When a student nurse observes…

Things keeping me busy this summer are the following:

Duty at Cainta, Rizal

Duty at Morong, Rizal

Duty at Baliuag, Bulacan

Duty

Duty

School

School

Duty

Duty

Holy cow, did I just said duty 7 times? So basically, that’s it. Almost half of my summer vacation was spent attending my summer class. I was a transient student for 3 straight rotations. I became a boarder in my own home. I forgot it is to feel the coolness of our air condition and the softness of my dear bed. Nevertheless, I learned how to be independent by washing my clothes and uniform at the same time ironing it. (What an accomplishment! LOL.)

Being on duty for the past 3 weeks or more makes me comment on the present health situation in the country or should I say the hospital situation in our country. Though I am only a student nurse, I was exposed to different health institutions whether it is a health center, lying-in or a hospital with different policies and different way of doing procedures and health interventions.

Being a student nurse, I oath to follow the right way of doing procedures even for the simplest skills like taking the Vital signs of the patient. Observing, as what we always do, I discovered the reality that there are some glitches in doing the Nurse’s Notes or what we call the CHARTING. There are manipulations specially in the results of the Vital Signs and the Input/Output Sheet. Some charts are not updated including the patient’s Kardex (an index card that contains the present doctor’s order, IV Fluid and the basic information about the patient). In school, we were taught to be honest at the results of our procedures or interventions because little changes can affect the patient’s wellness or health status.

Our group once experienced a death of one patient whom we handled but not within our shift. During our shift, His Blood Pressure is high and complains of extreme abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. My group mate kept on telling and referring the nurse on duty and our clinical instructor but they never responded. In fact, my group mate saw the chart, written there was a normal range blood pressure. They don’t believe my group mate and it is a clear negligence. Few hours after our shift, the patient died because of Myocardial Infarction (commonly known as heart attack). He was young. If only they believed us, student nurses, they have saved the patient from an impending myocardial infarction.

I also noticed that some Doctor’s Order is not followed. Maybe because there are a lot of patients but it is not a reason to be negligent because it is the right of the patients to be cared equally. When I became a registered nurse, I will be dedicated enough not to be negligent in simple interventions for the patient’s wellness.

In operation and delivery room, it is a number one rule to practice ASEPTIC TECHNIQUE because we are dealing with opened and internal parts of the body. Having rotated to the area, I observed that aseptic technique is not strictly followed from the skin preparation to the operation perse. I am not saying that all hospitals are like that but in most hospitals that I’ve been through, I must say that majority of them doesn’t practice strict aseptic technique. I will not enumerate them anymore but I believe it is because of shortage in the supplies. What is my proof regarding this? I was also exposed to wards, there are many babies admitted because of sepsis, and the culprit of that was during his delivery. I pity those babies who experienced pain because of the medications given via IV or Heplock, laboratory exams and all. There are also many postoperative patients who experienced infection. It makes me worried when I will deliver my baby with a situation will be like that.

In contrast to these things, I saw the art of nursing especially when they use alternatives for the shortage of supplies but this should not always the case. Reusing disposable materials can cause complications. If only there are enough funds for the health care system in the Philippines, this will not be the case. It put me to my dismay that only less than 1% of the gross national product is allotted to health. Not only there’s shortage in supplies but shortage on the health care team. The nurse-patient ratio is 1:26 in private hospitals and 1:55 in many public hospitals. You cannot blame people in the medicine field for leaving the country because as what you can see, Health is the least priority of the government well in fact this should be one of the most prioritized thing.

In the community, it is also evident. During my previous years, we have surveyed that there are majority of the community people who does not have savings for health and that it is their least priority. There are many causes for this but the main cause is poverty. Their notation is that, they take for granted their health status even if they feel something wrong in their body thinking that they need to work for their daily living. At the end, they end up spending more for a severe disease instead of treating it early on.

I hope the government will take a chance to take a look at these things in our health care system and make a move in improving its service to the Filipino people.

Now, I am done with my summer duty and that’s all I can say about it.

Posted by: Dianne Peña | 05-10-2008 | 10:05 AM
Posted in: Rhapsodies