Another kidnapping,another day in the Philippines

This morning Ces Drilon was released by the group that kidnapped her and 2 others in the southern Philippines. This is life in the Philippines. Full of drama, chaos, uncertainty. I sometimes forget how different life is in the country,compared to the serene,peaceful life in the USA. Still, we have grown to expect the unexpected. Hopefully, we learn to sway like the mighty bamboo. Inspite of these events, the country calls to all its sons and daughters. Ive always said that to those who have a little money to spend, who are in relatively good health,and who have family here, the Philippines is a secret paradise, rich in natural resources, full of sunshine and smiling people, and the only place to retire.

Hi. It s been a while but browsing around the blog world gets you fired up again. I wanted to blog my real life experiences but part of me wants to remain anonymous. But like a great public speaker or a great stand up comedian, those who blog about themselves are those that appear sincere and touch our hearts. Im going for a vacation in the Philippines and suddenly every day is a little better, every difficult unenjoyable task gets lighter, because it gets me closer to the day we can go back home and enjoy all true and familiar things. So what is it about the country that we miss, even while we are surrounded by all the best that money can buy here? Even if we drive around in an expensive car, (borrowed,of course), nothing beats my 8 year old compact car in RP. And the friends? Sisters and family and brothers and neignbors.I know you can make a home anywhere you find yourself with your husband and kids but if I had my way and didnt need to think of security and money terms, back to the old country I d go in a heartbeat. The journey continues and we carve our own paths. When we get back here, Ill start all over again, maybe in a new job, a new place, who knows? Being a nurse affords me the luxury of finding a job anywhere and anytime. In the meantime, pack those spams and soaps and towels for pasalubong and get ready for some serious fun in my hometown.

elopement

For us Filipinos elopement means going away with someone to get married secretly. But here, especially in hospitals and nursing homes, elopement means to run away, escape, walk away or get away unsupervised from the facility. This ia a major event, as harm could befall a patient which was supposed to be under your care. The steps we take are simple.1.Do a head count.Even if you are sure who is missing, someone else might be missing, too. Everyone should start looking.2.Look outside the facility while doing the head count.3. Sound an alarm, like a Code Houdini(missing person) and notify the family members, the attending doctor and the police . You should also look at your facility's own operating procedures. Once found, conduct a thorough examination of the patient to ensure any injuries are detected. Modify the care plan as necessary. Many times a resident is found wandering away a few feet from the exit, but occassionally, they have gone and round a bus back to their homes.
Every patient should be evaluated regarding the risk of elopement upon admission, and
care designed according to this risk.

"Eat the young"

Last week we had a small problem in the unit. We were given a new nurse manager, but she was a little younger and not that old in nursing. So did we "eat the young" as they say? and pick on the youngest? Not really, but she did get a request for a meeting from the older ones and we gave her a piece of our mind. Not that we feel superior, but what was supposed to be our team leader became some sort of a policeman. Do this do that, you didnt do this, etc. And she said she had to work overtime so we wouldnt get in trouble because of the sloppy work. Of course that was the end of that. The moral I guess is, we have to learn to work together and to be a good manager, you have to be a team player. I told her she was missing the forest for the trees, seeing all the minute details and not seeing the real work we were doing maintaining the unit safe and the patients safe, not having medication errors and not getting injuries and missing patients. The one thing we were glad was we talked to her and didnt go to our superiors like we were told.

art supplies

Hi. Yesterday, I had a nice chat with a patient. He is an artist and is retired now. I asked him where one can buy art supplies and he said, as a struggling artist, they used to buy art supplies, oil paints and other stuff from New York at a store in Third Avenue. I think that s the New York Central Art Supply store. Here s their website: www.nycentralart.com

how to link , again (I hope)

Still cant get to link to you,bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com, so please click on the same blog from my list of favorites. This site is really helpful for new bloggers like me.
here s another try: BloggerTipsandTricks

Pinay nurse joke

My friend who is also a nurse here told this one:
While waking up from major surgery, the patient was asked "Mr. Kelley, do you know where you are?" to check his mental status. Looking up from the hospital bed and seeing several Filipina nurses hovering over him, he said "Philippines?"
I was browsing and stumbled upon jokes at kabayanjunction.blogspot.com in his blog. Too bad i dont know how to link yet.

linking to another-let s try this

you ll notice a small link at the bottom of my blog,www.e-referrer.com I hope this will interest you.

about blogging

Blogging is harder than I thought. I found this blog that explains about stuff you need to know like linking, blogroll,wikis etc using simple fun videos:www.commoncraft.com/blog. Go to my favorites and click on the link. Very interesting. I dont know how to link yet from my blog post so bear with me and click from my "favorites list"-on the left.

privacy in nursing

I knew this would be a difficult concept for us because in our country we tend to talk about everything, usually with no malice. Here in the USA, health info is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996(HIPAA). Basically it means dont talk about your patients! Ill try to give you an idea. Remember when you enter the elevator and you say to your coworker, "I had a hard time taking care of Ms X because she was cursing and shouting at me when I gave her insulin." You cant do that here, because you would be divulging her medical information. Another example, if you fax a patient's lab results and it was transmitted into an office and people were able to read them who were not the intended recipient, you may also be violating the HIPAA rule. You may be fined or be imposed more serious penalties. Im not saying this to scare you, but just to let you know that some things are done differently here. We still share info especially to the team taking care of the patient, but we are always aware of the patient' s rights to privacy. Another example is a relative asking about the diagnosis of a patient. Be sure he is allowed by law to know the info he is asking for, as it is not automatic, as in the Philippines. Especially with some sensitive information like HIV.
So if you come here and some hospitals dont even have a list of patients displayed on the floor, it may be because of HIPAA. For more info you may visit the ff: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.pdf

There are lots of places to visit during off duty days

Still trying to practice uploading pictures. Times Square?

pics

Cool car in car show 2007.

time out

I was going to write about HIPAA or the law about privacy of information but I went to New York with some friends from Indiana and Makati. We went to see the Barnum and Bailey Circus show in Madison Square Garden. It was treat from them . Dapat yata kami ang nagtreat pero they insisted. It was cool, especially the elephants and the
trapeze. I ll be posting pictures here shortly. Please bear with me as I need to wait for my husband, who will teach me how to post them. Anyway, my kids really enjoyed the show. I enjoyed also the Broadway play I saw, Les Miserable, with Lea Salonga playing the role of the mother of Eponine. Also there will be pictures of Times Square in New York.

disclosure

hi. I would like of course for everyone to know about my disclosure policy. I made the following with the help of disclosurepolicy.com.Here it goes:
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog does not accept any form of cash, ads or sponsorships or paid topic insertion. However, we may accept and keep free products and other forms of compensation from companies and agents. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely mine. Any claim about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

orientation

On my first few weeks I was assigned with a preceptor and we worked together on 8 patients. We speak in English most of the time, as that is required. From time to time we cant help but speak in Tagalog or some other dialect, but only among ourselves. No problem though, as you will quickly learn to adjust. They emphasized patient safety, even above efficiency. which was good, in a way, dahil mabagal ako compared sa kanila. Last ako natatapos magbigay ng medicines, as I was afraid to make mistakes.

new world

Hi.A year ago I arrived in the east coast to start a new chapter and a new career. I hope I can reach out to other new nurses or nurses in a new land and share some of the experiences I have encountered at work. So many things were new to me and I will try to familiarize you with
the gadgets and equipments you may encounter, as well as give you some idea of nursing life in america.