Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital Duty

    DJNRMH was the second hospital that we were assigned to this semester also, the hospital where we had our first duty for 2012. It is located in Tala, Caloocan (very, very, very far to where I'm coming from) and was known for curing and rehabilitating patients with Leprosy. Our group had a chance to see patients with the said disease up close (more info in the later part of this post). Our area supposedly was in the ward but we ended up having our rotation in the Emergency Room. A bit advanced for our level, but we accepted it because we have no choice and it's somehow for our benefit too , so, t'was actually nice.

Day 1 (January 2, 2012)

     First day as usual, is all about orientation. We've been oriented about Leprosy, and the facts and misbeliefs of the disease. We met our Clinical Instructor too. She was really nice and good in discussing ER topics, professionalism and experience are evident by the way she carries herself. She taught us how to do suturing, remove sutures and the basic protocols in the hospital. We've been dismissed early so that we can rest and prepare for the actual duty the day after.

Day 2 (January 3, 2012)

     Woke up at around 3:30am, took a quick shower, dressed up with proper grooming, ate breakfast and headed for a long trip on my way to duty. I should arrive at the area on or before 7:00am. It took me almost 2 hours to get there. It's actually fast because I rode the "killer" but to avoid being late. Luckily, I reached my destination just in the nick of time. Saved by the bell!

     We had our quiz (got a high score), she further discussed IV insertion and how to fill up the ER form properly and cautiously because it can be used in legal cases. Four of us are assigned in the bedside, my other group mates were in the information area and others are lucky to be in the assist of minor surgeries.

We also had our tour and met patients with Leprosy. It's sad how they are left behind by their loved ones. Some of them are admitted in the year 198 and they are still there, alone and just being cared of by the staff. We also met some patients who are still capable of showing their talents besides of their unfortunate condition. Still goes to show that there's still hope in them. :)

     After the tour and lunchie, Our C.I. gave us the requirements for the rotation and we were supposed to be dismissed early but the C.I. of the other group jumped into the picture and discussed some Neuro-related stuff (cranial nerves and assessments). After his long discussion, we were formally dismissed.

Day 3 (January 9, 2012)

     THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR GLORIOUS REST DAY (because it is the Feast of the Black Nazarene and classes are cancelled) BUT WE ARE OBLIGED TO HAVE OUR DUTY for the reason that Caloocan isn't affected of the traffic re-routing and all that hassle. My rants or complains wouldn't change our C.I.'s made up mind.

Again, we're still assigned in the bedside, we've prepared and administered anti-tetano meds. One of our patients was a Tumblrista and it was a surprise that she knew me even if I was wearing a mask and my name plate's not on. It's really fun to meet new people by chance. While we were administering meds, A 3-year old kid was admitted and he was vomiting bloodwith Ascaris (worm/parasite). Her mother stated that her child was having those manifestations for about 3 days. He was immediately monitored and attended by the ER staff nurses and doctors of the hospital.

     After all the 3-yr old kid looked fine, We decided to have lunch. One of my group mates treated the whole group free Domacs (McDo) lunch. Yeah! Cheese-B meal and PJ to satisfy my tummy.

ER really is a place of unexpected situations. Just after we ate, the kid who vomited blood with a worm had a cardiac arrest. He was given CPR and was resuscitated but all of the said life-saving measures weren't enough. One of the doctors said that the worms might have blocked the airway, causing obstruction and lead to the death of the patient. Here's a picture of one of the worms he vomited:

     It's a sad point to end the duty for the day. Our Clinical Instructor further emphasized on the importance of Health Teaching and Handwashing specially in the community-based setting.

Day 4 (January 10, 2011)

     We've extended hours of duty this day, good thing everything seems to be at fast pace for us. We just had our quiz (sorta like exam), passed our requirements and attended a seminar on BLS - CPR (this was the one who killed the duty time. veryyy looong and a bit boring) After the seminar, we had our lunch and our C.I. decided to dismiss us earlier than expected. Hooray for the last day of duty!

     I can say that I gained a lot of experience in this rotation. I've seen rare cases and had a hands-on nursing care in the ER. The hospital was a good place for student nurses to be more independent. It's just that it's too far. Whew!

Highlights of my 2011

5. Win a game.
Finally! After a year of waiting, the UBE GIRLS BB TEAM are in it to win it. I only played a game the whole sports fest. Luckily, we won. I only scored two points with a fade-away jumper but I was satisfied with it. I focused more on defensing and looking to help my team mates inside the court, I know for myself I'm not that good at shooting compared to others that's why I only take my chances when I know it's a high percentage shot. We defeated the freshmen with the score: 34-19.

My team fell short and we only landed third place. I still love my girls, we all did our best. Hopefully, next year, I'd have a chance to improve my skills more and in God's will, I also hope that our team will take home the crown for our final year. More of the pictures here

4. Good Grades.

I'm so thankful that my hard work paid off. It was clearly shown in my grades, please forgive me for being boastful, it's just that I'm so thankful that I finally achieved the improvement I'm waiting for, THANK GOD!

