Bidding Goodbye to CI Friends in Tears

 

              (Thanks to Ma'am Lourdes Pastoriza for the effort to compile the images to speak what we have been through for the past days.)


It has been heavy for me to see the people from workplace to leave all of a sudden. The entry of new management and the sudden downfall of nursing enrollees have affected much the college that it had to resort to cost-cutting measures. We have seen this coming but sudden change of events made an organized planning result to something more than chaotic. The gloom was not because of the measure, it was because of the manner of implementation and the untimely order.


To go back to the story, will hurt me again. I have been bestfriends with some of the CI's leaving, and even considered them family. I will miss the company of Ktine Pedreso, Ate Malu Serrano and Ken Sabido badly. I will always be grateful for being there at times that I seem grasping to breathe.  I will miss a dear friend, Jim Ofonda, who has helped much the College of Nursing in giving the best ceremonies which the nursing students deserve. I  will miss the times that we poured our hearts out in ceremonies over a beer and ..o well, beer.


I will miss the rest of the CIs who, in one way or the other,  have helped me respect my discipline. I may have had clashes with the others, but I believe that the best of what I am now is also because of them.


I will always be thankful for them who allowed me to comfortable with them, share laughter with them, even allowed me bullying them for clean fun. I will aways be grateful for them, who I shared strengths with in our quest of giving the best to our students.  I will always treasure the friendship we shared amidst the difference in maturity, opinions and lifestyle.


Then, I will miss the old lair.. the Nursing faculty room, where all of us meet and breathe from a tiring hospital duty or classroom lecture. It will now house other educators. I will miss what we had dearly.. it will never be home again.

"How can we get through this effectively?"...taking the words of Louie Dagangon ..THAT will be a thought for us to ponder as the new sem begins.

We bid goodbye and good luck.... to our Dean Linell Malimbag, Assistant Dean Danilyn Isidor, RLE Supervisors Rose Barza, Jim Ofonda, Rachel Cornites, Galacio Luciano and Paolo Santos, Clinical Coordinator Mam Leah Arrangues..and to the Clinical Instructors who went out last April 20 and availing the early retirement offer. (these are the CIs seen on the late part of the video)

And lastly to the12 CIs who recently had been categorized as redundant...the DDC College of Nursing will not be the same again.

          Balmores           Suello  
          Estalani              Castillo    
          Serrano              Sabido  
          Estrada               Gacusana  
         Arrangues             Alfaras
          Cabradilla           Branzuela

     I wish these colleagues the best of life. We all have our own reasons for leaving and for staying. We may not be close with all of those who are leaving but we cannot deny the fact that each of them is a part of what we are today.. that our disciplines are crafted because we worked as a team.

      The respect and friendship among us is something they will never be able to take away from us , no matter how much others project that they share the same with us and no matter how great others think of themselves. 

       God bless colleagues.. see you around.

Out Patient Chemotherapy

      For 4 days, I will be on hospital duty orientation. Together with other clinical instructors Don Bansuan, Lloyd Lepiten, Chona Barrun and PJ Arrangues, we will be acquainting ourselves with the  Out-Patient Chemotherapy Infusion Room of  Davao Doctors Hospital, the FIRST and the ONLY one in Mindanao.

     It has followed the regulations being set by PhilHealth, allowing more safety area for the nurses in preparation and administration of this drugs. Chemotherapeutic drugs are toxic in nature and  the preparation should not be anymore be done in clinics or bedside of the patient.

Chemotherapy cycles, depending on drugs and the case, or  hours of infusion varies and may range as little as 3 hours which means that there is no need for the patient to be admitted in the hospital.

Patients are also kept comfortable with Lazyboy couches which can be reclined when they want to lie while the treatment is going on. The room is also air-conditioned  with one TV to give the place a homey feel. For the meantime, both adult and pediatric cancer patients are treated in the same infusion room but a separation of the two will materialize soon.

I observed the facility more today and the process much more than the patients. We weren't allowed to deal with the patients much . I wanted to watch the insertion of a Porta-cath today, one of the central lines inserted in the upper chest and  just below the clavicle or the collar bone.

