I did not attend the ward’s party for three reasons: first, I had to come home early in preparation for the church’s thanksgiving worship service the following morning. Second, we do not celebrate Christmas so there is no reason for me to be in the Christmas party. Lastly, I do not feel like sharing the moment with my headnurse. I really hate her for officially ruining my plans for the new year.
The ward staff was grouped into senior, junior and orientee which I did not get. Why do we always have to observe seniority in the ward? We are supposed to be treated equally because our job descriptions are the same. Last year, I did not get the chance to be included among the blesses ones to get five days off and to make the matter worse, I was put on AM sift on the December 31st then on the PM shift the next day. It was really traumatic for me to get home there because our place home to people who have great affection for firecrackers.
My point being? We do not celebrate Christmas and New Year is the only holiday that we celebrate. Being on the bottom of the junior list, I was the last to pick the schedule and for crying out loud, what was left was the reliever’s sked. It means that I will be reporting for work both on Christmas and New Year. As I have mentioned being on duty on Christmas is not a big deal for me. I am after the New Year off.
Being the pessimist me, my thinking was right. My sked sucks big time. I appealed to my headnurse via SMS stating my litany over the freaking holiday sked. She caved in just to make it worse. I was given the PM sked on the 30th then AM shift on January 1st. Okay so I will be coming home safe early on the 31st then head directly to bed and sleep then get up and then sleep again because I need to be up early on the 1st. So basically, I will not be celebrating New Year with the family.
What a heartless and inconsiderate person!

Being hospitalized is traumatic to the patient and his relatives both emotionally and financially. Some say that it is more painful in the emotions as the hospitalization expenses are often time covered by their insurance company. Given the scenario, I am thinking of getting health insurance myself. I am looking at insurance quotes so I could get the best option. I am really getting paranoid of getting a disease from one of my patients.

I am having problems with my laptop. It is just over a year old but it keeps on hanging and it shuts off unexpectedly. I am saving up money to get a new and a smaller one. Well it does not have to be brand new. I am considering looking at refurbished laptop computers that would guarantee efficiency and affordability. I want to get new stuff for the new year coming.

It’s December and as expected, Christmas parties are being held everywhere. Along with the parties are the themes. One would not be celebrated without a theme and wearing costumes is a must. Some are wearing costume jewelry to spruce up their attires. Who will not jump on the bandwagon if there are huge prizes at stake for the best in costume winners?

While it is a shame, I admit that I lack knowledge to satisfy the inquisitive minds of the panellists, the head nurses and the division chief of the special areas.
I was asked to research on the following questions that I failed to answer. I know that I already got the grade for the pre-channelling interview and I know that the purpose of me having to research on these is to leave an indelible mark in my mind. So here the questions go:
1. Give three signs and symptoms of digitalis toxicity
According to medlineplus.com:
Signs and symptoms:
a. Irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia ( I answered tachycardia and then…mental blackout)
b. Confusion
c. Loss of appetite
d. Nausea and vomiting
e. Palpitations

2. Where is the JP drain (tip) insertion site located?
I was told by our Top 2 participant in the CCC that it is placed in the pericardial sac but I tried looking for its exact location on the net and it is taking me forever to get a specific answer. I need to ask a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon for this. I’ll get back to you on this
3. Purpose of CVP insertion
• According to healthsystem.virginia.edu Central venous pressure (CVP) is good approximation of right atrial pressure , which in turn is a major determinant of right ventricular end diastolic volume (or the preload of the right ventricle.) Recall that right atrial pressure (and thus central venous pressure) is a reflection of :
> Cardiac function
> Venous return to the heart
On the other hand, according to nursing-nurse.com the CVP monitor or insertion aims:
a.To serve as a guide for fluid replacement in seriously ill patients.
b.To estimate blood volume deficits.
c.To determine pressures in the right atrium and central veins.
d.To evaluate for circulatory failure (in context with total clinical picture of a patient)
Browsing through its purpose, CVP

Although we are not celebrating Christmas, I am thinking of getting my boss a present for the holidays. I am looking at custom desk calendars online that I know would be useful for her and she would definitely love having one. But wait, if I will hand her a present, I should also give my colleagues their presents. Okay, so now I am stressed!

I got off the phone with my friend in Japan and I learned from him the horrifying details about the earthquake that happened last week. In his 6 years of stay there, it is his first time experience to experience an earthquake that shook him to the spine. Although it was powerful, it did not cause any damage, even cracks in the metal buildings. It is for this reason that establishments there are shifting to this type of construction.

The last leg of our critical care course which is the pre-channelling interview was over. Out of the six questions, I only managed to answer 2 which means I have to take home fours questions which answers I have to research on. They are due for submission tomorrow before 9:00 am.
I felt stupid yesterday. You cannot buy time during the interview as the question will be skipped and they will proceed with the next question.
I was not the only one went home with assignments. All of us actually have to research on something.