad but if you weigh the pros and cons, going back to first year in a new country and a new life might not be bad at all. Here are the pros and cons that I have thought of:

the CONS:

• my batch mates will graduate ahead of me
• I'll finish my Bachelor of Science in Nursing when I'm 23 or 24 years old
• my 3 years of studying, hardship, and turmoil will be all for nothing
• If I fail the challenge exam/placement exam I might go back to high school (darn I forgot my high school concepts already)
  

the PROS:

• starting fresh will give me a chance to master the Nursing concepts and theories
• I have an edge over my new fresh high school graduate classmates
• better quality education and clinical exposure [I'm sorry XU, but studying at University of Alberta (hopefully, fingers crossed) is being in the real thing, the ideal nursing setting]
• I can easily land a job in Alberta and I'll be prioritized over foreign nurses
• I'll be with my family and will not be left alone in the Philippines

Oh my, I'm like a newly hatched chick that will have to go back to my egg shell and start the process of hatching all over again. But I have made my decision, I will study in Canada so that I can be with my family even if I have to go back to 1st year. The pros seems promising and when I graduate I won't really be that old.

Besides, I don't want to shift to another course because there is no other course that I would want to shift to. My dream and my goal is to be a Registered Nurse, and that is what I will become.


***
Photo belongs to cameradude

200 Pounds Beauty

This is a music video from the Korean Movie "200 Pounds Beauty". The song is entitled Maria and is sung by the main actress of the movie herself Kim Ah Joong. Anyway the song is a Korean rendition of Blondie's "Maria" for your information. Here is the lyrics:

"Maria"
(English translation)

She moves like she don't care.
Smooth as silk, cool as air.
Ooh, it makes you wanna cry.

She doesn't know your name and your heart beats like a subway train.
Ooh, it makes you wanna die.

Refrain:
Ooh, don't you wanna take her?
Wanna make her all your own?

Chorus:
Maria.
Youve gotta see her!
Go insane and out of your mind.
Medina.
Ave maria.
A million and one candlelights.

Ive seen this thing before.
In my best friend and the boy next door.
Fool for love and fool of fire.

Wont come in from the rain.
Sees oceans running down the drain.
Blue as ice and desire.

(Refrain & Chorus)

Ooh, dont you wanna break her?
Ooh, dont you wanna take her home?

She walks like she dont care.
You wanna take her everywhere.
Ooh, it makes you wanna cry.

Shes like a millionaire.
Walking on imported air.
Ooh, it makes you wanna die.

(Chorus 4x)

So and if you're wondering what the movie is about you can watch it from Crunchyroll and here's an interesting synopsis from Lunapark6:

"Han-Na is a very big girl with a warm heart. She is also gifted with an unbelievable voice from God. Han-Na has always wanted to be a pop-singer, but due to her appearance, could only work as a faceless singer. She provides the vocals for a popular singer named Ami, a beautiful young lady that can’t carry a note to save her life.

Also, Han-Na is in love with Ami’s music producer, Sang-June, but it is a one-sided love. One day, Han-Na is invited to Sang-June’s birthday party and receives a red dress from him to wear to his party. Han-Na is excited, yet scared. The dress is revealing and quite extravagant. With her very large figure, she is not sure if she could wear such an outfit. She does eventually go to the birthday party in the red dress, but is mortified when petite Ami appears in the same red dress. During the course of the birthday party, Han-Na absorbs more emotional trauma and she simply disappears……..

One year later, after Han-Na’s extreme makeover (major plastic surgery), Han-Na takes on a new identity and becomes Jenny. Jenny has a near perfect body and face. Nobody recognizes her, even her best friend. Meanwhile, the producer Sang-Jung is searching for a replacement singer for Ami, but can’t find anyone close to the talents of Han-na. Han-na as Jenny, now comes back into the picture and auditions for the job. Sang-Jung is immediately floored by her. She has the absolute beauty and that stunning voice. Soon afterwards, her dream that Sung-June will fall in love with her, is about to come true. Unfortunately, Ami is now jealous of her and feels threatened by her sudden success. She researches into Jenny’s background and comes up with the truth about her true identity. Will this ruin Jenny’s career?"

So you might ask me what the relevance of this post is to my blog... my answer? It's very relevant! It does not only concern physical health but it also includes mental health and even all around wellness. Think about it, we are surrounded by media that brainwashes us into thinking that skinny girls and buffed boys are the only thing beautiful.