I can say it's a good mixture of faith, luck, and reward of studying harder. My grandmother (Owa) was so happy about the good news and also my uncle and tita who are responsible for my educational fees. I wish I could maintain my ascending GWA over the semesters. I need to strive harder and never lose focus I hope I can sustain this good momentum. A blog entry related to the whole sem experience here

3. A two-day escapade with my beloved High School Friends. April 30, 2011 and May 1, 2011

It was a bigtime treat by Palamara Camille's Mother, Tita Caren. My High School Friends didn't changed, except that some of them are now into smoking (Well, it's not a big deal for me but yeahh) and some really looked mature. We never ran out of stories and topics to share and talk about. That goes to show how much we missed one another's presence.

It took us about 2 hours to reach the destination, La Virgnia Resort. The resort offered a cozy place to relax and unwind. We started swimming after we had our lunch. Hunger was the only thing that makes us stop to swim and rest a bit. What I enjoyed most is the night swimming and view of the Metro in the resort during the night. City lights amuse my eyes, really. We eventually got tired of floating and swimming so we decided to take a good and quick shower to prepare for the dinner and of course, the drinking session! Tita Caren came and brought us Pizzas and chicken and desserts to make our tummies full before drowning ourselves to alcohol and stuff.

My friends and I had heart-to-heart talks while drinking, sharing of ghost stories like kids, exchanging our own student nurse experiences (most of us are taking up Nursing, that's why) and of course, having those laugh trips that makes the night prettier than ever.

The day after, we headed to Tagatay (Picnic Grove) then quickly travelled back to Manila and had our late lunch at Dampa in Pasay. Tita Caren shared words of wisdom and advice to all of us. I really admire her generosity, kindness and love for her daughter. I went back home with a smile with the memories of having the time to bond with my friends who were there for me since then.

2. Laguna Outing/Reunion with my relatives from my mother's side. (May 21, 2011 - May 22, 2011. Los Baños, Laguna)


I had my fair share of quality time with the persons I grew up with and whom I missed a lot. We're almost complete that day. Only few failed to come because of work and other personal reasons but it was still fun as ever! It was an event initiated by one of my uncles as part of his thanksgiving and at the same time grab the opportunity of having our summer getaway.


My cousins who are all (almost) the same age as mine enjoyed Night Swimming and games. Ate Cessa and I won the Pinoy Henyo Challenge, we had P500 each as our prize. Of course, an outing wouldn't be complete without delicioso foods! We're also blessed to have a bigtime treat of alcoholic beverages to make the night younger. Tons of Tanduay Ice, The Bar, San Mig Light, and last but not the least, Boracay Rum.

All of us (cousins and I) got drunk like a boss making the inner camera whores and frustrated singers in us be out and wild! Alcohol makes my confidence fly up high, enough for me to sing out loud and have my first 100 score in Videoke.

We partied 'til dawn and had the time to bond with each other after a long time. The day after sucks because of hangover but the good times to reminisce are enough to fill me in with amazing memories! Related Blog Entry Here

1. 18th Birthday. July 2011.
It's a perfect day and nothing's standing in my way. I had a simple celebration of my 18th birthday in our home. I enjoyed the day with my family, friends and loved ones. It's 2011. I want to keep it with austerity. Yes, being 18 as a girl turning into a woman is a milestone but you don't need to spend much for just a single day. I prefer saving the money instead of looking it pass by in just a day.


My lola prepared my favorite foods, Kare-kare, Carbonara, Sisig and all the yummy foods in my list. I already treated my friends few days beforehand. We watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in Robinson's Place Manila and went to G-Box to play a little. That's why my most of the guests in my birthday are my relatives. My cousins, bestbud and I had a mini-drinking session. We didn't drank to the extent of being thrown up because we all have our respective classes the day after.

My celebration over-all was a blast! It's just that I still feel a bit lonely 'cause I miss my Dad, Tito Edel and Lolo Bert but I know they're happy watching me from up above. I'm that kind of person, plain and practical so to speak. I'm thankful and full of gratitude that God continues to guide and shower me with blessings throughout the years. Time to mature and change for the better. Legal age! Oyes! Finally!! Related post here

Christmas 2011

Before sharing stories on how my Christmas this year with my family has been, I'd like to share my wonderful experience of Simbang Gabi. I failed to complete it all but I'm still glad I attended at least one, and that is the first day (12/16/2011) I woke up early with the excitement in me, there were no vacant seats for me and my lola so we stayed outside the church while hearing the mass. As expected, many people are there to witness the first of the 9 masses as part of preparing for the celebration most of Pinoys are looking forward to. Of course, after the mass is the awaited Puto Bumbong + Bibingka Special Take-out! Yummy Breakfast at a cold morning! :)

Let's fast forward on the events. Hours before the Noche Buena, we attended a mass at the nearest church in our home. We arrived at the church early so we would have our seats. There's still a lot of people, specially outside. The mass was fun and full of thoughts to ponder. Father (the priest) read a letter of one frequent church goer and his admirer, Tweetums (Perpetuita is her real name) I don't know if the letter is real or it was just made for the mass but nevertheless, it captured people's attention and lighten things up further in the mass.