Earlier, we got more familiar with the common used chemotherapy drugs and those that values as high as P 300,000 per vial. Yes, there are people who can buy that given at the rate twice a week.

      The unit is one very hepflul area for many cancer patients. I believe, that this again will boost the level of medical competence of the hospital also. More than that, a place of hope for patients who is fighting for one disease feared by many because of its unpredictability.

   I have 2 cancer stories to share making me appreciate the treatment. It has taught me to appreciate science and its quest to augmenting one cancer patient's life to a lot more year. It has taught me of the value of the facility being able to understand the care of the cancer patients.

    I still have 3 days to more to this area which I learned does not allow students inside due to probably of the small space. However, they can be called to observe  minor procedures such as Bone Marrow Aspiration.

    Tomorrow is another day. Earlier, we dealt with Liver Ca, Breast Ca, Multiple Myeloma.  Tomorrow will be another round of nursing care for patients with cancer again..another round of learning..and another round of appreciating life.

The Nurse is on Camotes Island Vacation

 As i browse pictures, I never fail to stare much at the recent summer I had with college friends in Camotes Island.

Cebu Arrival:
I arrived at Cebu around 9:45am with Chime and Doods but we had to wait for a friend who'll be arriving in an hour from Davao also. The others were already in SM Cebu waiting for us.. Anne, Ching and Tong.  They came in earlier flights and decided that we eat at SM Cebu at a dimsum place where you have to make ur fingers sound to call a waiter. Tong and I was so hungry that we would take whatever is ready to be eaten.

Going to Camotes

Thanks to Tata's frend, Paul John, who bought tickets for us to Camotes Island. We had to buy even before coming to Cebu knowing that Holy Week might mean a lot of people also buying a lot of tickets. PJ was also kind enough to go with us to the port in Cebu. Pier 1 is located in the City to transport us to Camotes island by water in almost 3 hours. There's a scheduled trip every day at 6am and 4pm for P300 (one way). Like any ports, the porters will swarm around you to carry your luggages for P10.00 .

We arrived there around 8pm and very hungry. We rode for 30 minutes. in a multicab going to the resort we reserved. The place was so dark since there were no electric posts along the roads. We just trusted the driver and laughed a lot to mask the fear a little.

 We stayed at Keshe Resort which has beautifully crafted native cottages for its guests. They were kind enough to prepare a delicious dinner for us. The food was so great considering we were so starved. The huts were so huge we could fit  in one hut or cottage. We were the only tenants, so we had the resort all to ourselves. The air was cold and we were approximately 50 steps away from the shoreline. If only we weren't that tired, we could have dipped in the waters right after dinner.

From the moment we came until we ate, we were laughing at the funny things that went with our travel. We exchanged things we knew about the island . The rest of the night, we spent talking and of course, drinking. The island didn't have corkage fees, so we bought a number of drinks for our 4 days stay at the island. For the first night, we drank Tequila Rose which was according to my friends, tasted like Calpol (a cough syrup for kids) and Arbor Mist (blackberry). The latter tasted like "tuba", a local wine from coconut.

Touring Camotes

Breakfast was great since we had it with the view of the peaceful beach. The water was so tempting, yet we had to stop ourselves since we have to be on tour first. Like all bakasyunista, we wanted to see the whole of the island first and what it's know for. PJ hired a multicab to tour the island with Kuya Edward as our driver. We knew that we will be touring in beaches also, so we wore already our swimsuits.

Kuya Edward decided what places to take us to.We went to the Tumubo Cave which proved to be very scary and exciting at the same time and paid P10 for entrance fee. There are cemented steps to prevent tourists from slipping while going in and out of the cave. At the end of our trail, we found ourselves in a clear body of water. We couldn't resist dipping in. We were already in our swimsuits by the way.

We went to explore the rest of the island like Danao Lake and the other resorts. We had our lunch at Mangodlong Beach Resort. It's one of the sought after beach in Camotes. Then, we also toured the rest of the beaches like Santiago White Beach and others.

The rest of the island proved to be so peaceful and very clean, even saw their garbage bins being color coded. And even the houses are labeled "Balay ni Rosa" which made me think, the place was so little that all that is there could actually be labeled. We even stayed awhile in their sentro which was as relaxing as the beach. We had also the chance to watch a local "rugby" tournament, a game i did not know much.