Because of this g that the media is trying to portray, we have a society that looks down on obese people and think of them as ugly. In return these poor obese people become so affected that they are socially impaired and worst are driven to a life of self-pity and self-hate up to the point that they think of suicide.

We also have skinny people who believe that they are fat and ugly thus we have our beloved bulimics and anorexics. By the way the difference between anorexia and bulimia is that in anorexia, it affects mainly teenage girls (and even boys!) and is described by starving themselves to death so they are underweight. Bulimia on the other hand affects women to their early to mid-20's and they retain a normal body weight because they eat a lot but purge or throw-up the things they ate. Both bulimics and anorexics are laxative (a drug that makes defecation easier) addicts by the way.

But if you ask me, isn't it true that we find people who are skinnier more attractive? I am guilty of being a skinny person lover than a chubby person (but that depends if the person is cute hehehe ^_^). I even plan on dieting this summer because I see myself as fat, but I don't crash diet because I know that more harm can be gained from it rather than good. Crash dieting as defined by diethack.com is drastically cutting back on the amount of calories and fat that you take in on a daily basis. Similar to a starvation diet, a crash diet is often paired with other weight loss "fixes," including extreme exercise routines and the use of diuretics or diet pills.

So what are the effects of crash dieting? Well for one you become malnourished and there tends to be a"yo-yo effect" where a person not only regains his normal weight but also additional weight when he goes to his normal diet. diethack.com also emphasizes the following effects of crash dieting:

• iron, vitamin B12, potassium and sodium deficiency

• liver and kidney failure

• heart attack

• stroke

• osteoporosis

• anorexia

• bulimia

But again the main reason why cause why people crash diet is because other people makes fun of obese people and bring their self-worth down. It would be nice if they don't treat obese people as monsters. People should really be educated that nothing would be gained from name-calling. Although the obese should lose weight but they should not lose their dignity in the process.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today I went to the city to get all my papers done. I gave the secretary of the Dean of the College of Nursing at Xavier University (XU) a letter requesting for a recommendation letter stating that I was indeed a student in the College of Nursing and that I am eligible to enroll in a nursing program in another school.

Yup, you heard me right. I'm transferring to another school. But I'm not transferring to another school because I failed or anything and definitely not because I kicked out or I dislike XU. I'm transferring schools because my family and I are moving away to Canada this May. It's quite sad really that I won't be able to graduate as an Atenean nurse. But I'll always be an Atenean in my heart and in my actions... as I told my clinical instructor, at least I won't have to worry about being the cause of a non-100% passing rate on the PRC Nursing board exams.

My God, this is one big hell of a step for me and my family. I'm very scared but at the same time excited because I sure do want to travel and experience something new once in a while. It's not like moving to a new place is a daily happening right?

I will sure miss my friends, my clinical instructors, and of course my beloved school. I'm also quite concerned that I might have to go back to 1st year college because my subjects might not be credited, but this fear is allayed by the fact that an Ateneo school is widely known and recognized in the Philippines as well as in the international field. Oh well, if i do go back to 1st year that would be fine with me since I really want to study again because I'm afraid that I'm forgetting some of the concepts that I have learned.

I just hope that everything turns out for the best.

Anti-Filariasis Medication

At last after a few days of waiting we finally got our share of the Anti-Filariasis medication. If you ask me, although the Department of Health has good intentions of eliminating Filariasis in the Philippines, their Anti-Filariasis Program is poorly implemented (well maybe in our Local Government Unit anyway). In our case, the people in our neighborhood were informed but the stocks of the drug was very limited and scarce. If we didn't go directly to the source, the main "barangay" (neighborhood) health center, then we wouldn't have received our anti-filariasis drugs. The information flashed on the TV was quite misleading and the people at the Barangay Hall were also misinformed.

With this kind of program implementation I doubt if the program would reach it's goals. One reason why people in the barangay don't go to the health center even if the services are free is because they consider going to the health center as a hassle and the line seems to go on forever. So if the information dissemination about the Filariasis program is vague then the outcome would more likely be a failure. The information dissemination was way better in Cagayan de Oro than here in the province.

But I salute our President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for using her powers for the good of all issuing EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 369: ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR ELIMINATING LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS AND DECLARING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER OF EVERY YEAR AS MASS TREATMENT FOR FILARIASIS IN ESTABLISHED ENDEMIC AREAS.

