And the journey goes on

Burning midnight oil and more

2011-04-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

I am mugging at NUS central library rite now and this guy opposite me is snoring away. Intriguingly, he has been sleeping since the library opened at 4:30pm. Why bother coming. That ppt can be put to better use for those who really need to mug before their exams in three days time.

Okay I am bitching but it is nearly midnight and I am far from done with my revision. Argh....

two weeks before the exams

2011-04-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Cairo needs to lay strategies to plough his way through the maze of lecture notes is his room before the exams which is in two weeks time. Kinda feel guilty since he did not study as much as he should for the last exams. Will be putting in more effort rhia time round because at the end of the day, honestly, Cairo does enjoy whatever he is doing. Cheers

Priorities

2011-04-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am going for attachment at pedeatric ward tomorrow. I am still wondering, why the hell do I have to do a pedeatric posting. Fine, whatever. Get it over and done with.

Student
Dancer
Intellectual
Son
Nurse

Question?

2011-04-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

What is the different between a nurse and a maid. Paper qualifications?

Dance :-)

2011-03-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Production in five days time. Hope everything goes well. Already am planning my dance retreat before the next production in October :)

The issue of sexuality

2011-03-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

My friend asked me if I am bi. As in bisexual. I was surprised. Where did that come from? Apparently he said, because my facebook profile is written as interested in men and women. Goodness i never thought of it that way, or I am just plain naive.

He went on having this coversation with this other friend that his girlfriend is bi when this other friend of mine confessed earlier in a noncholant manner that she is an open bi. I gave up following the conversation when it goes to having a threesome and all. Gah! Too much.

I told them when we were at the MRT, that suddenly my age is showing. I am 25 and I have no time to consider this alternative lifestyle. Current focus now is study and dance (although at the moment it is dance then study). At the back of my mind are things like grades, clearing my bond, career expansion, finding a wife, have some kids, care my wife, building myself spiritually etc etc.

In regards to my Facebook status, I have no intentions of changing it at all this moment. There is more to life than sexual gratification. If they fail to see it that way, their issue not mine.

In the midst of the mist.

2011-02-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

I am in the midst of it, and yet I already harbour thoughts of moving on. I guess I am disappointed over my own inability to live up to expectation, mine and others. Am I escaping? No, not really. I just found another way to live my fantasy. Hopefully with slower pace and more opportunity, I will be a better dancer. With love.

Something to look forward to

2011-01-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

I believe that intelligence is a talent and an object of envy. It provides a new dimension to my perspective, witnessing people offer views which is beyond the comprehension of this mind even though at times it seem to beam between genius and lunacy.

How about those blessed with bodily kinesthetic intelligence? Balance, grace and beauty. Every movements and poses strike seem so effortless and fluid. He/she is able to mirror the dance routine exactly plus something extra- his/her own essence into the dance. Enviable.

It may suffice to bask in the intelligence of someone else for now. Intelligence is infective. But hopefully I will be able to cast my own intelligence in future.

Thank you

2011-01-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

I fell into the trap of self limiting my own knowledge.

I have learnt it makes no sense to impose a boundary to my learning.

And that knowledge belongs to everyone.

Thank you for showing me the light Dr Zakir.

On the value of education

2011-01-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

That I feel compelled to post something on my blog, I am stressed. And the best way to solve a problem is to pretend ignorance… for the moment at least. First week of school, and my pre-readings and assignments are already piling up.

Seriously I am doubtful what a university education will add to my value as a nurse. “Nothing the school can teach that the hospital can’t,” I once said a few years back, and the statement still holds true. I need to look no further than the last attachment. Already I am reduced to doing parameters, pushing commode, changing diapers and cleaning bedpans. Don’t get me wrong. Not that I belittled such tasks. On the contrary, they are essential nursing tasks. A thinking nurse with keen five senses can induce a lot of things when doing what seemingly menial or “dirty” tasks. Not that implying I have reached such high standard of nursing care, but that is exactly where the problem lies. My learning gradient has reached a plateau. In fact it is going downhill.

Some knowledge no longer click like it used to. I used to be able to prattle off each medications (the common ones at least) by its brand name, generic name, common dosage, shape, colour, stock dosage available, from the back of my hand. For some, the blood test result to refer before administering and when to administer it (before food, during food, after food). These, the result after six months of attachment and serving medication day in and day out. Currently, suffice to say, I am back to square one.
Not that I did not learnt anything new, but I am seriously doubtful on the practicality of some of the knowledge imparted. Sure some is nice to know. Most good to know. But a must know? I have my reservation. Already I am habitually blocking some information from registering during lecture, saving my neurons for something more useful (what is for lunch?). Not very smart, because it might just come out for exams a few months down the road.

A ubiquitous quote among nurses, “Good grades does not automatically make you a good nurse.” I always thought it is an excuse for not doing well in school not to mention the subjective notion of a “good nurse”. But I think the credo held by a lot of Singapore nurses “good grades does not equate to being good nurses” reflect the shared sentiment on the value of nursing education. That it lacks practicality and void of reality.

I am ranting. Or perhaps laying excuses for not doing my lecture prep. Back to reality, head descend the clouds. Got homework to do.

