Archive for the ‘Nursing Life’ Category

Nursing schools are scattered all over the country. It seemed like putting up a nursing school is purely for business only without considering the quality of education they will bestow to the nursing students. More schools are operating nowadays even though they lack equipments and/or instruments needed by the students for further enhancement of their knowledge and skills. Some people say that some schools provide more of the nursing theories rather than that of the nursing skills. While some schools also impart mostly on the skills rather than that of the theories. But in order to produce a more equipped and competitive nurse, both knowledge and skills should be present because both of these work hand in hand for the nurses to perform their duties and responsibilities effectively well.

The shrinking passing rates of the Nursing Board Examinations is utterly depressing. The failing rate is even higher compared to that of the passing rate. It is so upsetting to know that the passing rates of some schools are getting worse as time goes by. Who should be blamed? I think the nursing schools are the ones responsible about this unwanted situation that we are facing right now. The quality of education that the nursing schools provide to their students really matters a lot. So, those schools who have been getting very low passing rates for the past years should be warned and be given memo that once they cannot produce a good passing rate the next time, they can no longer operate or offer the Nursing course. =0

I was studying my notes of medical-surgical nursing in preparation for an exam. I was at the student’s area of the delivery room together with my classmates; they were also studying while waiting for a distressing woman to trudge that part of the hospital. Quite a lazy day and all of us were yearning for some action.

Hours after, our clinical instructor asked us to proceed to the OB-ER to attend to a pregnant woman who came in. She said she is 8 months pregnant and is worried because she no longer felt her baby move for almost two weeks already. After changing her clothes we led her to the examination bed and called the doctor. Her face spelled apprehension. When the doctor came she was very hesitant to spread her legs for vaginal examination. When she finally did, all of us were taken aback. Her genital area was swamped with genital warts. Even her groins and inner thighs were not spared. She said she attempted to self-medicate and applied silver nitrate to the warts. The charred appearance of the warts made it look seemingly more alarming.

Such a rare encounter; talk about us hankering for some action; we were given something unforgettable.

We Filipino nurses are, I believe, bereft of the attention that we need with regards to employment. Now, you can’t blame us if we convey our services to the people who truly appreciate our worth.

I’m just wondering what will happen to our lives if we would stay and “magpakabayni”. As much as we would love to, but our instincts would always heed the call of survival; after all, it’s human nature.

The famous Samuel Langhorne Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain said: “There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics”. I never appreciated this unlikely line until I asked my batch mates in nursing about their plans for the future. The result: none of them wants or should I say, none of us wants to stay and practice our pledged profession in our beloved country. I couldn’t agree more. I truly believe that the simple survey that I did reflects the entire nursing population of the country.

What will happen if this trend would die hard? I could only remember one authority of the government who somewhat answered this question. An answer tantamount to: “no worries, we mass-produce nurses”….

There is a constant change that blows the mind of every Filipino nurse. Aside from the obvious fact that we are growing in number so rapidly and that most of us can no longer find a job in our country; there is a stench of despair around us. Many of us wonder whether or not there really is a future waiting for us out there, a promise land where we can live happily ever after…

While there may not be such a reality, we must never give up believing.

Like how a nurse cares for his or her client holistically, he or she must see life as a whole… He must see the world and everything and everyone in it as part of everything else and as part of the whole universe… A nurse should open his or her eyes to all the possibilities. He or she must be able to seek an opportunity and learn how to grab it. He or she must never give up learning and caring for others. For every nurse, like anyone or anything else in this world, has a great purpose; whatever that is, it’s just up to the person to recognize and heed to his or her call. And in order for a nurse to do this, he or she must never ever lose hope and never cease on believing.

-Hope

Nurses can do all sorts of stuff. They can work from being an educator or a clinician to a flight attendant, driver, or a volunteer nurse—just name it. A nurse is always willing to do just whatever in order to help out…

Ever heard of the saying “The Way Of The Ninja”? Well, might as well be familiar with “The Way Of The Nurse”. You see, nurses are different from others. They are usually more flexible. They just don’t have any choice; they have to work different shifts and have to keep up with different paces—talk about survival of the fittest—-and fiercest… And they do this without sacrificing the quality of care that they are providing which is, in itself, a sacrifice that they impose to themselves.

If there’s one thing every nurse has, it’s their flexibility. Now, that is the way of the nurse.

-Anonymous

I’ve been working conscientiously in a small hospital here in my province as a volunteer nurse. Its been almost two years since I started working and I received no salary or allowance. I placed the strain on my own pocket and I don’t really mind, the experience that I incurred from the institution is more than enough. Nevertheless, it is but human for me to work for my own survival. That is, becoming income-generating somehow to provide for my daily needs since my finances are dwindling and I find it inappropriate for me to ask for assistance to my parents.

So I decided to work as a part-timer at a certain office. I didn’t really cared to inform my nurse superiors cause I found it unnecessary. Just as long as my part time job wouldn’t interfere with my hospital duty, I am perfectly fine—that’s what I thought. When my superiors in the hospital learned about me having a part time job, they called my attention. When I heeded their call, I was not given the chance to air my side or if I was, it was despised and all they want to make me understand is that I should be dedicating myself to my duty as a nurse in their hospital.

