Life at Ward 4

Ward 4 is the busiest ward in MVMC. Good thing there's a NA who does the vital signs every 4 hours. Pero pag absent sila, I and other nurse volunteers do the task. Sa ward mo mawi-witness ang totoong buhay ng mga taong may sakit. You hear their angst, pain, suffering, anger, problems. Some almost beg for pain killers and sleeping pills just to get by. They either hate you or love you for taking care of them.

Sabi ng isang batang pasyente sa staff nurse after an IV insertion, "paglabas ko dito bubugbugin kita! ayoko dito sa ospital nyo ginugutom nyo ko!" The kid's on NPO or no food by mouth as ordered by the doctor.

Some patients are uncooperative, ang nurses tuloy ang napapahamak. Like one patient is supposed to be on NPO from 10pm till 6am (no food by mouth). Eh, kumain sya ng breakfast. Ayon, sinabon ng doctor ang kawawang nurse bakit daw hindi "ni-reinstruct" sa patient na on NPO sya. Eh kung lagyan na lang kaya ng duct tape ang bibig pag NPO? HAHA! Jowk!

Some kind of a farewell party at the ICU

Last night was my last duty in the intensive care unit. There were four of us nurses in the ICU and four unstable patients. Everything went well, the usual morning care was rendered, vital signs were all manageable, NGT feeding were ongoing until one of the patients had seizure attacks--a total of 4 episodes, longest was 9 minutes. After the seizure, the same patient experienced oxygen desaturation. We notified the resident on duty (ROD) and we flushed 10cc of sterile H20 into his ET tube to liquefy tenacious secretions while ambu-bagging in-between. Thank heavens his 02 saturation went back to normal.

One of the senior nurses was so nice and generous to treat me for a pizza on my last day, as a sign of gratitude for all the help I've rendered to them. She called Pizza Hut at 12midnight). We ate at around 2 a.m. after the toxic moments have passed and everything is stable again.

Saan ka nakakita na ang senior nurse pa ang magti-treat sa isang hamak na nurse volunteer na tulad ko. To me, that is so rare and precious. Sa Marikina Valley - ICU ko lang na-experience ito. I'm so touched by her gesture. Hihintayin kang matapos mag-document/charting kahit graveyard ang shift nyo, pagod kayo pare-pareho, para lang sabay-sabay kayo uuwi kahit hindi naman pare-pareho ang inuuwian nyo or sasakyan nyo. Tapos magte-thank you sa iyo every after duty in a really sincere manner. I mean, most of nurse volunteers were taken for granted, being bullied, being abused of their skills/abilities, and so on and so forth.

Thank you, Ma'am Mikee, for showing such generosity to a volunteer nurse like me. Hope to work with you some time, maybe in the same hospital, or in another land.

Bye ICU

In two nights, I will bid goodbye to ICU and will say hello to ward. My next assignment as a ward nurse will be considered as a vacation (or so I thought). In ward, I am not allowed to administer medications, only vital signs monitoring and some "easy" tasks. I'm gonna miss the ICU for all the action-filled duties, nice staff, and good food.

Hospital Requirements (by request)

Per request of She, here are the requirements for application in Marikina Valley Medical Center and Delos Santos-STI Medical Center (subject to change without prior notice, so better call them or personally go to the HR office):

Marikina Valley Medical Center:

1. Letter of Intent (May M. Bon, RN, MAN - chief nurse)
2. Comprehensive Resume
3. Diploma
4. TOR
5. PRC Certificate (the one that looks like a diploma with the picture on it) and PRC License --if you're batch 2009 and don't still have it, just tell the HR and they will still consider your application. I have batchmates who are from Batch 2009 :)
6. Certificate of Passing (without breakdown of rating) and Board Rating Certificate (with breakdown of rating)
7. BLS Training Certificate
8. Birth Certificate
9. PNA Membership (updated)
10. IV Training certificate and License
11. Marriage Contract (if applicable)
12. NBI or Police Clearance
13. ID picture - BLUE Blackground (2 copies of 1x1 and 2 copies of 2x2)

>Submit photocopy of all requirements (updated) in a BLUE LONG SLIDING FOLDER (plastic or paper). Bring original copies for verification.

>Proceed to the 7th floor HR office and look for Sir Mickey to evaluate your papers. He's so accommodating. He's also a RN

>The next batch of volunteers will start by April or May this year.

>Their volunteer program is the first step in their hiring process. It's a 3-month program without fees. You will get Php100 allowance on night shifts. If they like your performance (they value pakikisasama, good attitude, and face value), you have a better chance of getting hired :)

DELOS SANTOS-STI MEDICAL CENTER

Resume
Pic (1x1) 1 pc
(2x2) 2 pcs
TOR
Diploma
RLE
Board rating Cert
PRC ID
NBI Clearance
BIR 2306 (if previously employed w/in a year)
SSS
TIN card
Cedula
Certificate of good moral character (from 2 references)

>The training process is different from preemployment process. The training has a fee. The preemployment doesn't have a fee, only a 300-item exam and 3 interviews.

Good luck, she and to other fellow nurse applicants :)

Marikina Riverbanks

After my duty in MVMC, I went straight to Riverbanks in Barangka, Marikina to meet up with Ron. I saw these pretty cheap things and bought them out on a whim.

A summer tote bag with a purse for only Php 110

Thongs and slip-ons

Kikay pouch for only Php 50!

I'm sure that they're durable because they're made in Marikina. I also saw some stylish nice bags. If I have money to spare, I'll buy the camel bowling bag and some more kikay pouches :)

Post-Valentine post

I was busy with my training days in MVMC that's why I'm posting late on my Valentine's date with the boyfriend. We had lunch at Singaporean Chicken Rice in Cubao. I tried the White chicken rice and the lakhsa noodle soup. Ron loved the chicken curry and he also liked the price of the food which is very low compared to Banana leaf.

He is so thoughtful and sweet to give me a pair of sneakers as a Valentine's gift! I found these shoes so comfy because it has arch support for the feet.

Thank you, honey! You're such a beautiful person inside and out :)

My new HG (holy grail)

Aside from my laptop which I consider the best deal I've ever had, I want to share with you what I've found from the stacks of books at Booksale:

For only Php 170, I get what I want in a nursing book. It is by Lippincott-Williams, a hard-bound book, contains lots of useful illustrations to better understand the various nursing procedures, and the information is direct and straight to the point.

The book is not that heavy and uber thick. The paper is glossy and friendly to the eyes. I wish I had this book when I was in nursing school so I could have better grades in the exams and return demonstrations.