Take the Stairs Instead of the Elevator

It's quite frustrating when the elevator doors are locked. Like my class is on the 6th floor and it's so tiring to climb those stairs especially when you're carrying my big and heavy Medical-Surgical Nursing book.

What's even more frustrating is when you find the first floor elevator closed, the second floor elevator closed, the third floor elevator closed, the fourth floor elevator closed, the fifth floor elevator open! What?! Like I'm going to the sixth floor! Might as well take the stairs...

But despite all of my frustrations I finally got over them and realized that it's actually really better to take the stairs because it's a form of exercise which I really need since I have a sedentary lifestyle.

I just have to make sure though that I won't be late for my class. So I got to go now, I still have to take the stairs to my room...

Weekly Evaluation: Medical Rotation

This week was a full of firsts for me. It was my first time to have ever go on duty at Madonna & Child Hospital and it was my first time to have been under my current clinical instructor and practicing clinical instructors for this rotation.

Although everything was new to me, I was able to adapt and carry out my nursing responsibilities. I was also blessed to have been assigned such wonderful patients who were very cooperative and very welcoming. I really did not feel awkward as I stayed in their rooms for the whole day as their student nurse. I was also quite glad that I didn't have to chart any nurse's notes (because it takes so much time, not to mention effort ^_^) and all that was required of us was a sample nurse's notes.

For this week I had two patients. A 6 day old baby girl with septicemia neonatorum and a 51 year old woman with pneumonia. I am glad that they are not that toxic and that they are already getting well.

For both case, it is important to note the presence of a bacterial infection. So basically the medications that I have administered had a common factor, which of course is being an antibacterial medication.

The baby girl had to have continuous phototherapy because she had jaundice caused by hyperbilirubinemia. I of course had to protect the eyes by securing an eye shield. I'm glad that the baby's vital signs were all normal during my shift. I am very edgy when I am with babies (especially newborns) because they are so delicate and one false move from me like failing to regulate the IVF properly could cause serious complications like hypervolemia and cardiac overload.

For my patient with pneumonia, I made sure to position her in a moderate high back rest to promote proper lung expansion and I taught her deep breathing and did chest physiotherapy after nebulization to promote removal of secretions.

So all in all this week was a very productive week for me. To add to my enjoyment is the fact that I wasn't late for this week of duty! Yeay me! I made sure to have set my clock at least 1 hour before the pre-conference and I agreed to carpool with my dutymates so that I would have more reasons to wake up early. ^_^

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...

My New Acer Aspire 4310 Laptop!

For many days, or rather weeks, I have been going on and on about laptops and I have been obsessed with laptops to the point that I couldn't concentrate on studying.

But after several weeks and with one swipe of a Citibank Credit Card, presto! My new Acer Aspire 4310 Laptop:


Picture Credits goes to: http://komku.blogspot.com/2007/10/acer-aspire-4310-and-3dmark03.html as I am very lazy to take a picture and upload photos of my laptop anyway, they look the same.

You might be wondering why I didn't get the Acer Aspire 4315 or the Asus X51R... anyway the Acer Aspire 4315 is actually phased-out in the Philippines and the 4310 is way better as it has a built in web camera and microphone perfect for web video conferencing! Here are the specs:

Operating System - Windows XP (thinking of upgrading to Vista...)

Processor - Intel Celeron® M Processor (1.73 GHz, 1MB, 533 FSB)

Chipset - Mobile Intel® 943GML Express Chipset

Memory - 1.5 GB DDR2 RAM

Display Screen - 14.1" WXGA TFT Crystalbrite LCD, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution

Video Type - Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950

Video Memory - 224 Shared Memory

Hard Disk - 80 GB SATA HDD

Optical Drive - Built-in Super Multi Double Layer Drive

Weight - 2.6 kg

Dimension - 344 (W) x 246 (D) x 37/42 (H) mm

Network Interface - Built in 56K Modem, Built in 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN

Wireless LAN - Built-in Acer Invilink Wireless LAN ( 802.11b/g)

Card Reader - Built in 5 in 1 Card Reader

Battery Type - 6 Cell Battery, 44.4W Li-ion battery pack

Battery Life - 2.5 hour Battery Life
Actual battery life may vary, depending on usage and configuration.

