I was the charge nurse then. I have just started on my 24-hour check on patients’ charts when the Pulmo Fellow came in to review one of her consultant’s patient’s chart. The patient is an 83-year old female who I learned has been coming in and out of the hospital due to her heart condition. This time she was admitted due to melena which is passage of black, tarry stools composed largely of blood that has been acted on by gastric juices, indicative of bleeding in the upper digestive tract (answers.com). Her test on occult blood came in positive and we have been wondering why she has not been referred to a gastroenterologist. The fellow asked me if the said patient has already referral to a said specialist to which I replied back, she might want to order for a referral. She said it is not her decision to make. A couple of days have passed and the patient still continues to pass melena and finally the attending has referred her to a gastroenterologist.
After the gut specialist has seen the patient, he ordered for an RBC tagging. What I like about being stationed at the Medical-Surgical ward is you got a broad horizon of must-learns. I googled for its 411 before I get to be asked by the relatives or the nurse supervisor on duty.
What is nice about our institution is that they have this internet surfing time to allow for the nurses to search on some medical information.
According to Medline Plus, RBC (red blood cell) tagging or an RBC nuclear scan is a group of tests using small amounts of radioactive material to mark (tag) red blood cells (RBCs). The body is then scanned to detect the location and flow of the tagged RBCs.
The RBCs are tagged with radioisotope in 1 of 2 ways.
The first method involves removing blood from a vein. The red blood cells are separated from the rest of the blood sample and then mixed with the radioactive material. The cells with the radioactive material are considered “tagged.” A short time later the tagged RBCs are injected into one of your veins.
The second method involves an injection of medicine that will allow the radioactive material to attach to your red blood cells. The radioactive material is injected into a vein 15 or 20 minutes after you receive this medicine.
Scanning may be done immediately or after a delay. You will lie on a table underneath a special camera that detects the location and amount of radiation given off by the tagged cells.
A series of scans may be performed. The specific areas scanned depend on the reason for the test.
And true to my hunch, the NSOD asked me about the RBC tagging when she rounded our unit.
I hope that this test will determine the source of bleeding.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/melena#ixzz1Ccs0z0pc

Yesterday’s fun run was really a blast. It was arranged by the batch 86 of La Salle Greenhills dubbed as the Greentennial Run. Since the alumni were already established in their chosen careers, they came to show off their built and packages. Some are giving away macanudo cigars to their batch which I find entertaining. Some even flashed their high end cars on the streets of Fort Bonifacio.

The institution I belong to is doing some sprucing in some of its wards. They have somewhat incorporated a doctor-patient discussion room that gives a homey atmosphere. They have place lovely pieces of log furniture that I find very relaxing. They have come up with this idea so that when discussion about a patient’s condition requires discussion with the family members, they could find confidentiality especially in the semi-private rooms.

As hard as I try to deal away with unnecessary spending, I can’t help it but dish out some cash when I see good stuff for my nieces. The eldest has grown bigger and she is only left with a few decent clothes she could fit in. So when I passed by this surplus shop, I checked out on some girls shorts I rejoiced chancing upon some good pairs. They fit perfectly on my tween.

The tattoo that one has is as good as the feeling you had when you decided to get the permanent ink pricked into your skin. I can’t help but wonder how my ex-boyfriend will get rid of my name tattoed in his bicep. He had it when he was still madly inlove with me and now that our relationship had turn sour, I do not know how will explain the indelible mark to his new partner. He must have bought tons of tattoo removal cream to erase that now unsightly mark.

The constantly changing shift in the hospital has created a disturbance on my sleep pattern. It is hard for me to get in bed before 12 midnight and as a result it is hard for me to get up so early in the morning. Counting sheeps never worked for me. I am thinking of popping some sleep pill to tuck me to bed before the crack of dawn.

I am getting disappointed as days pass by. I seem to get bigger and bigger and I really can’t say not to sweets, carbs and sodas! My efforts to run my excess pounds around seem to get useless as I chug down unwanted delights whenever I’m hungry. I am thinking of trying on some diet pills to augment my attempts to lose the unsightly pounds in my body.

Parkinson’s Disease, according to the National Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is a motor system disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. Dopamine normally sends signals that help coordinate muscle and body movement.
There are four primary symptoms which are:
1. Tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face;
2. rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk;
3. bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and
4. postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination.
It generally affects elderly aging more than 50 years. There is no specific laboratory test in diagnosing PD except for some neurologic test and medical history. According to Medline Plus, it affects more men than women
PD is chronic or stands a long time and progressive that is while life time medical management is required. While there is no cure of PD, dramatic effect is seen when patient is placed on levodopa in combination with carbidopa. The latter delays the conversion of the former into dopamine until it reaches the brain.
Among the popular people who were diagnosed with PD are Michael J. Fox, Mohammad Ali and the late Pope John Paul II.

Every since I was a child I get amused by the guards at the malls sliding a black paddle around a person’s body whenever he or she enters an establishment. The metal detectors garrett just kept on beeping for some reason and I really wanted to ask the guards why it does. My mom then would patiently explain to me that the alarms goes off whenever it senses metal whether on a person’s body or in the stuff one was carrying.

What I am thankful for being a reliever is I got to have four days off on top of my 5 days off. I am thinking of what will I do with these days off from work. I have been wanting to go back to Baguio City and enjoy the freezing weather there. I heard that there are new recreational activities there that includes Polaris ATV. I am so excited to be back home.