TUBURAN

TUBURAN- some place in the EAST which is at least two hours from the University i STUDIED in and can be reached either from passing the north or the south..

The most irritable thing that people find during our duties in hospitals, and communities are the looooong and never ending requirements!! And the most irritating requirement of all is the LFD (learning feedback diary). Yes, we have heard it all. Duty in psychia ward, "LFD is important to keep your sanity in tact" (paraphrased). Duty in the community, "It is so that you can reflect and keep record of all the experiences here" (still paraphrased). In the OB ward, "It is do that we can remember all the realizations that you have during the duty. Don't we just get tired of keeping our sanity, or reflecting or remembering?? I DON'T.

Not to brag or anything, but i enjoy writing LFD's. I cannot understand why people have a hard time writing down what they have seen, felt or touched from the last 24 hours. I admit, there are times that i get lazy and dont pass LFD's, that is because, i like to commit at least one full hour in writing one LFD. I find it more difficult writing LFD's with a bondpaper and a pen with the additional time pressure. (OK, now i just realized that i dont do well under time pressure) I just think that reflecting on your day deserves even just a little bit of your time. It may keep our sanity in tact, or make us better professionals, i just dont know. Enough of this, today, this is my LFD of my duty in TUBURAN:

" Morbidity Elsewhere"

We were informed that we were going to have duty in Tuburan the night before our duty date. The day before this date, we were pressured by our collecting of certificates from the seminars of different blocks (you all know what i mean). We had a meeting with our CI to clarify on our duty schedules, because most of us were uneasy about the duty in the middle of the week of our seminar. I didnt know what i felt but I was not bothered much by it, because for us, people who lack cases, it was an opportunity to finish our cases, and for those who finished their cases, it was a bother for them.

Upon wake of 5am in the morning to pack my things, i had the idea that we were only to be there for one day, but on my brink of leaving the house, my classmate texted me and reassured me that we were going to have a 16hour duty!? almost flew back to the house and as fast as i can, gathered toiletries, towels and clothes. I was so afraid of being left by the bus that i begged my father to bring me to school. As my father drove the car like it was an airplane, my heart was pounding fast and hard! I thought i was going to have a heart attack! Until reached the school and noticed some of my dutymates still buying FOOD! the bus was still there, but the best part of all, I was not the last one who arrived.

After 2 and a half hour of travel, we arrived in a small hut with three rooms and 3 double decks in each room. It felt comfortable because it reminded me of living in the province. I liked living in the province.

Tuburan District Hospital is a surprisingly clean hospital. Aside from the smell of cat SH*T that smelled, it was well maintained. I was assigned in the ER together with another duty mate. The first 4 hours of duty was OKAY, because it was spent talking ( lots of talking). We had a few patients come, one was a woman with a black eye, which she claimed was done by her husband. In addition, she mentioned that her husband has been doing this to her for the past 3 years! That was just idiotic! It was just now that she came forward to the police and asked for a restraining order. When it ticked 5pm, we had our first ER patient, a 14 year old DOA girl from tabuelan (i think). It was just depressing having a patient die on you. It makes you feel that her death was partly your fault. this may be really bothersome to some people.

My first week in tuburan was spent in the ER. I was not able to touch a chart or a medication ticket. Or roam from room to room establishing rapport to the patients. Or experience the whole service the hospital provides. But I was able to once again gain knowledge about death, this will definitely make me stronger. I was able to give a woman a piece of my mind about her situation. In some small way, I was able to provide service that the hospital required me to. Something as simple as this, is important especially to a remote area such as TUBURAN.

my childhood

sunday.. on my way back from Tuburan (this will be in the next entry) I was half asleep in the jeepney on my way home, then i was just enjoying the familiar scenery of my home city -CEBU!! and then little by little, i started to remember things from my childhood. Bits and pieces of events from which i think that shines a little light on my upbringing. Maybe by posting these experiences, i may understand myself better. Because only by understanding myself can i understand others, something everyone wishes that they could perfectly do.

In cHronological order:

When i was about 4, i remember running around the house and looking at the kitchen counter like it was Sooooo HUGE! I remember hiding under the sink when we played with my siblings.

Around the age of 6 or seven, i remember going to a certain church "SAn Roque". I remember the night when I got my scar. I was running around the church grounds and i ran past a D-Bar (a metal bar used to hold hollow blocks) that was bent . A shallow laceration was made diagonally from my left ear to the back of my ear. A centimeter more, and my eye would have been included in the hit. I remember my parents using a superman t-shirt to cover my face and wash the blood, then they brought me to our volks wagon where i slept immediately. They continued the mass when i asleep for the night.(awwww, i wasnt emergency enough to skip mass. heheh) Surprisingly, I have no memory on how my scar was healing and thinking of the change it was going to have on my face. I guess its a regression of some sort.

I remember in my elementary years, there was a jeepney strike of some sort. And on our way to school, my mom invited STRANGERS from the road. yes, strangers whom i have never seen before. She literally yelled to a group of crowded people in the street waiting for jeep, urging them to ride. I remember being puzzled on why she would do such thing? We had no idea on who they were. They could be snatchers for all i care. And so, i experienced having almost ten people in our jeep-like vehicle as we were brought to school. (Later, i found out that it was a form of charity) It was a very memorable experience because, on our trip, my mom made friends and as one of them offered to pay for the trouble, my mom politely declined.

Around the same time and year, I remember also having people from CIT hitch from us. I was lying down inside our jeep-like vehicle, and then i was bothered by a student who was like 2nd year I think, who suddenly came on board. I remember being confused on what to do (and even thought of kicking him out) But then, we slowed down again and this time, a group of girls climbed in. (whooo!!) Oh no, I was outnumbered and embarrassed for having my hair standing up from lying down. As we then passed by the school, i noticed a LOT ( and i mean a LOT!) of students lining up and crowding for jeepneys. This was also the time that I learned that the thumbs up also meant "hitch".

I was sort of the quiet kid in my childhood days and these experiences just keep ringing n my head. I believe that my morals are rooted from my experiences. And im so glad to have my parents as the MODELS of my life. Everything that I am and I will be, remains because of them.

yey! my first blog!

i kinda heard this blog thing first from my classmates in high school and was curious about it.. then i entered the blog of my friend Bryan (by the way, i dont know where he is anymore) and read about what he wrote in the blog. And honestly, they were all booooring! I lost my interest in some tech stuff called blogging for the next four years! In my four years (in college) of building my interest in writing and two years of being a editor in our College magazine, i found myself yearning for more at the end of the year and at the brink of graduating. So, i am here sitting and wondering what to do while i wait for my board exam and my cases to finish and all those hopes and dreams that my family wants to achieve for themselves. I get this message from friendster telling me something about being able to earn in BLOGSPOT! Of course, with every advertisement having a catch, i did not believe this message (from whom i have no idea came from). Until I saw in some GMA show featuring people who actually earn from blogging! So what the heck! i was missing writing so much anyways, and i am going to have a lot of time in my hands, why not try to invest in my interest in writing and at the same time have a chance to earn money right?

Sooo, this is my first official blog! i am the editor, the author and the god in this page! this is pretty cool! All of my blogs will absolutely come from the top of my head and my experiences. Those whom i might mention and hurt, im sorry and those who i might idolize and praise, dont get too much of yourself.. stay humble! eheheh this blog thing is my outlet, all my disappointments, happiness, and opinions are about to be available for your viewing. Please respect this my friends!

take care and God Bless!