After the mass, we then headed back home and prepared for Noche Buena. Then, the clock strikes Twelve! The awaited celebration starts! We prayed first, greet Him a Happy Birthday and started the cheat day for my diet! My lola prepared Asado, Pancit Canton, Kaldereta, Embutido, Arroz Valenciana and Leche Flan for the family. :) After all the eating and drinking (no, we didn't consumed any alcohol this day) we hit the sack for us to wake up early and prepare for the visitors (relatives, friends and MY INAANAKS that would come)

The day was filled with stories, joys and laughter shared. I also received some gifts and aguinaldos from my ninong and ninangs and tito and titas. Good way to fill up my wallet and closet! :P I really liked and I am thankful for all the presents. My favorites were my Slytherin shirt from bestbud and the chocolates from my kumare. :)

I ended the day with a simple prayer. Christmas 2011 is a simple yet fun celebration of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. He was born to save us. His special day is more than enough to make people happy and be a symbol to love one another.

Divisoria Getaway.

     I've been to Divisoria twice (Bonifacio Day & A beautiful Sunday 12/10/2011) this past few weeks. he main reason of going there is to find a dress that I would be using for the upcoming wedding of my very friendly Tita. I'm a boyish kind of person so I'm not really into those kinds of outfits. My tita and I just have that strong connection that's why I agreed to be one of her secondary sponsors.After so many years, it's like my first to be actually exploring the place. When I was young, we often go there but because I'm such a lazy kid, I prefer being left in the car and sleep or play along with my brick game or Tamagotchi (very useful boredom killers before the rise of PSPs and Cellphones)

     Having time to visit DV again was nice because it's the first time for Chippy (my digital camera) to be exposed to the streets where you can see inspiring subjects, and that is the people and the culture that surrounds the beautiful city of Manila.

    Of course! A day of going out wouldn't be complete without the my favorite hobby! Foodtrip/Eating Galore! :) Having lunch at that day wasn't easy. There's so many seats but they were occupied. We have to hunt as fast as we can before we'd be overtaken by others. Luckily, someone offered their seats because they're done eating. My grandma was the one left in our table while we're up to order some foods. The queue for the unli rice at Mang Inasal and to get a bucket of making-me-want-to-sin chicken of KFC were so long that we have to settle for other options.

     My grandma suggested that we order in Veggie-to-go, she had the idea from the Indonesian guy who seated beside her. So, having no choice, we tried it. In our surprise, the foods they offer were actually delicious! I bet vegetarians and those people who want to try new finds will love this stuff! They look like yummy meats but they were all veg/fish made. Amazing idea by the owner! One bad thing about them though is that they don't offer discounts for the senior citizens because they have this argument that their offers were already discounted. Yeah they're right, P79 for two viands and free gulaman isn't bad but not reasonable enough because there's a law for SC Discounts.

   
     Just beside VTG, was a cool noodle stop. They have this somewhat a cooking master chef showing his skills of making noodles in front of the customers.

     After giving our tummies a good reward we got back to business regarding the outfits we'd be wearing on the special day of my Tita. It was also inevitable for us to go shopping our personal wants. I bought two jackets and my bestbud bought me a cooling fan for my netbook. We enjoyed and seized the day that we already came home at around 9:00pm (we arrived at Divisoria at around 10:30am.)

     It was a great experience for me, my favorite pair of tsinepins and Chippy! I promise myself I'd be back soon to shop and shoot again. It could be tiring but it sure is worth every minute. :)

Globe Tattoo Broadband Stick

Mag-iisang taon ko na rin 'tong kasapi sa pag-se-surf sa 'net. Wala naman akong marereklamo sa "speed" niya sa kasalukuyan, pero nung simula.. meron talaga. Kay bagal ng takbo, kala mo pagong na nasemento. Sa  pagtagal, nakisama na rin siya at siguro "na-flex" na kaya bumilis. Hindi ko pa 'to nasusubukang dalhin sa malalayong lugar kaya wala akong mai-cocomment kung mabilis ba siya pag nasa probinsya na. May dalawang beses na kong nagpalit ng sim nito. Bigla-bigla kasing ayaw mag-unli. 'Yun ang talagang kina-badtrip ko.

Ito ang mga reklamo ko sa aking internet buddy:

• Minsan tinotoyo. biglang hindi pwedeng mag-Tumblr at mag-Facebook
• 800MB lang. UNLIMITED PERO MAY BANDWIDTH LIMIT. Ang galing bumenta ng Globe ah! Hindi ako nakakapag-DL ng mga movies at hindi ako pwedeng mag-youtube ng mag-youtube.
• Magastos. Nilo-loadan ko lang kasi 'to. P220 for 5 days. Kung hindi lang kailangang lagi akong online at kailangan ng source sa mga EBN..

Gusto ko na sanang lumipat sa Sun Broadband kaso baka hindi naman mabilis sa lugar namin (Makati) mag-aksaya lang ako ng pera.