Celebrating International Nurses Day 2016

Hello Lovies!

May 9-15 is a week-long celebration for nurses around the world. Since Monday, I've been tweeting and posting status on my Facebook account greeting my fellow nurses Happy Nurses' Week! I just want to congratulate everyone for doing a great job on being a nurse. And today, May 12th is the International Nurses Day and at the same time the birthday of Florence Nightingale - the Lady with the Lamp, the grand mama of professional nursing that all of us are practicing today.

Just always remember that we, nurses, are unique. We have the power to promote comfort and relieve strife. Many times we are gifted with the privilege of seeing rapid results of our caring actions. The true benefits of nursing are felt in our minds and hearts. No matter how hard we try, only a nurse can truly understand and appreciate the magnitude of our job

Don't worry, I'm not going to talk about the history of nursing or preach about the technicalities of being a nurse. I would like to share to my avid readers my professional journey in this medical field.

My Nursing Career

The nursing profession has dramatically changed its image from being a doctor's handmaid to becoming an independent and critical thinking nurse who collaborates and communicates with different members of the healthcare team in order to achieve patient/client goals. Gone are days that we bow down and follow orders without questioning or sharing your thoughts on it. We have become an empowered professional who have more options in developing and enhancing one's career. I do believe that nurses are the reason why hospitals and other medical care facilities are surviving.

You don’t build a house without its foundation. You don’t build a hospital without its nurses.

To those who don’t know me yet, I am a nurse by profession and have been a nurse since 1996. Okay, just do the math and you will know how long I have been in this line of work. LOL! All these years, I have shifted careers but the bottomline is I remained a nurse. Just to give a brief summary of my career, here it goes:

• Worked at Philippine General Hospital as a Staff Nurse
• Worked at OIC Construction Company as Occupational Nurse
• Worked at St. Anthony College of Roxas City as Clinical Instructor
• Graduated Masters of Science in Nursing major in Community Health Nursing at St. Paul's University of Iloilo City
• Nominated as Outstanding Nurse in Capiz in the field Academics
• Received the Award of Outstanding Alumni of St. Anthony College of Roxas City in the field of Academics
• Started to work as Online Freelance Medical Writer
• Written several nursing articles and NCLEX, LPN, Medical Transcriptionist Course, Medical Case Studies for clients in the USA and Europe
• Adjunct Nursing Faculty at Texila American University, one of the best Caribbean Medical Schools is located in Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America. 

• Worked as Nurse Adviser to some students at University of North Florida

• Presently working as International/USA Sr. Medical Nurse Case Manager at Future Care, Inc.
• Cited by LinkedIn as one of the Top 10 International Nurse Case Managers

• Presently taking Master's degree in E-Health Management in Rome Business School.

With everything that I do as a nurse, the one thing that I considered as my biggest professional achievement is being a Nurse Educator/Clinical Instructor. For 12 years, I have contributed to molding young minds in achieving their dreams to become a nurse. And now, as I see them all over the world, practicing the profession with all heart and soul, and making their families happy and proud of what they do, is the best feeling in the world. 

I know I did something good, I know I did a job! That's why I'm proud to say that I am a Nurse.

May 10 is World Lupus Day

Hello Mommies!

I have been thinking on adding another section to this blog of mine which I believe is still part of what I have been doing professionally. For all those who don't know me yet, I am a Nurse by profession and a Clinical Instructor for almost 12 years. I have changed nursing careers, but still my fervor to teach is still there. With this, I decided to launch today the Health and Wellness category where I will be talking about health concerns that are relevant and this will also be a sort of an educational tool to all who will visit this site.

For this maiden post, I will start off by informing you all that May 10 is World Lupus Day.

This is from Nursing Mnemonics and you can see how lupus affects the body in the lungs, heart and kidneys.

What is Lupus?

It is a chronic autoimmune disease that attacks different parts of the body. The body's immune system cannot identify what foreign agents are attacking the body that it creates a wide array of signs and symptoms particularly in the lungs, heart, skin, and kidneys. This is a prolonged medical condition, thus the word chronic, which can last from 6 weeks or even longer.

The word lupus means 'wolf''. The medical condition was named after this because the butterfly rash on the face of the person resembles the bite marks of a wolf attack.

What are the Signs and Symptoms?

Lupus is mostly hidden from view and undefined, has a range of symptoms, strikes without warning, and has no known cause and no known cure. Its health effects can range from a skin rash to a heart attack. Lupus is debilitating and destructive and can be fatal. From our illustration above, allow me to translate the identifies clinical manifestation and some of its complications:

In the lungs:

• Tachypnea - fast breathing
• Pleural inflammation/Effusion - the protective lining of the pleural cavity (the one that encase the lungs) is inflamed and can sometimes lead to water entering this area or effusion.

In the Skin:

• The person develops photosensitivity when outdoors. The person can develop erythematous rash (redness of the skin) whenever he/she is exposed directly to sunlight. 
• The very distinct mark of lupus is the butterfly rash or malar rash on the face because its shape resembles the outstretched wings of a butterfly across the nose and cheeks. The rash can be mild or severe but is not usually painful.  It can be itchy if it is more like a rash than a blush and some patients even report a ‘hot’ feeling with more severe malar rashes. 

In the Heart:

• Raynaud's phenomenon, commonly affecting women, is when fingers turn white or blue with exposure to cold or during stressful situations, caused by the constriction of small blood vessels in those areas. 
• Pericarditis is the inflammation of the muscle of the heart.