Although the Asus X51R is better than the Acer Aspire 4310 (here is my post about the Asus X51R laptop: http://vincentbautista.blogspot.com/2008/02/asus-x51r-series.html) my mom got me an Acer because of it's great promo: 0% Interest!

Anyway I am very happy with my laptop and despite it's humble Intel Celeron 1.73Ghz speed, it's still fast enough to meet up with my multitasking and stuff, so in short I love my laptop! ^_^

It is fast enough to play some games like SIMS 2 and Red Alert 2 so I have no problem, non at all. The battery life is actually good. The speaker is not that good but I won't be using my laptop for playing music at parties so it's ok.

Over all, I give it an 8 out of 10 because it's functionality and ease of use (lots of quick access buttons, I love it!) plus it's very affordable price of Php 30,000 makes it an ideal laptop for students like me. I can really use this laptop as a student nurse for my research and case presentations. This laptop is actually very good for presentations with LCD projectors because it's compatible with any LCD projector, I actually have used this laptop for 2 presentations.

This laptop is a great buy people!

School and Student Nurse Rivalries

It really can't be helped. There will always be school rivalries and student nurse rivalries. The rivalry would always stem from the debate of which school is better.

With the numerous nursing schools that are sprouting in the Philippines we can't help but ask wether the quality of education and the standards of teaching are maintained. That is why nursing schools should really prove that they are not one of those mediocre nursing schools existing.

Of course it has been a well known fact that Xavier University (XU) is a well respected and reputable Jesuit institution not only in the Philippines but in abroad as well. That is why other schools can't help but compare itself to XU because the standards and curriculum of the XU - College of Nursing (XUCN) is an acceptable measure of excellence. I can't help but reiterate the well known fact that ever since the XU College of Nursing opened, it had always produced batches of nurses who always pass the PRC board exams 100%.

This fact threatens other schools that is why they resort to dirty tactics to defame and destroy the reputation of XUCN, which of course they never succeed in.

That is why there is always an uneasy feeling when two schools have their duty together because criticism and backstabbing will never be avoided.

But it is unfortunate though that our clinical instructor had to reprimand us from our so-called behavior of feeling superior than other student nurses because it is quite ironic that we feel superior in the ward but actually are inferior in the classroom when faced by several hard medical-surgical nursing concepts.

I just hope that my batch and I could live up to the expectation of being an Atenean nursing student. Because if we can't then we better consider transferring schools and that would be a VERY TRAUMATIC experience... huhuhu...

Medical-Surgical Nursing Book as a Sleeping Aid

Moving at the speed of Nursing... This slogan seems so ironic in my case. I am guilty of sometimes using my medical-surgical (MS) book as a sleeping aid. I can't help it sometimes, I realized that reading MS could stimulate me to sleep.

I know that this is a bad habit so I'm trying to break it. I really should pull myself together because there's only a few weeks left before finals and I'm still unprepared and my quizzes are very low.

It would be a miracle if I passed MS at all. But I would make up for my wasted time by studying more: this is my promise.

Practicing Clinical Instructors

For me, Practicing Clinical Instructors (PCI's) are just students. They aren't really clinical instructors. They are still learning to be one. They should admit that they aren't fit enough to be called a nurse yet because they still are student nurses.

But it really annoys me when some PCI's think that they are far more superior than us and that they are equals with our clinical instructor. But I beg to differ. They still have a lot to learn before they can be a CI.

There are PCI's thought that are very approachable and respectful. They treat us as equals rather than subordinates and they never say side comments that are not only useless but degrading too.

That is why I'm never happy when PCI's are around because they are just there to nag us around to do our jobs.