KESHE RESORT

We spent the rest of the days at this resort, well actually the rest of the vacation.  We had the whole resort for ourselves which was the best part of the vacation though we shared the beach with all of those who were on vacation.  The rate was affordable for an accommodation that seemed so luxurious.The staff are so friendly that they will always attend to your needs, anytime you need them. They will even offer buko or saging when you know you wanted to have it so bad.

We slept and woke up when we wanted to and we plunged in the water each time it invited us in. We enjoyed the day in the sun and the darkness of the night. We unloaded burdens and re-crafted our dreams. We went back to the old days when we enjoyed even the mere sight of liquor.

There were still much of what the island offers but we had only 4 days there. We had to be picked up by Kuya Edward early 4'oclock in the morning. Yes, we woke up early with even an hour of sleep.We rode Ocean jet again back to Cebu mainland (but this time, the travel was disappointing due to disorganized ticketing and seating scheme of Ocean jet Liner).

It was the best get-away for me. For long , i haven't been in trips with them, a pledge we made back at school. I knew i needed this. It was running away from all the pressures at work or even with personal matters. It didn't solve problems but it did give me time to breathe and gather myself again.  The good thing about it is that i spent those days with the friends i knew i could breathe well with.

 A nurse needs a break from being the strength of every patient she encounters. A clinical instructor needs a room to breathe from being the source of knowledge of the aspiring angels in the sickroom. I had my best summer break in Camotes island, now I am ready to a new whole challenge at work or elsewhere again.

SCAMMERS again!

Yesterday, while i was busy finishing new online tasks, a friend approached me for advice. He just receive an email accepting him to work as nurse in UK. I was excited for him since he was one of the friends at work leaving 2 weeks from now. However the more i read the letter, the more i doubted it.

A certain agency gets applicants for UK. And with Leo, they told him that he was accepted in a big hopsital in UK. However, he has to undergo 2 days of embassy coaching. This was what made me doubt it. I never heard of a coaching for any embassy interview. Much more, he was to pay P 3000 for it and that he has to hurry for the slots were limited.

I told him to check on POEA. And to my surprise, it was unlisted even if the email gave a detailed contact information about the agency. I guess, that was the main purpose of it..to make it;s readers believe that this one was for real. And stating that it's "MONEY BACK GUARANTEE", makes it more appealing. But not to me.

I  disgust people who do these things, playing with the desire of the Nurses to go out of the country badly. Most of my colleagues do not have that much but amazingly finds a way to pay fees for employment contracts overseas. It's devastating to find out that all the hardships and the money ends up in a fraud.

I know it's unideal for a nurse to say bad fate to someone ...i do hope that they don't end up in a hospital bed someday with a nurse unwilling to take care of them. Then only they will realize that the very life they took care through scamming , will be the same life a nurse can decide whether to help survive and continue living.

****************** below is a the actual scam letter ********************

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dan Moen <thehospitalgroupuk@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 22, 2011 at 10:35 AM
Subject: RE: YOU ARE SELECTED!
To: thehospitalgroupuk@gmail.com

REMINDER: Please READ & UNDERSTAND this email message, it is
advisable for you to PRINT it.
After evaluation of your resume since we placed an advertisement
in Jobstreet, we are pleased to tell you that you
are SELECTED for the position of a Staff Nurse ( Philippine licensed ) and/or Caregiver/ Nursing Aide ( Non Philippine license ) for THE HOSPITAL GROUP in London City.

The Hospital Group is one of the UK's leading providers of Cosmetic Surgery, Cosmetic Dentistry and Non Surgical Treatments.  We are actually leaders in the UK on both Weight Loss surgery andHair Transplantation.

