Acknowledgement

I would like to thank God that created me with self-reliance. Because of Him I believed that I can finish this study. And with his persistent and deliberate entry into unfortunate events (that constantly happen to me) in order to influence situations and prevent adverse consequences, I did.

I would like to thank my parents, for nurturing me for twenty years without complaint and protest.

Thanks to Professor Artemio Buitre, for being a cool adviser. His constructive criticisms and two-thumbs-up-even-at-worse-situations gesture always motivates me to go beyond what I can perceive. Thanks would also go to Professor Maria Janet Recierdo, for trusting me her own dissertation, for serving as second adviser and a panel member at the same time.

I would like to thank our librarian, Ma.Victoria Olaguer and the geniuses that created internet, who helped me on gathering my literatures and analyzing my data.

I would like to thank my friends, who are able to stand by me with my nomadic lifestyle, on my improvements and downfalls. Thanks to Joanne Kristine Relleve and Demi marie Borja for letting me stay in their beds safe and warm at my vagabond nights. Also, thanks to Engineer-Teacher Caryl Silang for keeping me safe, warm and well-fed in her home at my other vagabond nights. Thanks to Marijoy Magdato for simply being there and not talking at all when everybody seems so loud and out of control. Special thanks would go to Marianne-France Buela, Al Francis Grona and Maria Cecilia Hular, when I’m with them I feel less guilty because they are good procrastinators as I am. Both of them will always be my favorite college buddies. To Dyan Dycoco, Chester Arlan Lopez, Dennis Loterte and Mark Lester Llana; for giving happy rhythm in my life like they do in Karaoke Days. And to all the people I can’t mention here, by taking and posting pictures of the world in different perspectives over the internet or posting random thoughts in Facebook, to the nameless strangers, who have inspired me every day in some ways they are not even aware, thank you.

And for bringing out the best in me, for immensely widening my perspective in life, for being my pseudo-adviser, my statistician, my editor, my thesis partner, my personal hero, my buffer, my best friend, for being the unstoppable force that gives meaning and direction to my verve, like all the other literatures I have written, this one is for you Jen Arbo.

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The review center that never was

It's Sunday. We had a night out last night. I'm supposed to be at review but I woke up late and lazy so I'm here, still in my sleeping clothes, blogging, playing online games that I missed forever and having quality time with Jen. Only that she is asleep.

But it's okay. Jen sleeps like a baby. I can't help but to stop and stare. :)

Yesterday was my first day of review in iMind. It was fun. But I haven't decided about settling there yet. I'll sit in in RUN next week to weigh them both.

Primarily, these are facts about iMind:

1. The lecturer is dynamic. I really appreciate how he managed to be consistent in that tone from 8am to 5pm with only 1 hour-lunch as a break.
2. The discussion covers almost anything about the concept (Fundamentals of Nursing, that time). The problem: the lecturer is talking in a non-stop high-speed pace, few points are not clear.
3. Shorthands are the core technique in note taking.
4. Time bounded. Lecture starts at 8 am and ends up at exactly 12 n. Resumes at 1 pm and dismiss at 5 pm. I like that most of all.
5. No pressure.

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A very serious post

I need to start my enhancement review tomorrow so I motivated myself to get on it by buying a new notebook and jazzing it up. There, with my groggy penmanship. It says A Very Serious Notebook. I have all kinds of notebook that's why I have to write that. This will contain NOTES not sarcastic doodles during my Attention Deficiency intervals on lectures. This is a serious notebook.

I have enrolled in iMind but now I’m having second thoughts about it. Demi (who already took and passed midwifery boards) said RUN is better. But still not sure if I’ll really change my mind. I’ll know tomorrow. This whole thing makes me a little crazy. I don’t know much about those review centers so I go for whatever my friends recommend. I’m a little what do you call this, uhm..something between excited and anxious feeling. I want to settle in a formal review already. I want to relearn things like a refresher because I’ve become a little rusty about the whole stuff. My board exam would be better if I took it on my third year than now. Inconsistencies in school and very poor decision making on my part has consumed quite some time already. SO I REALLY NEED TO DECIDE TOMORROW (and watch HP7). Ugh. :D

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Untitled

My eyes are seriously deteriorating. After quite some time I thougt it was just lack of sleep or nourishment. Didn't realize it til I almost fell from too much dizziness while focusing on the words written on the label of the hanging IVF at the hospital.

I need a new pair of eyes before the year ends.

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Whatabouts

Today is the last day of NMAT* registration which Jen and I are supposed to take. But we decided to just wait until next year when our timetables are not this tight. Definitely we can't take it on April because intensive review for NLE** will be starting and Jen needs so much catching up with her masteral. We'll take it next time then.

Guess what? We started piggy banking! It's gonna be December few days from now so we figured out something to fund extra somethings. Plus we have plans. And small projects. I'm excited about it. Hope they'd go all well.

I'm looking forward to meeting Rose and Theresa, Annie, hopefully, and of course other friends of Jen.