New Year resolutions

2010-12-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

Since the new year in in a few hours, I thought it could not be more apt to make a couple of New Year resolutions. For the record, I have always managed to keep my resolution do not think they are redundant at all. Truly, it gives me a sense of purpose, to start afresh for the New Year. They are solutions and strategies to improve the flawed old me.

1) To be more consistent in my studies. Define consistent: all those days which are not spent dancing away in the studio shall be spent either at the science/arts canteen or library doing academic stuffs. Those days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. In the case of Sunday, the plan is to head to school after dance practice to mug. Stay back till 11 30pm.

Mug need not just be revision or notes making, but also in preparation for the coming week , which brings us to the next resolution.

2) To prepare for lectures and tutorials. Revisions can take last priority. Those can still be done during the hols or weeks prior to the exams. In order to gain as much benefit as possible from lectures and tutorials I should not go for them unprepared. The following are the prerequisites:

- Print and bring your notes. If you forgot to bring your notes, print it AGAIN.
- Do your pre-lectures and pre-tutorials readings and exercises in advance. Print them out, digest them and do it.
- To refer to relevant manuals to make simple notes on lecture or tutorial handouts. Salient issues should then be clarified during lectures and tutorials. At the very least, read them and highlight all the unclear terms and concepts.

3) Finish your essays a week in advance. Finish in the sense, PROPER APA referencing done, cover page up, words limit met or lesser, turnitin report printed and marking scheme included. For this to happen, you should start your essay at least four weeks before the date due. No more five days late essays or essays with improper format or missing parts. Also, no more spending an entire night in school just to finish your essay and perform poorly for a test next day. No more finishing your essay just hours before handing in. No more any of those. The aim is to improve your essay grades to above B average. If target not met, then take peace on the fact you have tried your very best.

4) Strategise in advance how you are going to prepare for each test. Take note when is the test and what are the content tested. Allocate sufficient study slots for it. No more going for tests blind and unprepared.

5) Make exam notes for all lectures ASAP not weeks prior to exams. Those times are better spent rewriting /remodeling your notes and absorbing them.

The target for this sem, B average and above for all 6 modules. Priority is study and dance. Nothing else in between. By now you realized you are the worse last minute performer. Stay true to your credo, the best time to study in when you don’t have to study at all.

Beyond the five rights...

2010-12-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

Inaccurate readings from diabetes test strips
By Monica Kotwani | Posted: 24 December 2010 1901 hrs

SINGAPORE: If you are diabetic and using the Abbott MediSense Optium Blood Glucose Test Strips, you should get them checked to see if they should be replaced.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said some strips have given inaccurate readings of blood sugar levels.

The affected strips had produced readings that were lower than the actual blood sugar level.

And this may have an adverse effect on how the user controls his food intake.

According to HSA, the inaccurate readings may be because the strips took a longer time to absorb the blood from the user's finger.

It added that Abbott Laboratories imported 43 affected lots into Singapore.

These come in boxes containing 25, 50 or 100 test strips per pack.

For enquiries, contact Abbott Laboratories Pte Ltd at 1800 272 2881, or email them at ADC-CS.SG@abbott.com.

-CNA/wk

Reference

Kotwani, M. (2010, December 12). Inaccurate readings from diabetes test strips. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1101047/1/.html

Cairo says:

Medication error indeed but under which category? Wrong dose, wrong medicine, wrong route, wrong time or wrong patient? My best guess is wrong dose since there is no dose. The good thing is, this is one medication error which nurses need not put up the cumbersome E-HOR(electronic hospital occurence report) for. I wonder how many chronic diabetic patients missed their insulin, tolbutamide, metformin and what not because of this. On the other hand how many patients are hanged with D5%W (Dextrose 5% with water)or DS ( Dextrose 5% with Normal Saline)because the reading is lower than normal. Curiously.

Say if I am the Staff Nurse on duty, I wonder if I will be able to catch my patient presenting with signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar level)and secondly, to trust my gut and instinct that patient is hyperglycemic even though the machine reads that the blood sugar level is normal. Hmmm....

And a Happy New Year

2010-12-23T23:31:00.000-08:00

My results were out three days ago.

B- Chinese language
B+ Mental Health
B Comprehensive health assessment
B Pathophysiology and Pharmacology
B Medical Surgical Nursing

CAP: 3.5

Not too shabby I guess, given the circumstances: dance, tuition, late assignments and persistent procrastination. Showed my mum the grades and she went, "Not a single 'A'?" and “Are you satisfied with your grades." Fine mum, I got the message. My New Year resolution: at least one A and nothing short of B for all modules. At this point I am still ambivalent about doing honours, but I guess I should just keep the option open just in case.

A couple around me asked how was attachment. As usual, two weeks of assortment of emotions, though this time round a bit on the slacker side. As I told my clinical instructor, my learning gradient is hitting a plateau. In fact, I am losing my hands on skills. Also, some knowledge no longer click like it used to, requiring cues and prompts. Tsk… Bah, I will worry about that before the next clinical attachment. It is Chrismtas people! Good cheers to all of you!