The Hospital Group is committed to providing very high standards of surgical excellence in a range of Surgical and Non Surgical treatments and procedures. With this level of care, our patients can have complete confidence that their treatment is performed by an expert medical team in state-of-the-art facilities that are second to none 

Current Vacancies

• Theatre Practitioner
• Registered Ward Nurse / Caregiver
• Financial Accountant
• Hospital Manager
• Hair Technician
• Catering Assistant
• Dental Nurse
• Driver
• Medical Technician
• Housekeeping Assistant

You should attend the FIRST & LAST British Embassy Coaching for this year 2011 on May 28 & 29, 2011 (Saturday & Sunday) from 9:00AM-5:00PM. WE, EMPLOYERS ARE NOW HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Call us for inquiries strictly from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday
(12:00-1:00PM Lunch Break/3:00-3:30PM Coffee Break):
Landline nos.: (02) 904-33-81  
Cellular No.:  0915-902-54-78 (Company Mobile Phone)

We will start accepting inquiries starting May 23, 2011 (Monday) – May 27, 2011 (Friday) strictly from 9:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. only
(12:00-1:00PM Lunch Break/3:00-3:30PM Coffee Break).

NO PLACEMENT FEE! NO PROCESSING FEE! NO SALARY DEDUCTION
OPPORTUNITY! Airfare, Nurse Midwife Council Registration pack for Staff Nurses & Midwives, work permit & working visa will be shouldered by the employer, the only expenses that you are going to shoulder is the medical exam fee & British Embassy Coaching fee because this is on a DIRECT/NAME HIRE BASIS.

To better understand the process, we provide you with our
application procedure:

        Application Procedure:

Sending of resume thru email for Pre-qualification (done)

Once selected, you will receive an e-mail message & a text message from us telling you that you are selected for the position & we will ask you to prepare the necessary requirements listed below(done)

We will send an e-mail message requiring you to attend a 2-day British Embassy Coaching which is a requirement by the employer before working in any European Country (done)

After receiving our e-mail message, you can call us for inquiries
or pay anytime the British Embassy Coaching fee at our
accredited payment center for SLOT RESERVATION (first step)

Attend the 2-day British Embassy Coaching (May 28 &  29, 2011 9am-5pm), get the required certificate, orientation with the employer (May 28, 2011 9:00-10:00 AM) & signing of employment contract with interview with the employer (May 29, 2011 4:00-5:00 PM)

After finishing the 2 day British Embassy Coaching,
receiving the required certificate, orientation with the employer &
signing of employment contract, you can now submit the necessary
requirements.

While the documents are still on process you have to get an
endorsement letter for medical examination (your choice of clinic/hospital as long as it is accredited by DOH, POEA & MARINA)

After we received your documents (max. of 2 weeks after
mailing the documents), we will start processing your work permit
(max. of 4 weeks processing)

After the approval of your work permit, we will start processing
your working visa (max. of 4 weeks processing)

After the approval of your working visa, schedule for Pre-
departure orientation seminar (PDOS), interview in the embassy for
visa stamping & securing of pre-paid ticket advice

Deployment Date (maximum of 3 months if requirements are submitted on May 28 or 29, 2011)

British Embassy Coaching fee is 3,000.00 (Philippine
Peso), 100% refundable (no deductions) if not satisfied with the
employment package. Refunds are process at our office after the
orientation on May 28, 2011 Saturday at 10:00 A.M. Employment
package will be discussed during the orientation. NO OTHER HIDDEN
CHARGES.

British Embassy Coaching will be conducted at our office
at:

The Hospital Group Consultancy

3rd Floor Waltermart Center

790 Chino Roces Ave. cor.

Antonio Arnaiz St.

Makati City, NCR, Philippines

Landline no.: (02) 904-33-81  

Cellular No.:  0915-902-54-78 (Company Mobile Phone)

TAKE NOTE: British Embassy Coaching that you are going to attend are purely training & exercises, NO EXAMS REQUIRED, nobody fails the training.
We will only accept those selected applicants who paid on or before May 27, 2011 (Friday) until 12:00 P.M.  lunchtime upon slot availability. PLEASE TEXT US FIRST BEFORE MAKING ANY PAYMENT TO CHECK SLOT AVAILABILITY. We will automatically replace those who did not comply. IT’S A FIRST PAY, FIRST RESERVE BASIS!

