Tuesday, January 30, 2007

My mini-library

This is my mini-library...

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But I'm not really much of a reader. I just got addicted to buying books a long time ago...

Faith/ Christianity/ Catholicism:

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Fiction:

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Filipiniana:

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Education:

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Philosophy:

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Psychology/ self-help:

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And of course, the (dreaded) nursing books:

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I also have a kind of "virtual library" (ebooks, audiobooks, BBC radio dramas and audio lectures) in CDs and in our PC... There's just so much stuff I've already collected that it overwhelms me... I don't know if I can ever find the time to listen to all of them...

Sunday, January 28, 2007

The largest collection of Filipiniana online

This site has probably the largest collection of Filipiniana on the internet: The United States and Its Territories, 1870 - 1925: The Age of Imperialism.

The United States and its Territories, drawn from the University of Michigan Library's Southeast Asia collection, comprises the full text of monographs and government documents published in the United States, Spain, and the Philippines between 1870 and 1925. The primary focus of the material is the Spanish-American war and subsequent American governance (approximately 1898-1910). The text collection is complemented by digitized images from key photograph collections drawn from the Special Collections Library.


What an awesome collection! I've browsed the site and saw a lot of interesting titles, some even from Cebuano authors. The images gallery contains tons of photos of the country during the latter period of the Spanish colonial era and early American period.

The Basilica del Santo Nino library

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Do you know that the Basilica del Santo Nino have a library? I learned this from Sugbuanon Na Ni!, a radio program over DYAB two Sundays ago.

It is considered to be one of two treasures of the Basilica, the other being its museum.

The library has about 7,000 volumes of books. These are mostly very, very old books. The oldest title dates back to the year 1622! Most of them are written in Latin and Spanish. These books have survived the test of time because they are made from acid-free paper and are bounded by covers made of pig's skin.

Most of the collection are manuscripts of biographies of saints, others are journals and accounts of early priests in the country. The latest acquisitions are Augustinian books.

The library was close to the public until 2002. Before that only scholars and historians were allowed to use it.

It is located at the second floor of the convent, at the back of the Santo Nino chapel (where you see people lining up to see the Santo Nino). It is open Mondays to Fridays from 8AM to 12 Noon and from 1PM to 6PM.

Entrance fee is Php 20.00 for students and Php 30.00 for non-students.

Details for the MV Doulos book fair

This is MV Doulos' schedule for Cebu:

From January 26 – February 19, 2007 the ship’s book fair will open daily to the public. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, Sunday and Monday from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The entrance fee is 10 Pesos. Children under 16 are free to visit, but must be accompanied by parents or guardians.



Doulos is berthed at Aduana Pier - Berth 28 (Domestic Berth)

Friday, January 26, 2007

Our last day in St. Anthony

We welcomed four more babies into this world today. Again, the DR was all ours, no other school was on the morning shift. Three patients were already in the room when we got there, with students from the University of San Carlos (from the night shift) monitoring the progress of their labor. None of them were in the active phase yet. So they had to endorse the patients to us. I felt sorry for them because they had not even a single case.

It was around 10 when one of the patients showed signs of true labor, but it was not actually until 2PM, when our shift ended, that she delivered her baby. And what a difficult labor it was for her! She laid on the table for more than an hour and tried very, very hard, despite the doctors', nurses' and institute worker's (yes, an IW did also help) occasional comments that she's not trying hard enough, to push her baby out. The doctor already episiotomized her and set the IV fluid to fast drip and still nothing happened. We could already see the baby's hair so it was so frustrating for all of us. One of the doctors eventually used forceps to hasten the baby's expulsion.

The second patient had to be referred to another hospital because there was no progress to her labor and she was already eclamptic (her blood pressure was persistently high). There was no progress to the third patient either, although it was already her third pregnancy.

At around noon two patients arrived with active labor. Their delivery was relatively quicker and easier.

I realized nga lisud jud diay kaayo ang manganak... grabe ka-torture. Wala pay labot diha ang 9 months nga pagsabak sa bata. Maybe that's the reason why our mothers can sometimes be so protective of us, to the point of being "over-acting" or paranoid, because they know fully well how precious we are.

We all finished at around four. We were exhausted because we missed lunch. Richard and I went straight to the hospital canteen while the rest of us went on ahead.

Next week we will be continuing our discussion on the hematologic disorders and we will be reporting finally on the drugs used in the autonomic nervous system. *Gulp*

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Remember MV Doulus?

Remember MV Doulos? They're back!