Lymphatic filariasis as defined by Executive Order No. 369 is a parasitic disease primarily affecting children, women and men living in endemic remote areas; Lymphatic Filariasis is a debilitating and disfiguring disease, comprising about 76% of cases living in 4^th to 6^th class municipalities in 36 established endemic areas out of the 48 probably endemic provinces in the country; advances in the field of diagnosis and treatment make the disease one of the six eradicable diseases as declared by the International Task Force for Disease Eradication, as documented by endemic countries able to eradicate the disease such as Japan, Korea, etc;

So I encourage all Filipinos to avail of the said drugs to prevent Filariasis and to go to your nearest health centers while supplies still last. Don't wait until you become like this:

Filariasis
Photo Credit: Stanford University

Beer and Fireworks = Bad Combination

This is just one of the many reasons why I don't drink and why I highly discourage anyone else from drinking. Beer makes someone lose their selves for a while. Beer is a very good CNS depressant so your thinking and good judgement are impaired. This is the reason why there are so many drunk people out there who does stupid things like murder, rape, theft, and just plainly making a fool of themselves by lying unconscious on street corners. Not to mention that most vehicular related accidents are caused by drunk drivers.

There are so many health risks that I could give you that is related to drinking.

• Increased risk of accidents
• strokes caused by bleeding
• medication interactions - including non-prescription drugs
• breast cancer - alcohol increases estrogen levels, which is a risk for premenopausal women
• birth defects - fetal alcohol effect (FAE) and low birth weight
• liver cirrhosis
  
• heavier drinking - many people, such as recovering alcoholics, can't maintain moderation

source: http://www.med.unc.edu/alcohol/education/benefits.html

Not to mention that drinking could actually lead to an alcohol induced neurosis or dementia. I'll blog about this in a separare blog.

So for alcoholics out there limit drinking. For those thinking of starting drinking, don't start.

My Definition of Doom

Doom as defined by Answers.com is the following:

1. Inevitable destruction or ruin.
2. Fate, especially a tragic or ruinous one.
3. A decision or judgment, especially an official condemnation to a severe penalty.
4. Judgment Day.
5. A statute or ordinance, especially one in force in Anglo-Saxon England.

But in my own personal life, doom is my inability to manage my time effectively and mismanaging my priorities. So what happens next? My work and responsibilities piles up and I am unable to prepare for these responsibilities well enough resulting in massive and successive failures.

Time is not on my side here people. I still have a lot of things to do and I am panicking already. It's quite handy though that I have an excuse for being tardy and lazy. And this excuse is the nursing life is hard and difficult. This is even manifested by the great number of casualties in the college of nursing at Xavier Universirty...

But I have no one else to blame but myself... at least I'm not failing in medical-surgical nursing but I could have received a higher grade than C if only I studied. Anyway, it's too late for regrets now and I've gotten over it already. At least my RLE is a B-.

I have a lot of things on my mind that I want to blog right now but I just don't have the time so I'll go back to my studies now and I'll be sure to update my blog as soon as I can. Maybe this coming Saturday or so...

The Proper Handwashing Poem by Ms. Ansay

I was searching the net for guidelines on proper hand washing when I stumbled upon a poem by a fellow nursing student, Ms. Danica Ansay, who studies at University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM)., Here is a link to her poem: Proper Hand Washing!^_^

At first I was wondering why it sounds like a poem until I realized it is a poem. After reading the whole thing I was quite amazed how Ms. Ansay was able to incorporate the nursing procedure of handwashing into a delightful piece. The poem is very witty and funny. Why don't you read the poem for your self:

*Assuming that I did demonstrate the Hand Washing to you

Upon opening the door

You first stole me with your machong-machong body

Standing beside the sink located beside the door

Waiting for me, ay shit! Joke lang!

I mean waiting for the next student to demonstrate

the Proper Hand Washing

Suddenly after we sat,

I heard you call my name, Ms. Ansay!

