Hospital Reflections

Being employed in the hospital as a volunteer and trainee, I have learned many things which the theories in school can't give. Even though the theory and actual practice have similarities, they are still two different environment.

I'm currently working at General Santos City Hospital which is a government owned institution. The hospital caters patients all around the region so we expect myriad of people being admitted daily. I'm presently assigned at the surgical ward and I have learned to love the area. Vehicular accidents and Orthopedic cases are usually prevalent in our area. In my first one month in the area, I have learned so many things beyond what nursing practice may give me. I have learned to reflect with life and appreciate every simple things that go along with our existence. I would like to share some of my reflections with you.

Love your parents more than any other people
Observing all the patients, their parents are there to be right on their side. No matter what will happen to us, the first persons that are always on the rescue are our parents. If we feel the pain, it is doubled to what our mother and father would feel. With these simple reasons, why not give them credits by showing them how much we love them in simple ways.

Be grateful your the one caring and not being cared
I have reflected this lesson in life when I was taking the vital signs of my patient. Her face is actually awful since she was suffering from the postoperative pain. I realized that I am still lucky not to experience what my patients experience - pain, pain, pain, and more pain! Just be thankful!

Be patiently patient with patients
Most of the time patients are restlessness and irritable. Well, we can not blame them with all that they have to pass through with the agonizing pain they have to receive. Let's just have to understand them and not to scold them whenever they try to be so short-tempered. As much as we can extend our patience to the highest limit, the better. We would be doing the same thing if we are on their shoes, right? What they need is love and care, we should give them those things.

Stay healthy through proper hygiene
In public hospitals, we can really expect people from the poverty line and hygiene is one big issue with them. As we all know, being clean is one way of staying healthy and preventing disease to take over us. The problem with these people is they live in unhygienic ways. Our responsibility is to help them learn things to be healthy with simple ways such as hand washing. We can't blame them for being ignorant but we can help them to become educated.

Don't drive when you drink
This quote has been overused but still people won't learn from it. I have seen different people in our ward with vehicular accident cases and most of them are obviously drunk. Would you like to have your own bloodbath plus large cuts and bruises all over your body? If that so, try driving when your drunk. Even though we try to be careful on streets, the problem also is with those who are drunk. We might get accidents even if we are careful on the road. So please, if I have to say this hundred times or even thousand of times. Please "DON'T DRIVE WHEN YOU DRINK!"

As for now, these are just some of my early reflections. Soon I'll have a thousand loads of things to share. Hope you'll learn some and unlearn some. Be safe!

General Santos City Hospital hosted Basic Intravenous Therapy Training Seminar

As most of the hospitals nowadays would require attending to a basic IV training seminar for an IV license before they would hire you, I searched for some institutions offering the said activity here in GenSan in the earliest date possible. Glad to know the hospital which I was absorbed was offering the seminar.

General Santos City Hospital, a government-owned institution, hosted a 3-day Basic Intravenous Therapy training Seminar on June 18-20, 2011 in cooperation with ANSAP, Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Philippines, which is the governing body for IV licensing.

In the three day seminar workshop includes lectures regarding Historical Background of IV Therapy, it's ethico-legal aspects, anatomy and physiology of circulatory and vascular system, pharmacology, and drug dose calculations.

On the first day, we refreshed ourselves with the lectures provided by the speakers which was spearheaded by ANSAP Director Elsa V. Castro, RN, Ph.D. I, myself, was surprised that we had a pretest before starting the lecture. How was that? I'm really surprised since my knowledge on these were already lost but the good thing is I was able to recall the lessons discussed way back college.

Second day was more on return demos which the speakers already discussed before we did the procedures. The coordinators had organized the return demo areas to facilitate ease in mobility of the activity. Return demos included were IV medication through incorporation, IV medication through IV push, TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition), Blood Transfusion, and the much feared IV catheter insertion.

The third day was used to give more time for return demos since not all of the activities were accommodated on the second day. I admit that I'm one of those who attended the seminar who were not really that ready to fall in line and perform the return demo with the preceptor. Since, I have in me my hand-out provided by the seminar, I did not lose track to the things that I should bear in mind.

The seminar was grazed by nurses from different places such as from Davao, Marbel, Tacurong, Isulan, and Midsayap. My partner on the one to one IV insertion was my schoolmate at Notre Dame of Midsayap College. I got really excited to the catheter insertion since I want to feel how the patients feel when the IV catheter is inserted to them. By the way, the IV cannula used was gauge 24 which means that it is color yellow and is usually smaller.

Tweetie doing IV catheter insertion to Maryanne

Maryanne smiling even though it hurts. :)

IV cannula gauge 24

On the one on one IV insertion, I got two tries before I successfully inserted it. Not bad though. My partner had also performed it twice of me before it became successful. That was really painful though but I enjoyed it. For me, that's a great challenge since you were aware of the pain that you are about to receive.

first try, my hand got a mild hematoma

second try, not that really successful

Overall, I enjoyed the seminar. What I really like was the food since the registration fee has included snacks for the morning and afternoon as well as a lunch which consisted of 3 different delicious viands plus you can request for an extra rice. By the way, the registration fee was P3,500.00 inclusive of hand-outs, IV license card, and meals.

If you would like to know for the next IVTT seminar that the hospital will be conducting, you can visit their admin department or you can contact me here for any reservation of slots since it is only limited.