Operation Tuli

I was quite shocked at first when my very conservative friend who happens to be a girl sent me an SMS yesterday saying that she was able to touch 30 or more penises in the span of 4 hours. And she was quite proud of herself and happy with the whole experience. At first I was quite scandalized by what she said and all sort of naughty thoughts came running into my head.

It was a good thing though that she clarified what she told me and said that she just had the most wonderful experience in "Operation Tuli". Operation Tuli is an annual project of the Department of Health - Philippines to have young boys circumcised (Tuli in Tagalog) in their own towns and municipality. I'm kind of jealous because I too want to experience an Operation Tuli which I doubt would exist in Canada. In Operation Tuli, several young boys wait in line for their free circumcision.

Circumcision has been a ritual for many religions and culture. Circumcision paves the way into adulthood and manhood while it is also a ritual in the Judeo-Christian Tradition to strengthen the covenant with God. Medically speaking, circumcision (the removal of the foreskin of the penis) is for hygienic purposes as dirt and secretions tends to accumulate in the foreskin and will result to urinary tract infections (UTI).


In other countries though male circumcision is done 2-3 weeks after birth. And if you're wondering there is also a female circumcision which I will post about later since it deserves to be discussed further.

For more information on circumcision I recommend this very informative site, kidshealth.org.

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Cebu Operating Room Scandal

Disclaimer: This video is not the property of this blog's owner and the video is hosted externally.

Before anyone reacts I wanted to share this video for the sake of discussion and as a reference. If you are not open minded and is not willing to accept the thoughts and opinions of other people then please do not continue to read this post if you will only flame me in the end. If you want to know my opinion on this matter please read on.

To those who have no idea what this video is about this is a video taken from a camera of a student nurse at an operating room at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) at Cebu City, Philippines.

This video (that was spread on the internet like wild fire on Youtube, emails, and even cellphones) was of a 30 year old homosexual who had an Avon's Black Suede For Men Body Spray (thus the name Black Suede Scandal) allegedly inserted into his rectum when he had sex with a stranger.

What made the video so scandalous and caused such a sensation is when the doctors, nurses, and other operating room staff laughed and jeered at the patient's condition as seen in the video.

But here are are some of my reaction upon some comments of people online regarding the said topic:

• On Medical Malpractice - As defined by Larry Curtis Law Firm is a form of negligence where an injury results from a medical professional’s or medical facility’s failure to exercise adequate care, skill or diligence in performing a duty. We should actually congratulate the doctors for a successful operation. No invasive procedures were done on such an extraordinary case. The operation was a success and there are no complications.
• On Breach of Sterility - The people seen in the video were curious staff from other operating rooms within the operating room complex therefore they are considered sterile. They did not come from outside the operating room. And the people with no gloves were at least 12 inches away from the operating table so as stated by the sterile technique the operation is still considered sterile. Besides the people with out gloves did not perform the operation.
• On Cameras in the Operating Room - Actually in my case, cameras are allowed inside the operating room and we student nurses are indeed allowed to take pictures for the sake of documentation which would be used for future case studies.
• On Breach of Patient Confidentiality - When I reviewed the video footage the patient's identity was not at all exposed. The patient's face was not seen and no distinguishing body marks such as tattoos and birth marks were not captured on film. We wouldn't even know the sex and age of the patient if he hadn't exposed himself to media saying that he was a Florist, he was 30 year old, and he even divulged how that can arrived at his rectum. And yes his consent was asked and he did agree to have the operation filmed because as I reiterate this is a very unusual operation. So the video taking had the patient's consent.
• On the Revocation of the Doctor's Licenses - I think that the people are overly reacting just like the way Filipinos over-reacted to Teri Hatcher's "some doctor from the Philippines" comment. It's not like the doctors killed someone or anything, I agree that sanctions may be imposed on their behavior but revoking their titles for laughing and cheering is way too harsh.
• On the Operating Room Staff's Cheering & Laughing - To be fair to the patient, I would also be furious if I were in his position if I knew that a video of me was circulating on the internet but then I would realize that no one would know that it was me. It's also normal for people to be curious and have fun and joke around. In fairness the doctors and nurses were laughing at the situation not at the patient, that is a totally different context. It would be a normal reaction of a normal person to an extraordinary situation. No person was hurt, just a pride that was bruised. But now that we mention it isn't it the patient's fault that he was in this predicament because he had a one night stand with a complete stranger. He was lucky that he wasn't killed by his promiscuity. But that is a totally different issue and that is not my problem. The issue that I am concerned of is the outcome of the health care professionals who are being crucified for an issue that is overly exaggerated.
  

This issue had circulated and has been talked well enough and I think that this should already be wrapped up and more important issues were tackled like the improvement of the health care system in the Philippines and the improvement of nurse's wages and patient to nurse ratios.

I know that this post would gather a lot of negative reactions but let me again reiterate the blog's disclosure policy: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own, as this is a personal blog.

***
Sources:
Sun Star - Doctors may lose licenses over surgery scandal
Inquirer - Video scandal grips Cebu hospital
Inquirer - Black Suede scandal

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Nurstoons

(just click on the images to enlarge)

I just want to share these comic strips about student nurses from Nurstoon.com. They may be insanely funny but they somehow hold some truth. That what makes Nurstoon.com's comic strips very interesting.