Wheezing In the Abdomen?!

I was really frustrated when I heard from my duty mate that a student nurse from another school interrupted their assessment.

It would have been ok if he just stopped with what he said, "Excuse me what are you doing here, that's my patient (in Cebuano)". If I were only there I would have replied, "I never knew that you were the patient's owner." We already asked permission from the nursing station if we could re-asses our patient for our case presentation and we were not on duty so we weren't "stealing" his patient.

Anyway I really got pissed of when my duty mate told me that he just grabbed the stethoscope and insisted that he takes the bowel sounds instead implying that we were dumb and didn't had the needed skills to auscultate the bowel sounds.

But look who's dumber now Mr. SN of "Fun"? I was on the verge of looking for this guy and giving him a piece of my mind when my duty mate verbalized what he said, "The patient has wheezing in the abdomen!"

I immediately had fits of laughter. Like what?! Come again? Wheezing in the stomach? Oh really? Because if we would review our respiratory system wheezing would be a high-pitched whistling sound associated with labored breathing. Wheezing occurs when a child or adult tries to breathe deeply through air passages that are narrowed or filled with mucus.

I wonder if Mr. Wheezing really auscultated the stomach or the lungs because as I know wheezing is a breath sound, how on earth would it become a bowel sound?

So MORAL LESSON Mr. Wheezing from "Fun": Don't ever think that you are better than us in skills or whatsoever because we all are still learning and XU Nursing students have the skills and KNOWLEDGE to match whatever your school might boast of. And, don't underestimate us if you can't even differentiate that wheezing is a respiratory sound and not a bowel sound!

There's A First Time For Everything

Never in my wildest dream would I expect to be late in my duty days!

And sadly my worst fear came true...

My duty would start at 5:45 AM and I woke up at 6:15 AM! Imagine that! I was 30 minutes late for my first day of duty at the surgical ward. Being late brought about a weird feeling. I woke up feeling tired and sleepy because I stayed up until 4 am to finish my requirements. At first I didn't think that I was late. I looked out my window and told myself, "Hmm... it's finally morning..." and then I suddenly realized that I had duty and I couldn't help but mutter the words, "Oh God, all the angels, and saints I hope that I'm not late!" Yeah right! I wish!

I was lucky though that a taxi just passed by my boarding house when I went out and boy the adrenaline rush didn't feel good at all. I was worried and I was sweating... and oh boy... I didn't take a bath.

My duty mates were already taking down their endorsements when I arrived. I was a mess and I expected my clinical instructor to shout at me or something but strangely enough he was very cool tempered, lucky for me.

Although I got 8 hours extension (which hopefully I won't have to serve) the day was quite good. I promised my self that I wouldn't be late for the next day but guess what, I was late. But I caught up to the pre-conference during the second day so it was ok.

So this time, I promise myself to always finish my requirements as early as possible and I should sleep early too so that I could still wake up!

After Midterms What’s Next?

At last, midterms have long passed and gone. This midterm week wasn’t that stressful at all and the exams were quite easy. They seem easy for me but I’m not sure if I fared that well. But it’s a good thing that I got a good score in my NCM 102 – RLE (medical-surgical nursing) because my prelim exams, both in RLE and lecture, were bloody (lots of wrong answers and red X-marks)! But as expected, with the good comes the bad. My lecture exam is missing! I thought that my clinical instructor was joking but oh my God, the world came twirling around and I fainted! Well, I didn’t really faint. But for a person who lost his exam and who is uncertain if he passed or failed, I seem quite relaxed actually. Thank God for my come-what-may attitude because if I keep on obsessing about my grade I might actually become a patient at Davao Medical Center – Psychiatric Department.

Right now I am in relaxed mode but ready to face the challenge that my chosen profession may throw at me. Char. I have learned so much from this week. I have learned that I am actually a morning person than a night person; I learn more and retain more when I study in the morning than at night. Also, to pass medical-surgical nursing I need to borrow the great war plan: divide-and-conquer! I need to study and read ahead before the semi-finals if I really want to pass.