I was very young the last time they docked in Cebu. But it's not really the books I remember most of that experience. It's the ice cream! They sold a very delicious sort of ice cream.

They will be opening tomorrow at 2PM and close at 10PM. I'll go there this week end. Daghan siguro kaayo nindut nga mga books didto! Ako lang dad-on ako papa para naa koy back-up budget hehehe...

Our clinical duty this week

We had begun our clinical duty for this week last Wednesday. Our area is in St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital in San Nicholas, Pardo.

We had started late this week because Monday was a holiday (a rest day after the Sinulog), and on Tuesday we were sent home because we reported on the night shift instead of on the morning shift. We were not informed earlier so it was not our fault.

The hospital is a small one. It basically serves obstetric, gynecologic and pediatric cases. It's an extension of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

It happened that the Cebu City Memorial Medical Center is close this week for cleaning, so all DR cases go to St. Anthony.

Today we had three deliveries. Solo namo ang cases because no other school was on duty. But last night there were eight deliveries and no school was around!

We were sorry for the third baby because he had hydrocephalus. His fontanel was bleeding, too. He has also aspirated a lot of meconium. The mother had a very long labor (more than 24 hours).

We hope we can handle more cases before the shift ends tomorrow. On Saturday we will have a case conference. We haven't had a case conference for a very long time.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Purity

"Every virtue in your soul is a precious ornament which makes you dear to God and to man. But holy purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so precious that those who possess it become like the angels of God in Heaven, even though clothed in mortal flesh."



-- St. John Bosco

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Modern man needs God as savior all the more

"Despite humanity's many advances, man has always been the same: a freedom poised between good and evil, between life and death.



“In this post-modern age, perhaps he needs a savior all the more, since the society in which he lives has become more complex and the threats to his personal and moral integrity have become more insidious.”


-- Pope Benedict XVI, Urbi et Orbi Message, Christmas 2006

Monday, January 22, 2007

Da King

Last night I had the weirdest dream. Weird because of who's in it:

Fernando Poe, Jr.

In my dream he looked a bit younger than at the time he died. He was just standing, holding what looked like a piece of newspaper, which he read.

I don't know what the connection is. Usually my dreams are connected to reality. They are things or persons whom I have seen earlier in the day, or in the past days. I can't recall having seen a picture of FPJ recently...

Creepy.

More quotes from saints

A lamp is not lighted by itself, so the human soul does not give light to itself but calls out to God: " You indeed, O Lord, give light to my lamp."
-- St. Augustine


Jesus is the teacher of holiness. I go to Him because I want Him to teach one how to become a Saint. Of what use to me is all I learn in school if I do not become holy?
-- St. Francis DeSales


Faith seeks understanding.
-- St. Anselm, Proslogion proemium


Don't draw back, and worse still, don't stop going up the Calvary of life. Jesus will extend His hand to steady you. The thought of the sustaining grace of God and the prize that Jesus has reserved for you will be a sweet comfort.
-- Saint Pio of Pietrelcina


What was the life of Christ but a perpetual humiliation?
-- St. Vincent de Paul


There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience.
-- St.Catherine of Sienna

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Happy Sinulog!

Viva Pit Senor!!!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Pneumonia (community-acquired)

In response to Jules:

Hello!

Yup, it does get more and more difficult doesn't it?, especially when you get to MS. I am also in my 3rd year, although I'm already a regular because I'm done with all my minor subjects.

About your questions, I can only offer a summary. I haven't yet encountered this case in my clinical duty.

The common causes of community-acquired pneumonia are the following bacteria: streptococcus pneumonia, haemophilus influenzae, legionella pneumonia and histoplasmosis capsulatom.

It can also be caused by viral or fungal infection, aspiration of food, fluids or gastric substances, or irritation by noxious/ chemical substances.

So the pathophysiology looks something like this:

Inhalation of the microorganisms/ noxious substances --> inflammation of the tissues in the lungs --> exudates formation --> increased proliferation of bacteria --> insistent sputum production --> impaired gas exchange --> etc (signs and symptoms)

Common clinical manifestations: wheezing, dyspnea, cough, rales, rhonchi, chest pains.

Meds: Antibiotics (For example, Amphothericin B - IV route; antidote for the side effects of that drug: benadryl, steroids)

Disgnostics: Chest X-ray, sputum exam with gram stain (the definitive test), culture and sensitivity test and blood culture.

