Long time no post!

My goodness! It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I'm surprised there are still people dropping their E-cards. Thanks!

So anyway, I'm still up studying for my midterm exam in Microbiology tomorrow. I don't know why but I can't concentrate on what I'm reading. That's why I'm posting this. LOL. Obviously!

What is up with these names of bacteria. Waaa! It's hard enough to say them but spelling them is worse. *sigh

I really hope the exam tomorrow would be in a multiple choice format and that there's no identification part. Otherwise, I would surely fail that part. Waaa again!

Well, I better get back to studying. I can't afford to fail in this exam. Wish me luck tomorrow! Yee-ha!

Oh and by the way, does anyone know when will the results for the local board exam come out? I heard it would be this February but when exactly?

Another 'oh', tomorrow is Friday the 13th. Yikes!!!

Driving

What Your Driving Says About You

You are high strung and easily worked up. You have a heck of a temper, and you're ready to fight anyone who ticks you off! You tend to go by what you feel - not by the facts at hand. As a result, you tend to make a lot of uninformed decisions. You are not a fair person in the least. Justice be damned - you get whatever you can for yourself. You can be a rather tense, grouchy person - but you try to maintain your dignity. You have mixed feelings about authority figures. You understand their place, but you believe their power needs to be in check. You are somewhat focused, but you are also a bit scatterbrained. Distractions can get you in trouble. You are a very responsible and conscientious person. You often consider the feelings and needs of others. Your ego is normally in check, but sometimes you get a bit egotistical. You tend to be a little self-important at times.

What Does Your Driving Say About You?

************************************************************************************

The description stated on this test clearly described the way I was driving this afternoon. I was in a rush to go to the bank to pay my cash advance. Traffic was already piling up and I still need to go home to change because I'm still wearing my duty uniform. I had a hospital duty this morning till two in the afternoon. The bank closes at 3:00 p.m. so imagine how stressed I was just so I can get to the bank on time.

It's true what they say when all the wrong things happen when you're in a hurry. That's exactly what happened. Every traffic light that I encounter, the red light was always flashed at me. There's also the "Sunday driver" as I call them when they're driving so slow yet they're in the fast lane. I unfortunately get stuck behind them whenever I switch lanes. Sheesh! How unlucky could I get you say? Well, there's more... I left my wallet when I was halfway to the bank so I had to go through all the stops and go back home to get it. I was speeding like crazy that I had to slow down because my boyfriend was already quiet and was holding tightly on the door handle while I was driving. Haha!

So there, I was surprised that this test: What Your Driving Says About You, clearly described how crazy and high-strung of a driver I was today. But I'm really not reckless. LOL.

National Center for Mental Health

I am still alive. I may have gone MIA for quite a long time but I'm still here and ready to share my experiences and the things I've learned in school and in our hospital duty.

The last memorable duty that I've had was in the National Center for Mental Health. We were assigned at the forensics pavilion. At first, I was really scared. My hands were all clammy and shaking when our clinical instructor announced who our patients would be for this rotation. With respect to the patient's privacy and confidentiality, I will not be mentioning our patients' names. So anyway, the longer we stayed there, the more comfortable I was talking to my patient. It was not as bad as I thought.

They're just like other individuals who got sick. As what our instructor told us, they are really not different from people who have hypertension, diabetes, etc that have maintenance drugs. It just so happens that the signs and symptoms are more evident as compared to other medical conditions.

Our four-day duty there made me realize a lot of things. The most important was that it made me feel grateful and made me realize that I should not be constantly whining. No matter how troubled I feel when it comes to my payday loans or deadlines that I have to meet, or even simple things like traffic, I know that I'm still lucky that my family and friends are all healthy.

June 2008 PRC Nursing Board Exam Results

The Nursing board exam results for June 2008 was released.

Here's a link to check the names of the board passers.

Congratulations to all who passed!!!

Youngest Mom

Watching someone give birth is one of the most indescribable experiences I've ever had in my entire life.

In high school and college, there were a couple of videos that we've watched in our Sex Ed. and Biology class. They were even in VHS format. LOL! Anyway, these videos were nothing compared to seeing a child being delivered in front of me.

The first hospital duty where I assisted in my first delivery was in a Lying-In center. These women are really something. Imagine going through labor and delivery without anesthesia? Not to mention even during episiotomy. The doctor would wait until the head is crowning and that is the time they perform the episiotomy. That way, the pregnant woman would not be able to feel the pain of getting cut.

The youngest patient during our hospital duty was an 18-year old girl. She looked so young and so afraid of what was happening. She was bleeding while she was being sutured. I cannot imagine how she felt.

Actually I know of some people that have given birth at the age of 16 but imagine my surprise when I found out that the youngest mother ever recorded was a five-year old girl from Peru. Yes, that was no typo error. The girl was five years old when she gave birth. Her name is Lina and she gave birth via caesarian section to a 2.7 kg baby boy. Don't believe me? Then read the rest of the story here.

An Idle Mind = Fewer Brain Cells

I am feeling sluggish today. It's probably because of the headache that I had since yesterday plus the fact that I slept at around 8:30 pm last night and woke up at 8:00 am today. So anyway, I was lounging on my bed and was literally staring blankly into space. Then it hit me! I was reminded by our professor about losing brain cells.

You know the saying: "An idle mind is the devil's workshop"? Well, now I know why there would be a workshop in your mind. It was in one of our lectures that we were told that whenever the brain is inactive for a minimum of 24 hours, the brain cells (approx. 50,000) die. So this means more space in our brain for the devil's workshop. Hahaha!