IVF Fan

Presenting the "IVF Fan: A quick reference for students and busy nurses plus a way to cool off in the ward!"

This is a project that I made. Our clinical instructor (CI) told us to use Intravenous Fluid (IVF) bottles and be creative in making a quick reference thingy. It was really fun racing each other to complete collecting 6 types of IVF. We really got down and dirty and searched every IVF bucket we could find. It was a great experience but I wouldn't want to do it again cause it's very draining. ^_^

Ateneo de Davao Univeristy (ADDU)

This picture was taken last month (November) and I really like this pic. it shows that I have actually achieved one of my dreams and that is to visit ADDU. I have planned to visit ADDU when I was in Davao for our psychiatric affiliation but I was only able to visit my sister school when I came back to Davao for our medical examination.

being infront ADDU was a sense of accomplishment for me. Don't get me wrong I am a true blue Atenean. I have studied at Ateneo since high school. And if only I could already take care of myself and live alone during grade school then I would probably be studying in Xavier University Grade School (Ateneo de Cagayan). There's a lot of pride in me hehehe. But I do love my school. That's a fact.

I was about to write about my Davao experience but it's too lengthy and I'm a lazy bum hehehe. Anyway I wasn't really able to enter the campus since it's already dark and we were only there to buy some Pomelo from the sidewalk vendors infront of the school hahaha. Like we stopped at the side of the road (you can actually see my tita's car in the picture) and the vendors came to us (imagine that). We then decided to go out because we wanted to taste which vendor's pomelo is good (it was already more like eating if you ask me). The vendors really opened pomelos and gave each one of us. We then ofcourse bought a lot because the vendors would lose a lot because they really opened their products for us. I had a picture of the trash we left behind infront of Ateneo hahaha I am so bad.

Psychiatric Affiliation: The Davao Adventure

Who would have guessed that Davao would actually be fun... Yes it was fun but you couldn't over-shadow the 12 days of sleepless nights, brain-melting requirements, bloody case presentations, and the 5 days of being with naked crazy people.

So, let me begin my adventure with the picture of my bags for Davao...
They may look heavy but they actually aren't. So on October 20, 2007 I woke up AT 1:00 am (I actually didn't sleep well because of my anxiety...) and prepared took a bath then went to Dunkin Donuts by 3:00 AM for some breakfast and coffee. The bus came at around 4:00 AM, I was already waiting there but the bus drivers didn't let us board yet so I waited again for 5 am until finally we were able to board the bus.

I never did realize how enjoyable it is to ride a bus. It was like adrenaline was rushing all over my body. I was like a young boy who was getting to ride a bike for the first time. I really enjoyed looking at the people passing by and I was even tempted to wave at them but held back for the sake of my sanity.

Upon reaching Davao we were already oriented upon the tings we ad to do, after a hearty meal of course. Food is one of the greatest joys in Davao people. We did so many things before we could actually go on duty at Davao Mental Hospital. We had to undergo a drug test were someone will look at you pee trough a one way mirror (ewe!) and then had our hospital orientation and tour. We first had our first encounter with some nursing school from Kidapawan and we were so surprised how prepared they were. Imagine, bringing a CD for dancing at the orientation for an intermission number. But we looked better than them hehehe (connection?). Davao Medical Center was the largest hospital that I have ever been in in my entire life with the best facilities and equipments. I was truly amazed.

The mental hospital was only scary at first. Imagine seeing naked people and stinky wards... disgusting. And there was tis one crazy person chained to the wall who actually pulled my sleeves, good thing I reacted and ran away leaving only and prints on my sleeve (wonder what she was touching ewe!). The rest then became a routine. We tell them to was up, bring them to the activity area, take vital signs, interact, then bring them back to their cells.

Everyday would have been fun if only we didn't had tons of written requirements and those 9:00pm emergency meetings... geez people let me sleep! (hehehe, lazy bum).