Nursing management:

To facilitate adequate ventilation:

a. Increase fluid intake to at least 3 L/day;
b. Chest physiotherapy;
c. Chest splinting;
d. Suctioning when necessary (not more than 9 secs at a time);
e. O2 when needed;
f. Incentive spirometry
g. Administration of antibiotics (penicillin for pneumococcus, ampicillin for haemophilic influenzae)

I don't know about the prognosis and the discharge planning, though.

Hope that helps.

Good luck to you!

BTW, my references are the MS books by Black, Ignatavicius and Udan.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Definition of irony

You quit your job as a technical support agent because you find that computers are highly complex machines, and end up enrolling in nursing and trouble-shooting the infinitely complex machine that is the human body. Hah!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The Bayanihan National Folk Dance Company

I watched the gala dinner of the Asean leaders and delegates in Shangri-La Mactan on TV last Sunday. What a fabulous affair. It must have caused millions to organize.

Anyway, what really fascinated me was the presentation of the Bayanihan National Folk Dance Company. I was totally blown away by their whole presentation. They performed the diffirent folk dances of the country. It was so rich and beautiful. Some of the dances there I saw for the first time. How ironic that I call myself a Filipino and yet I'm alien to this aspect of my culture. It made me realize just how rich and beautiful our culture really is and how important it is that we preserve and cherish them.

A great travel blog

What a fantastic blog this is: Ivan About Town

I envy him (hehe) because I love to travel, I love to visit places with historic significance (heritage sites), take photos, enjoy nature, etc... He's doing all the things that I'd love to do if I have the resources and the luxury of time.

Monday, January 15, 2007

The December 2006 NLE result is out!

The PRC has already released the result for last December's NLE. If you're having difficult time accessing the Inquirer or other websites, try this link:

http://www.ofwcenter.com/gallery/images/Blog/20070114_NURSE1206.pdf

or

http://88503928.gabbly.com/http://images.pentagonreview.multiply.com/attachment/0/RapPvwoKCkEAADV@4Wk1/NLE_12_2006.txt

Congratulations everyone!

For those who didn't make it, please don't lose hope!

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Prolonging the agony

Sorry folks, the December 2006 NLE results aren't out yet. I'll post it here as soon as I see it.

Good luck to all of you!

Medical Detectives

If you like House and Grey's Anatomy, you might want to check out Medical Detectives. It's not a new TV series though, but a radio dramatisation of "stories based on actual events, all about pinoneering investigation in the field of medicine and pathology" over at BBC 7.

The first episode started last Monday and is called Death in the Parish:

When cholera strikes Soho in 1854, the Rev Henry Whitehead calls in the brilliant but mercurial Dr John Snow to investigate.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The December 2006 NLE results is due out Sunday

Good news: According to PinoyBSN, the December 2006 Nursing Licensure Examination will finally be released this coming Sunday, January 14, at 12 midnight or later.

PinoyBSN will be releasing the results then, or you can also check the online version of the major dailies.

The Happy Prince

If you hurry you might still catch The Happy Prince, a short story by Oscar Wilde, superbly read by John Muffit over at BBC 7. It was aired last Friday.

A touching tale of love and sacrifice.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Busy week

Been very busy this week. Daily exams since Monday. Stayed up late each night to study and record BBC 7 programs.

Missed the first set of exam this morning due to heavy traffic brought about by check points on the way to the city by military men, part of the security measures for the Asean Summit tomorrow.

Arrived in school just in time to deliver our oral report. I stood in front of the class dazed and numbed due to lack of sleep, but still anxious.

Asked the CI for a special exam. Request not granted. Later she changed her mind, thankfully.

Too much talk in the radio about the preparations for the Summit tomorrow. I wish they can also discuss the issues that the Summit will tackle. Or: What the heck is the Summit all about, anyway? What's it for? How can it particularly benefit Juan de la Cruz?

Today's CDN editorial cartoon has the answer: "Social justice, security, investment and jobs." Yes, but more discussion on these issues in the media, please...

Thank goodness for the holiday. I'm ready to collapse in my bed.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

The student nurse as patient

Conan didn't tell us about it. He was silent. We found out, a day later, that he was going to have an operation. At our own hospital, where we did our clinical duty a few weeks back.

We joked about it among ourselves. "Is it a major case? Oh, I want to be the scrub nurse!" Or maybe Conan will take it as his own case, do the scrubbing himself. "Retractor." Conan groping for the instrument in the Mayo tray: "Yes, doc."

Luckily, the surgery fell on a Saturday. Or maybe he deliberately scheduled it on a Saturday, because there are no student nurses on that day in the OR theater.