OMG! I can’t believe I hear you call my stolen name

Walking towards the sink while stealing your sight

Preparing the materials upon preparing my heart

While starting the demonstration

I started to explain the meaning of Asepsis

As a freedom of my friendship with you

The purpose of Hand Washing is to prevent

the shyness I feel inside of me

And thus, I will now perform the Proper Hand Washing

First I will get a tissue to dry your tears and make you smile

Then I will open the faucet just enough to my satisfaction

Throwing the tissue away to the waste receptacle

Wetting my arms from elbow to fingers

Placing my hands lower than my elbow

I will get again another tissue to wipe my drool

while looking at you

Then throw again the tissue away from me

Rubbing the soap from palm to palm

Like kissing each other from cheeks to cheeks

Next is the interlace, then the dorsal part of my hand

Now the spider with my fingers rubbing my palm in circular motion

together with my eyes looking at your posture cephalocaudal

Then my fingers with five strokes each

while saying, ‘my-chu-va-chu-chu’

Lastly with circular motion rubbing my arms from wrist to elbow

Dreaming and wishing that you’re standing right next to me

holding my arms and together we will go to paradise

Now I start rinsing my arms from elbow to my fingers

Feeling the warmth of your hands embracing my coca-cola body

Picking the last tissue to dry my tears of loneliness

before saying goodbye

Throwing the tissue of my tears away from my sight

Getting the towel to pot dry my arms from hands to elbow

Wishing that you were the one who dries my tears

and makes me feel special

Preparing myself for the evaluation

A little spray of perfume and a touch of powder

I think is enough for him to notice me

Feeling nervous while standing in front of you

Listening to what you say and do

Rejoicing for what you’ve said

Giving thanks for passing me

And specially for your time and cooperation.

Why Am I Always Late?

$Aah! Is it me or do I really lack time management because once again I am late! Well at least this time I won’t get an extension because I’m only late for an assessment but still it’s so frustrating to be late. It’s also quite a shame because of all people, a nurse should never be late. It has been reiterated over and over again back in RLE 2 that a nurse should never be late because every minute is important for the life of the patient. Plus one should also think of the other nurse on duty that one should from her/his 8 hour straight duty. Darn it!

Well at least I wasn't late for the medical rotation. It was really great that my colleagues and I agreed to carpool to save money. We meet at Dunkin Donuts 30 minutes before our pre-conference so that we could then share a taxi and split the fare. It's also a good motivation too since I don't want anyone waiting for me... and I don't want people to make me wait... hahaha! I sound like Sasori of Naruto!

Anyway, lesson learned and I'll never be late again. Hahaha!

On Memory Enhancers

Tomorrow is our semi-finals exams and I bet I'm going to be really busy again cramming (hahaha)... but I bet cramming would only work if I had photographic memory but fortunately I don't. For years now I have been searching for a way to improve my memory because as a nursing students I have a lot of stuff that I need to memorize like normal level of hemoglobin or different drugs used to treat a disease and all of that stuff.

I have tried using memory enhancers like glutaphos but it doesn't seem to have worked for me. Well I did pass pharmacology with all those drugs and their classifications (thank God!) but I don't think that taking glutaphos has helped me pass pharma. In fact, whenever I take glutaphos I just sleep and I don't even get to study.

Anyway, glutaphos is just a vitamin supplement that contains vitamin B12 (as they call brain-food) and such. So why waste on money and risk damaging my liver when I could take Vitamin B12 from normal sources like meat, dairy products, and eggs. And glucose is the best brain energy provider and I can't agree less. I just love eating chocolates when I study!

So in the end, there is no short-cut to get a better memory without facing some consequences. Drugs may give temporary solutions but it will take something in return from our body because like any other drugs, there are bound to be adverse reactions.

So for me, eat healthy and sleep early... but where does studying go? Good question...
Nothing beats studying weeks before and reading ahead I guess.

Being A Nurse

Being a nurse isn't about grades.
It's about being who we are.
NO book can teach you how to cry with a patient.
NO class can teach you how to tell a family that their parents have died or are dying.
NO professor can teach you how to find dignity in giving someone a bed bath.
A nurse is not about the pills, the IV's and the charting.
It's about being able to LOVE people when they are at their WEAKEST moments and being able to forgive for ALL their wrong and make a difference in their lives today.
NO one can make you a nurse...

JUST YOU

This is a very nice message that our beloved clinical instructor, Ma'am Asne, has given us. It really has made an impact on me. Truly, being a nurse is not easy. The job itself is stressful but you also have to deal with patients who are in pain and who needs understanding even if they mistreat you out of their frustrations of being sick. It's very demanding indeed. But I will try my best to meet the expectations of a nurse who is compassionate, competent, and committed to my career and vocation. I pray to God that He may give me the strength to move on even if my body and mind are almost at it's limit...