But at least I was able to go to the malls there like Gaisano and SM. We even got the chance to go to this beautiful nature park called Eden. I especially loved the jungle swings thingy. The buffet would have been nice too if only they didn't ran out of peach float (how sad).

It was quite sad that I wasn't able to visit Ateneo de Davao but someday I'll get to go there hehehe.

That's all. A lot more happened really but you people might get bored hehehe.

If you really want to know what happened more, just check my pictures at:
http://vincentb88.multiply.com/photos/album/13/Davao_Psychiatric_Affiliation

Oh yeah, we failed our case presentation... I wonder if anyone actually passed case presentations?

THE TOP 10 SCHOOLS IN THE PHILIPPINES

THE TOP 10 SCHOOLS IN THE PHILIPPINES

This statistics is a result of the study conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), based on the average passing in the BOARD EXAMINATIONS OF ALL COURSES of all universities and colleges in the Philippines.

This study is concluded every 10 years. The following is the result of the first study from
1992 to 2001. Five schools come from Luzon, two from the Visayas and three from Mindanao.

1. University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus /Luzon)

2. Silliman University (Dumaguete City / Visayas)

3. Ateneo de Davao University (Davao / Mindanao)

4. Ateneo de Manila University (Manila / Luzon)

5. University of Sto. Tomas (Manila / Luzon)

6. Mindanao State University (Mindanao)

7. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (Manila /Luzon)

8. Saint Louis University (Baguio City / Luzon)

9. University of San Carlos (Cebu City / Visayas)

10. Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro /Mindanao)

Wooh! My school is in the list! The only one from Cagayan de Oro too. I don't know the latest list though but I bet XU would still be in the Top 10. I heard that there was a latest statistics where XU ranked top 7. I wonder if this would be because of the well-known 100% passing rate of board examinees from the XU College of Nursing...

But you know what? These statistics are so unreliable... plus people are so biased... to be honest, I am one of those biased people hehehe. Who would say that "I'm enrolled in the worst school ever" right? We would definitely say that "my school is the best".

But what are the criteria for being the best? And why is the school so damn important in our lives? One thing for sure is that if you graduate from a reputable and respectable university you would propbably have a greater edge over those who graduated from other unknown schools. And this is a fact. One company I know of in Cagayan de Oro hand-picks applicants who came from XU or a better school outside Mindanao and then if there are some vacant slots chooses from the other top performers from other schools. My source is very reliable thank you.

But in the end, if you don't perform well as expected you would still fail and be fired and you will definitely bring shame to your school. This is why the best schools just don't allow any student to graduate unless they perceive that that student is already capable.

So conclusion? Just work your way to the top and stop wasting time by trying to defend yourself that your school is the best! I'm not hehehe... I'm not the one saying nah my school is better than that school because they know more about skills and stuff and this school is only based on theories... but if I were a person so concerned with people comparing my school to theirs just to prove that they are better, then my rebuttal would be: how can you apply skills when you don't know the theories or reason behind it... duh?! hehehe...

Peace to all!

What Should I Major In?

Your Scholastic Strength Is Evaluating

You are great at looking at many details and putting them all together. You are talented at detecting subtle trends, accuracy, and managing change. You should major in: Statistics Speech Conflict studies Communication Finance Medicine

What Should You Major In?

Out of School Youth

Out of School Youth

Yup! I’m an official out of school youth… cause I don’t have anymore clases hehehe. I’m going to be bored at home for a while. Thank God that I have summer classes. I’m quite excited to know whether I got good grades, enough to keep my scholarship that is… Hmm… fingers crossed.

What do I do for fun? Nothing much, just surf the net, watch anime, play pc games, in other words… I’m damn bored… not to mention that no one is texting me huhuhu…

On Campus Elections

At last the election days are over! I wasn't aloud to talk about this outside of school because my candidacy will be nullified because of certain technicalities. Yup, I ran for the Xavier University Campus Elections! Could you believe it? Me? Have the guts to pull up something like this which I have never done before?