In the Kidneys:

• Lupus Nephritis it inflammation of the kidneys that is caused by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). This inflammation can lead to kidney failure, but like most lupus symptoms the effect on the kidneys is quite variable and hard to predict. 
• Proteinuria is increased protein (showing as blood --hematuria) in the urine, swelling of the feet and legs, and high blood pressure can be indicators that the kidneys may be affected.

Other signs and symptoms:

Perhaps the most earliest signs of lupus are unexplained fatigue and fever. There would also be constant headache and confusion, joint pain, sores in the mouth, and digestive disturbances.

Diagnosing Lupus

There is no specific test to tell if you have lupus or not. If you have some symptoms that you think you have lupus, talk to your doctor and he/she will be taking samples of your blood for a variety of tests.

Be honest to tell your doctor your family health history and your own health history as the disease is oftentimes linked to be familial or hereditary. If your doctor strongly suspects that you have lupus, you will be referred to a specialist (a rheumatologist for joint and muscle problems and dermatologist for skin problems) for further medical assessment and treatment plans.

Life with Lupus

Although there is no cure for lupus, living well should not hinder you from doing so. It means balancing your daily life activities with rest, and trying to avoid stress. I suggest that you do the following:

• Listen to your body, but don't give up your goals and dreams. 
• Learn to take a rest for a while if your body is wary enough and then pick up the pieces again and strive on.
• Accept help from others, but do something proactive every day.
• Question your doctors, but don't ignore their advice.
• Follow instructions carefully when taking medications
• Closely monitor your condition with your doctor.

I hope I have given you enough basic information on this one. What topic do you like me to write about next time? I'd love to hear from you.

DISCLAIMER: This post contains general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information above is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.  If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website.

The Fruit of My CEAP Contribution

This morning when I woke up, I opened my cellphone and checked for my Daily Bible Verse. This is what I read:

What's the relevance of this message to me, you may ask. Today I received my CEAP benefits! I thought I am no longer qualified to receive any separation pay since I only begin to contribute for CEAP in 2006 (I think). CEAP stands for Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines. If you are an educator working in a Catholic institution, you are asked to contribute a portion of your salary for your retirement. Since I am an obedient employee, I registered and started to contribute.

But I lost interest in processing since I resigned voluntarily and I am below 10 years of continuous contribution. With the persistence of my mother, I processed the papers for separation and just waited for whatever benefits I will be receiving. I checked and read the contents at their website for any clues on whatever amount I will be receiving. I found nothing. This lead to my hopeless consideration that I may not receive anything at all. Knowing that I will need all the financial help now since I am about to give birth this month via Caesarian section, I just prayed to God that He will provide us with whatever grace He can give us. I never ceased praying and the Bible message really gave me hope.

I filed the papers late October, then forgot all about it. Que sera sera...

But we can really never tell what's in store for us. As we keep on worrying about our daily lives, on what's going to happen the next day, He already laid out the cards of our chances. All we have to do is have FAITH IN HIM. 

So, this afternoon, I received a phone call from my mother informing me that I have check from CEAP. The amount can really help in my CS delivery. While I was worrying on where to get the funds for this expense, HE provided it for us. Truly, God works in wonderful ways.

My planner entry when I received the good news!

Photo credits: 1

Chapter 38

Last November 22, I turned 38 years old. Aptly, I came up to this title of my first post for this new blog that I am about to start. Two years more to go and I'll hit the 40's. So before that thing happens, I want to record everything that goes on with my life in this new blog of mine.

Unlike my other blogs or websites, this blog will be more personal ~ more about me, my children, my family life, my work, my interests, my feelings and my emotions throughout the day or week. No pressures here in making an impression nor thinking of SEO words just to make a presence in the social media. Whatever comes along into my life, I will write about it. Of course, I still maintain my other sites (when other work does not hamper the thoughts).

So, what ever happened the past year? Well, I resigned from my previous work of being a Clinical Instructor (12 years of molding nursing students) and came to Manila to accept the job position of Training Officer/Assistant Chief Nurse at The Family Clinic, Inc., now being managed by Caritas Group of Companies. The transition period is quite dragging and I sometimes miss the academic life and be with students. Being with students, you get to maintain that youthfulness and worry-free attitude and it makes me energetic as well. Now that work is more collegial and serious, sometimes at the end of the day, all I want is to lie down and drift away to lala-land. But as they say, life has to go on. So I did.

Maybe some of you don't know this yet, since I keep mum about my present state (except my family and close friends). At 38 years old, I am pregnant with our 4th child. Yep, this is something that we did not expect to happen. But hey, it does not mean that our bundle of joy is not wanted. In life, there are things that happen unexpectedly. And this is one of those things. I am about to pop anytime this month; he/she shares the same birth month with Max. As of this writing, we are 36 weeks already. Gender has not been determined yet. I'm still waiting for my OB's prescription for ultrasound. As what other parents wish for their unborn child, whatever the gender the baby maybe as long as he/she is healthy and with no other physical problems, that is already a blessing. We are hoping to have a baby boy this time, but God knows what's best for us and I can't wait to see and hold him/her in my arms.

Well, that's all about me for now. I am planning to post every week and keep you all updated. I basically want this to be interactive, so I welcome all your comments. See you this Friday!

Photo credits: 1