Right then and there, and without, at least, a modicum of consideration I was made to choose between my two jobs, the one that pays or the one that doesn’t. I can’t seem to understand their level of thinking. For me, their reason was apparently absurd. I chose my part time job, took my employment certificate and said to myself “gone would be fine”.

The delivery room in a hospital is a very lively place. Here, a new individual is born. A new life that is hopeful for a bright future. As nurses, we know, what the mother has to go through before she can deliver the baby. The anxiety, fear, excitement, not to mention the contractions, the sweat, the shouts that reverberate in the labor room every time the mother feels the pain.

In time of a memorable moment like this, nurses are given a chance to be a part of it. It’s such a good feeling to be there and witness everything- from the time the mother came in with a huge belly up to the time that, that little someone comes out with her lusty cry.

The first time I went on duty in the delivery room in our local hospital, I was ambivalent. I was excited but scared. I came unprepared, which I know was my fault, of course. Unfortunately for me, I was assigned to do the cord dressing as soon as I entered the room. I wanted to just disappear right there and then! I just got back from the beach the day before and slept the night away. Cord dressing was the last thing on my mind. The idea scared the hell out of me.

I finished the cord dressing in a daze. I know my clinical instructor wanted to shake the life out of me. But in fairness, the baby was fine. She was a baby girl and I was the first one who took care of her. After that experience, I learned that being a nurse is not to be taken for granted. We take care of life. We welcome new life. It’s not a responsibility, it’s an opportunity.

Fortunately or unfortunately, most often, nurses witness how much patients suffer because of pain. I bet a lot of nurses find it hard to deal with this. We are taught about non-pharmacologic techniques to provide pain relief. When asked on what to do, we can give straight answers right on the spot. But there’s more to pain than just the physical discomfort. What’s more difficult to act on is the psychological and emotional side of it. When these situations just pop, we find it difficult to find the right things to say. We stammer, stutter and grasp for clichés to give comfort.

This happens because most of the time we become too engrossed with the responsibilities we have to the ‘physical’ person. We put so much time and effort making sure that they don’t crash, they get well and go home. I am definitely not saying this isn’t important, but not to the point wherein we see our patients as mere cases, plain bodies with failing systems that we have to revive. There lies within them an ‘emotional’ being that longs for genuine, compassionate conversations. Hiding in there is a soul that seeks for another who’s willing to take an extra mile to bring them heartfelt encouragement and hope.

John Maxwell said, “People would not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Maybe that’s something we should start reflecting about.

There a lot of qualities in Filipino nurses that are truly commendable. One of those is there effort to reach out to there poverty-stricken countrymen. I, for one, know of many who acted this kind of modern day heroism when a series of catastrophe hit the Philippines this year. These nurses actually went out of their ways, and of course, together with non-nurses who’re generous enough to share their time and love to the affected Filipinos.

I vehemently hope that such laudable efforts of our kababayans would reach every Filipinos across the globe and would open their minds that being distant is not a reason to lackadaisically sit and care less. You see, money isn’t always the fulcrum for you to help; getting involved or a heartfelt prayer is, I think, praiseworthy; it’s just up to your willingness to help.

With emphasis on our force to topple a government and rebuild it, we Filipinos are known globally for our power to unite in the brink of cataclysm. Nevertheless, we should uphold these quality not only during political and economic chaos but enact it to its totality and level best. Moreover, instead of proving to the world that we unite on the precipice of hardship, why not prove to them that we have always been united…

Back when I was still a nurse volunteer of a private hospital in my province, I was often queasy going on duties because of my fear of committing a mistake and be scolded by my superiors, the doctors and the patients. In one of my duties I was assigned in the medical ward and one of my patients was a man from a celebrated pedigree. He was admitted due to asthma. Being a private hospital, most of the rich, famous and influential people in my province choose it whenever they need medical help. My patient has a PRN order of nebulization whenever he has difficulty in breathing. My senior nurse partner was about to attend a meeting and she told me to call her whenever my patient needs a nebulization. She slid my patient’s nebules in her pocket (it was a special and expensive med intended for my patient only, perhaps to keep it safe) and went straight to her meeting.

A few hours later, my patient’s son came to the station and asked me to nebulize his father; he can’t sleep because of difficulty in breathing. I called my senior nurse but unfortunately her phone was dead and she was nowhere to be found; I was getting nervous. I searched for the same med in the station but there was none. I told my patient’s son about what’s happening but he became furious and yelled at me. I was quivering in my way back to the station when I thought of something to save my ass—placebo. I took a 5ml syringe and withdraw a water for injection and hurried back to my patient’s suite. They asked where I took the med and I answered it’s the same med from another station. Luckily, my patient’s breathing bettered and in a few moments, he was asleep.

When my senior nurse came back I told her what happened and she just forced a smile and said “really?”…. Wow! A “really?” for a prize.