Conan is always the life of the group. Young, bugoy, very funny, and at times serious, he bonds us all together with his down-to-earth and unpretentious personality.

A few weeks ago he was so morbid. A below-the-knee amputation just ended and the OR staff were out. He held the patient's amputated foot and told us to take a picture of him with a celfone camera. He was going to post it in his Friendster. I wasn't amused, it was so cold-hearted of him to do that.

Now, he is going to be the patient. He is going to be the one who lays on the OR table, totally at the mercy of the surgeon's scalpel.

But it's alright. It's nothing serious.

Get well soon, Nanoc!

Friday, January 05, 2007

Cataloguing books



One of these days I'm going to catalogue all of my books. Ian Casocot did that for his enormous collection of over 800 books!

My own collection is relatively very small. I'll show you a picture of my book shelf later.

It grew years ago when I was obsessed with buying books. I bought a lot and read very little. I don't do that anymore. Now I only buy books that I really want to read (if I have spare money).

History

When my parents came home from Leyte a few days ago they told me of an uncle who had a queer hobby of collecting old love letters. The love letters are from his grandparents. Not only that, he collects old cans of sardines, soft drinks, stamps, and a picture of Dolphy in his early years.

I've never heard of this uncle before.

Is he old?, I asked, because I pictured in my mind that a person who's interested in this stuff must be old.

No, my mother said, he's middle-aged. He's also a lawyer.

My father said he's a nerd. He was sent to the US before to study history.

So this uncle of mine is fascinated with history. I imagined that he must have a much larger collection of historical artifacts than the ones he showed my parents. And what excites me is that when they told him that I am also interested in historical stuff he lightened up and asked about me, how old I was, etc. Peculiar, he must have thought, for a 25 year old guy to be interested in the past.

I am especially interested in our family's past. Not only with my direct family's, but with our whole clan's. From what I've heard, my grandfather's father was from Aklan. He was said to be a very luoran type of person. If I remember right, he was not given an equal share of the family's wealth. Hence, nagluod siya og ni migrate sa Leyte. And it was in Leyte where he got married, had kids, and built his family. I never knew we were from Aklan, until I look up our family name at FamilySearch.Org. I thought we were originally from Leyte. He never returned again to Aklan. It was as if he completely willed to forget his past.

And so that explains why I'm also very luoran. I sometimes can't help it. It's a very strong emotion for me that it sometimes ruins relationships.

Does this uncle of mine keep records of our family's history, too? He said he was interested to meet me, and will drop by our house when he visits Cebu. I'm very interested to meet this relative, too, and see his collection when I go back to Leyte.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Grey's Anatomy

I just saw two episodes of Grey's Anatomy for the first time (can you believe?) tonight. I really like it.

I like House, too.

I'm compelled to buy copies of the previous seasons somewhere...

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Quote of the day: On praying

"It is impossible for a person who prays regularly to remain in serious sin; because the two are incompatible, one or the other will have to be given up."
-- St. Teresa of Avila

Ooooppss, I forgot to...

... greet everybody a happy new year!!!

To us all and our families: more (spiritual and material) blessings, good health, God's guidance, peace, love, and joy in our hearts, in our homes, families and relationships...

God bless!!!

BBC 7 radio dramas

How many of you have been following the programs over at BBC 7 recently? Some of the current productions are really amazing:

  • Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
  • Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silverchair and Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
  • Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

What you missed, hehe (these were aired a few weeks ago):

  • The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton
  • The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley
  • Tomb by H. P. Lovecraft
  • The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
  • The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, and Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis.
  • Emma by Jane Austen
  • Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

Imagine, all these great works in only a short span of time! I wonder what they have in store for us for a whole year!

It's sort of a crash course in Western literature. I mean, because of these productions, I'm introduced to works I haven't heard of before (like Daniel Deronda). This is the reason why I love what BBC 7 is doing. They introduce us to these great works. They attract us to them because they bring to life these literature. I mean, if I encountered them as books, I would think twice about reading them because they're written ages ago and in a language that is not easy to understand. Like Charles Dickens, I find him a bit difficult to read. But having listened to the radio production, I am more encouraged to read and appreciate his books. And they're not all radio dramatisations. Their Best Sellers segment features readings by actors of "the finest fiction and non-fiction."

So start listening to BBC 7! They also offer comedy shows (classic and modern). Plus, a whole lot more!

Monday, January 01, 2007

Nursing in the US

Via Filipina Soul, this touching story of a Pinay nurse working in the US. Plus, a lot of interesting facts:

As the need for nurses swells, the foreign-born step up
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