Anyway I ran for 3rd Year Vice-President for the Council of Nursing Students under the banner of Alyansang Atenista (which is celebrating it's 20th year now!). And thankfully I won!

I'm really happy and at the same time excited to fulfill my responsibilities because I do not want to fail my constituents. I believe that I am capable to lead them because of my experiences in CONUS and at the same time my great passion for change and student rights!

The election has been very bloody I tell you. We have an opponent party who resorted to using the Crusader Publication, the official school publication, as black propaganda. I won't talk about the details anymore because it would just complicate things.

To all who voted me, thanks!

Assisting in a Pap Smear

Last November 30, I went down to Cagayan de Oro because I was one of the eight endorsed by our clinical instructor's to assist in the Pap Smear at the Mother's House (An extension of German Doctors). I was quite excited and I have to admit that I had a bit of hepatomegalee episode (enlargement of the liver or bukad atay/burst of ego). Yeah it really felt good to be recognized because of your skills (char!).

I really thought that I could really experience a pap smear procedure but it was unfortunate that not one patient showed up. But at least I was able to take one client's vital signs (which I think I did ok). It was very fun though! I had fun talking to my team mates and it was cool to be able to share things with them.

We weren't able to gain some experience but we still have some incentives... incentives that I can't talk about because it would be a breach of secrecy. Hehehe...

XU Schedule

Oct 30-31, 2006 -- freshmen enrollment

november 3-7 - upperclassmen enrollment

nov 8 - classes starts

prelim: dec 11-16

midterms: jan 22-27

semifinals: feb 19-24

finals: march 14-20

I AM PROUD TO BE AN ATENEAN!

My school may have a lot of short comings and downsides but those are outshined by several positive aspects. I love XU very much and I am proud to be an Atenean! Yes, I AM PROUD TO BE AN ATENEAN! Being an Atenean does not only require Competence! It requires Conscience and Commitment. And as a very intelligent mentor adds... Compassion (for student-nurses)! A true Atenean is a Man and Woman for others who serve under the light of Justice and Truth!

I don't want to prove or start a debate why Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan is one of the most prominent schools in Cagayan de Oro. My purpose in writing this is to express my hurt and dismay.

This essay is directed to a faculty of one school in Cagayan. We all are entitled to our opinions and beliefs and I believe in freedom of expression because this is of course our constitutional rights. But our rights end when we step on the rights of others. I did not want to eavesdrop on this faculty’s conversation with another person while riding a van to my hometown. Of course I didn’t listen in to their conversation but it can’t be help because this faculty’s voice was very loud and clear.

She was saying that her school (university) is better than XU and maybe all the other schools in Cagayan de Oro because of a lot of reasons, reasons of course that are very debatable and can be proven false. I can not help it. I can’t just sit around and listen to this faculty flame and defame my beloved school! I have to express my feelings! Gladly I was in a very pleasant mood so I was still calm and decided not to confront this faculty because I knew that it would just end up in a big mess.

My point is if you want to prove that your school is BETTER than the rest, begin by stating facts about your school. Do not compare and use other schools (especially XU) to prove that your school is a good school. Don’t destroy the name of other schools or the name of other people for that matter to gain fame or prestige. The only logical explanation why people use such low tactics to bring fame to their institution is either they are afraid of good competition or they really suck and have nothing to show the public.

Finally, Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan is already a historical landmark in Cagayan de Oro and it has already yielded exceptional Atenean alumni who excel in various fields in various places around the world. This ladies and gentlemen is a FACT! The reason why I don’t have to start a debate or prove anything is because everyone knows that XU is an exceptional school. XU does not need to advertise or promote because XU is already a well recognized school in Cagayan de Oro, in the Philippines, and in the world. This is a fact. And as they say in business, the only reason why a product is being promoted is either it is new or it is not patronized by the public.