You can pay thru LBC Branches Nationwide. You can ask somebody to pay for you if you are not available in the country or busy with your work. Please ask for the REMITTANCE FORM & just follow the format below:

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: Payment should be thru BRANCH PICK-UP NOT FOR DELIVERY

LBC
Shipper Information
Name: YOUR NAME
Address: YOUR ADDRESS
Phone No. YOUR LANDLINE OR CELLULAR NO.
Signature: YOUR SIGNATURE
Remittance Details
Pls. check thru BRANCH PICK UP (Instant Peso Padala)

Amount: Three thousand Pesos (3,000.00)
Consignee Information
Name: Mr. Dan L. Moen
Address: 3rd Floor Waltermart Center

790 Chino Roces Ave. cor.

Antonio Arnaiz St.

Makati City, NCR, Philippines

Phone No.: (02) 904-33-81

After payment, please text us the following information at 0915-902-54-78 (Company Mobile Phone) for slot reservation:
Tracking No.:

Your Full Name:

Branch of LBC you made the payment:

After texting us the payment details, we will verify the validity
of payment online and we will text you back VERY IMPORTANT
INFORMATION & reserve your work slot. Maps & Directions will be sent thru email to PAID & RESERVED Applicants together with the draft of the employment contract.

We offer FREE FOOD & ACCOMMODATION to those selected applicants coming from the province. We reimburse transportation expenses just present to us the OFFICIAL RECEIPTS/TRAVEL TICKETS of your travel expenses on Saturday May 28, 2011 10:00AM. Please call us for free shuttle service from the airport or terminal.

As a company policy, all payments should be made at any LBC BRANCHES NATIONWIDE. Please bring the proof of payment with you on the training dates so that we will accommodate you. No payments are accepted during training days & we will not entertain walk-in applicants who are not yet paid during weekdays. Names of paid applicants are forwarded to the Information desk/guard on duty for them to easily identify who are allowed to enter office premises & attend the training.

Schedule of Activities on May 28 & 29, 2011 (Saturday & Sunday):
May 28, 2011 (Saturday)
Attire: Smart Casual
9:00-10:00 a.m.: ORIENTATION (you can bring your parents, nearest
relative or your husband/wife)
10:00-12:00 p.m.: British Embassy Coaching
12:00-1:00 p.m.: FREE Lunch
1:00-3:30 p.m.: British Embassy Coaching
3:30-4:00 p.m.: FREE Snack
4:00-5:00 p.m.: British Embassy Coaching

May 29, 2011 (Sunday)
Attire: Semi-Formal
9:00-12:00 p.m.: British Embassy Coaching
12:00-1:00 p.m.: FREE Lunch
1:00-3:30 p.m. British Embassy Coaching
3:30- 4:00 p.m.: FREE Snack
4:00-5:00 p.m.: Interview with the employer & Signing of Employment Contract (you can bring your parents, nearest relative or your husband/wife)

FREE Training Materials will be provided such as Original DVD copy
of the training, plastic/brown envelope, pencil, eraser, ball pen

Here are the list of requirements to be submitted during training
days if available on hand, TO FOLLOW IF NOT AVAILABLE 1 set all photocopied:
1.    Updated Resume with or without picture
2.    4pcs. Passport size picture (white background)
3.    Valid passport (if available, only needed during Embassy
interview)
4.    Employment Certificates (if applicable)
5.    Diploma or training certificate
6.    Transcript of records
7.    Birth Certificate (NSO)
8.    NBI Clearance (Abroad) (if available, only needed during
Embassy interview)
NOTE: NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED BECAUSE THERE IS A FREE ON THE JOB TRAINING WITH SALARY, WITH FREE ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD ALLOWANCE WITHIN THE CONTRACT PERIOD IN LONDON.

We, Employers will be leaving by May 30, 2011 (Monday) to immediately process your work permit.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Dan L. Moen

Chief Executive Officer and President

The Hospital Group

London Clinic
31 Weymouth Street
London
W1G 7BT

www.thehospitalgroup.org

Nurse ... on the world of e-commerce

         A friend today taught me the basics of Affiliate Marketing, something I have always encountered online.  This is something way beyond what I normally do in the hospital. I have always been interested in computers and internet. It has always been interest to be really good at it.

        And today, the stars might have been listening all along. I have been taught of the basics of Affiliate marketing. I have done paid blogging and I have enjoyed it but this one is something really interesting for me. And especially , that the skill is paid even higher than what I am paid of my hospital and academe work.