*National Medical Admission Test
**Nursing Liscensure Examination

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Whatabouts

It's quite a day in the hospital. One dead, and one absconded. I still feel lucky to have the latter. Others are in mechanical ventilator. Ambu bag. It is a hand-held device that provides ventilation to a patient who is breathing inadequately or not breathing at all. I found myself staring at somebody who is most likely the husband of the patient. I wonder how long could he do that, hold on to that ambu bag (which is technically the only thing that's keeping her alive). But it goes all down to a bittersweet fact: HE'S BREATHING FOR HER 24/7.

By the way, I'm not mad at you, bastard, for escaping and not settling your bill. I just hope you get home safe and well. I'm referring to my patient.

It's rainy and cold tonight. My knees hurt badly. Somehow thankful that I have nothing much to do. This pain is gradually killing me.

The best part of this day would be this hour. With Jen, Joenard, Mark. Mike and Vodka. :)

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Whatabouts

At this very moment, yes while I'm typing this, I am locked in a very tight hugging from my back. It's 7 am, Jen is still deeply asleep.
:)

We went on a night out after working on soil samples (for Jen's thesis) yesterday. With Chester and Dyan, my best high school buddies and other classmates. It was Emman's 20th birthday. We had vodka and beer. Plus chicken strips. Ugh. I hope Jen won't wake up with a hang over. Luckily, I didn't.

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5 lies you make in the hospital as a student

1. Vital Signs. Especially those at the end of the shift. It's not that your busy with other paperworks and other endorsements. It's just that you can sense that the patient is already annoyed by your endless sphygmomanometering. Tip: Just have an average value. It's just a lie, don't let it ring a bell.

2. Nursing Diagnosis. Those one writes in the NCP*. These are supposed to be the actual problem of your patient from your assessment where you will base your plan of care. But not all patients have problem that you can, like, do something (as a nurse). There goes YOUR problem. So you assume. Perhaps from the patient's case and some ideal problem that he should have. It's better than to end up writing the problem of the watcher. I've seen a lot do that mistake.

3. Paraphernalia. Some CI** check them, some CI don't. But even if they do, they won't check it ONE BY ONE. If you have forgotten your smock gown or drug handbook, you can still say that you have it all complete. At your own risk. Since you are most likely to commit this sin let me give you another tip. The most effective trick here is to be firm in saying that you have complete paraphernalia EVEN IF THE CI ASKS YOU REPEATEDLY. Otherwise, you're busted.

4. IVF and I&O*** monitoring. NO. Seriously, you can't lie here. Patients are put in this order because they are CRITICAL patients. So just check the IVF and IC**** levels every hour and record it honestly and accurately. It's very stressful but it pays when the patient didn't die on your shift.

5. Log in time. Make up duty is the most uncool thing in our world. Spare time on sem/Christmas/summer breaks will be compromised as well as your spare money. You pay and you get exhausted. But a minute could save you! So you won't write such thing as 7:31 in you log in time, or else you go for another 16 hours of make up duty. You write 7:30 instead.


*Nursing Care Plan
**Clinical Instructor (pitcher pitcher)
***Input and Output (mamam at wiwi)
****Indwelling Catheter

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Ramblings and Whatabouts

I woke up at 4 am from barely 4 hours of sleep. My parents’ arguing kept me up all night. I was dying to get in the bus early this morning because I know I could have an hour nap of complete serenity in there. And so I did. The moment I sat in the bus I plugged my earphones on and let my consciousness fall on the playing songs. Besides, it’s still too hazy to watch my regular slideshow. The next thing I saw then is the world completely stripped off to blue sky and white clouds by the tattered sunlight on my window. That felt so much better.

Today is the sophomores’ first day in the hospital. It is customary that senior students would be given one newbie to look after, hang around with for the whole shift. It’s somehow fun. I enjoyed teaching and showing real things in the real place, like, pretending to know the real stuffs. Haha. I’d like to tell as much as I know but that would spoil the long way she’ll (Molly, my “little sister”) have there. So I talked about what each color of pen represents in the TPR* Sheet instead. Haha. And compute IVF** consumption. It’s funny, I actually liked teaching. Haha. But I still don't think it's a good idea. Right, Mushy?

*Temperature, Pulse Rate, Respiratory Rate (the very basic monitoring sheet in each patient’s chart) **Intravenous Fluid (swero)

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Whatabouts

Since I am almost done with my thesis and I can feel that I am really graduating, from this day, I will try to document each day until my graduation rites (as much as I can). To recall, evaluate, record, share the pathetic, gruesome, icky, hilarious and desperate things I’ll be meeting or doing over the period. I’m crossing my fingers to keeping this up. I always want to do this.

So this is it. The first day of my last semester in college. It’s quite ironic, to be excited to go on duty again but arrived late in the hospital. Yeah why is that? My natural sense of time has been disrupted due to consecutive days of having no classes. So I was given 2 patients to monitor today. It is certainly disguised because it’s a blessing. I got one of the most toxic patients so I was able to give shots. Three doses! Haha. I like that part of our job best. I remember the first time I actually did it, I was in second year geez it scares the hell out of me to thrust that holy syringe into somebody’s skin. But see, first impressions really aren’t permanent.

Today was well.

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