The professor told us that whenever we are feeling like this, we should at least turn on the radio or the television. Actually any kind of stimulation for the brain would do. Luckily, it would take 24 hours for the brain cells to die if left unstimulated. I hope an accumulation of "unstimulated time" would result to brain cell loss. Otherwise, if that were the case, I probably lost a lot already. Hahahahaha!

So remember boys and girls... When you feel like doing nothing and thinking about nothing, turn on your TV or your radio or mp3 players. Mahirap na! LOL!

Long locks or Bra Hooks?

Imagine a very handsome guy with his locks bouncing while he's strutting on the beach. His washboard abs gleaming from the freshly applied tanning oil but once your eyes move up to gaze on his well-chiseled face, you're heart stops and your jaw drops. You try to blink to check if you're just imagining things but it is still there. You see "man boobs". You say to yourself: "Nobody's really perfect."

The above scenario kept playing on my mind when we were discussing anti-hypertensive drugs in Pharmacology. We came across this drug called Minoxidil (generic name). The name sounded familiar but I've never taken anti-hypertensive drugs nor was I aware of anyone that I know of taking this kind of medication. Then our professor told us that Minoxidil wasn't just taken as an anti-hypertensive drug but it is also used to stimulate hair follicles for hair growth.

Minoxidil is more known here in the Philippines as Regroe (brand name). It is used by people who have alopecia AKA baldness or hair loss. The drug is applied topically. It gives hope to all the people who are bald that is NOT by choice. However, datapwat, subalit, it is said that there is a very unflattering side effect of the drug for the guys using it. According to our lecture, one of the side effects of Minoxidil is that it causes a condition called gynecomastia. This is a condition for males where there is an abnormal enlargement of the breasts sometimes causing secretion of milk. I know... WTH?!?! You might be thinking that it's okay to have bigger breasts but the problem is, it's not like those that you see in wrestlers or in body building contests. On the bright side though, according to my research online, it rarely happens when the breasts grow big that is normal to a female breast. So don't worry because you won't be like Pam Anderson or something. LOL!

Question is... Would you rather go bald OR have hair but have "man boobs"? TOINK!!! If I were you guys, I'd choose the former. Embrace your baldness. I think it's sexy! :-)

Pharma Finals

Last Friday, we had our final exams in Pharmacology. It was pretty hard. I had too much coffee to drink. My hands were shaking on the morning of the exam day. I was a nervous wreck! The slightest movement made me jump. The sight of our professor entering the classroom made me want to hurl. Luckily, there were a funny moments during our exam plus our professor said something funny that somehow helped me relax.

Funny moment: 10 minutes after we started answering the exam, the lights went out. The classroom was dark and it was filled first by shrieks and grunts from my classmates. There was one sound or voice that stood out and caught our attention. It was a guy classmate of ours, we don't know who because it was pitch black in the room, but all of us instantly laughed when he said in a soft voice (almost instantly when the lights went out): "Uuyy! Pakopya!" That was really funny. We're not sure if it was intentional or he didn't think his voice would be heard. Hahahaha!! Even our professor was laughing when the lights came back.

Funny remark: Our prof in Pharma isn't new to the game of cheating. There have been a lot of techniques to cheat. A lot of sign language, facial expressions and simple hand gestures have been invented just to give the answer to one's "cheatmate". As we were taking the exam, a few of my classmates, me included, started clearing our throats and almost a couple were doing their own "ahem". Our prof then said: " Hala,'ahem' ng 'ahem'. Alam ko na yan. Isang ahem, 'A'. Dalawang ahem, 'B'." Hahahahahaha!!!

If that didn't happen, I would have probably forgotten everything. Mental block was inevitable at my state before taking the exam. I am glad it's OVER.

~ BLOGROLL ~

Abie's My Planet Purple
Abie's Women Explore
Danesh's Exploring Ananagar

Denoy's The Deatbeat Club
Em's Mind Bubbles

Em's My Something Purple

Em's Vanity Kit

Em's Wifespeaks

Farah's Changing Lanes

Farah's Changing Lanes' Pit Stop
Jean's Live It Up

Joy's Just Being Me

Joy's My Journal

Kay's My Necessity
Kit's Random Thoughts Bin
Lappy's Trigger Lappy Life

Mishel's No Titles

Norman's Unsung

During our "breaks" from our cord dressing duties, we would sit inside the DR (as instructed by our CI) and wait for any deliveries. It is at these times that I was able to observe the facilities and even the other medical personnel inside the room.

For a government hospital, I was pretty impressed when I saw the hands-free faucet that they have in the DR. I didn't know that they have it in there. The faucet is turned on using a lever that can be pushed using your knee. Not only that, even the soap (or rather betadine) dispenser is also hands-free. You just need to step on this pedal and out comes the soap from the container. This is a good sign I thought. Fabella isn't as bad as everyone thinks it is. It may just be a more "forward" hospital than other government hospitals.

My feelings of pride from the facilities quickly faded when I saw this particular medical staff (not sure what his position was but he's definitely NOT a nurse) who was transferring patients from the DR to (I think) their respective wards. He would pull down the railings of the bed and just let it fall down making a huge banging noise which in turn would abruptly wake the patient (that's been through a delivery or has undergone D&C) and then ask her bluntly to transfer to the stretcher. He wouldn't even assist the woman! It was really irritating and frustrating to see this man do his job in a really unprofessional manner. I thought the railing just slipped his hand but he did it three times.

I just hope he could read this and realize that it is not only his job to transfer the patients from the DR to the wards but also to make things more comfortable for the patient. How would he feel if his wife or sister or aunt would be treated that way. Grrr!!!