As a student nurse I also had and will continue to have many bloopers and interesting experiences and I would really love to share all of them.

So to all of you student nurses never stop dreaming and believing in our selves. Someday we will be registered nurses, I just know it. And if ever we had made some stupid mistakes along the way let's just charge it to experience and try not to make the same mistakes twice. Remember, you never learn unless you make a mistake.

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Swimming Safety

Ok this post may not be related to nursing or health (well somehow it is) but it is related to life and death...

Accidents do happen and cases of drowning are the worst accident that could happen. You and your friends are having fun at the beach or in the pool when all of a sudden friend disappears and you find his/her dead body minutes later.

We all have had a near-drowning experience and it is very frightening. We all had tried swimming in deep waters and then our muscles give up or worst we get a cramp. So to prevent incidents of drowning here are some swimming tips:

1. Always have a buddy system to always check if your partner is doing well and isn't drowning.
2. Do not swim in deep waters if you do not know how to swim. Use flotation devices if you insist on swimming.
3. Never swim in a pool without a life guard.
4. Learn how to float! Floating is a vital skill every swimmer should have because if one has cramps or any muscle weakness one could just float and rest.

I'm no expert at swimming but these are just some tips based on experience that I could share. The floating part saved me from drowning countless of times.

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Being an Ultrasound Technician

I have worked with some nursing aides who were older than me and have asked them why they haven't decided to upgrade or go back to school so that they'll get a better paying job. They then told me that they wanted to take nursing but it took too long (around 4 years) to finish and it's hard to go to school when they have families to support. I guess they did make a point but I guess they could still have found a diploma that would take less than 4 years but still would reward them with a better pay.

I have been browsing the net and I found the site www.ultrasound-technician.net/ and it had a complete list of medical careers like for example being an ultrasound technician. Ultrasound is a routine diagnostic procedure in the hospital so an ultrasound tech will have a lot of job in his hands. But an ultrasound tech's job description is very interesting. He will be able to make a scan of a woman's ovaries & uterus, her baby, to the organs in the abdomen, up to the brain.

What's even more attractive in an ultrasound tech career track is that you may only have to study for 2 years (there's also a 4 year course)! And your pay is very good too! How does a median income of $48,660 per year sound? You have a very nice paying career and a very interesting job too!

So why not check out more information about being an ultrasound tech or better yet find ultrasound schools near you and start your medical career now!

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Nurse No-Duty

Oh boy! Good thing that I don't have to go to class this summer. I went to Xavier University to get my recommendation letter (which my CI did not give to me yet huhuhu, but it's ok ^_^) and I met some of my classmates and friends. They were just from duty and boy did they look so haggard and stress looking.

Imagine 4 days straight of duty and on two days of those days you have to sleep late into the night to finish requirements for the next day. So you get to sleep at around 1:00 am and you have to wake up at 5:30 am. I know because back when I was on duty I also experienced that.


Oh well, but it beats staying at home and being intellectually stagnant and bored.

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Treat Your Acne Now!

Ever since I was in high school I seriously had some bad acne problems. I think I don't need to explain what acne is because I think everyone has had their own share of experience of having awful acne breakdowns! Yup having pimples or zits all over your face is quite depressing and you get to have a bad body image and you just want to have your face covered with a paper bag literally.

Without proper acne treatment and blemish treatment then one would not only suffer from acne scars and bad skin but tremendous emotional scars and severe low esteem problems as well.

Several teens and adults are afflicted with recurrent acne problems and they are in serious need of acne treatment. There are a lot of acne treatment products and websites on the internet but I only found one that is very comprehensive and very easy to understand. I highly recommend acne-treatment-answers.com as it gives you reviews on the top acne products most effective acne products as well as a thorough information about all the things you need to know about acne: what it is, how it is caused, and how it is treated. They also give out a thorough and unbiased review about existing acne treatment in the market. Their reviews are also based upon their visitors who have actually tried the effectiveness of these top acne products. Remember that you must be really careful when choosing an acne treatment for you as these are chemicals that may do more harm than good so getting the opinion of actual users is crucial.

Having a clear and smooth skin is not only for beauty reasons but for emotional reasons as well. Everyone wants to feel comfortable and at ease every time they are seen in public. That is why acne treatment is a need and not merely a want. And if you want your skin to be really perfect then you should try having a blemish treatment too.

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A Man Becomes Pregnant

Before you think that this is just some hoax well you better believe it. This story was shown on Oprah and the story spread on the web and the world like wild fire! Mr. Thomas beatie, 34 years old, a resident of Oregon announced on Oprah his story that he was 6 months pregnant. As proof he even had an ultrasound and hold and behold a health baby girl! But how could a man be biologically be capable of bearing a child? Simple! Thomas was actually a she and not a he. Confused? Well let me enlighten you a bit. Thomas, was born and lived for 24 years as a girl called Tracey. Tracey's mother committed suicide at the age of 12 and only had her 2 brothers and father has role models. Tracey had known by then when she hit puberty that she was a man trapped in a girl's body. Although she won the title of Miss Hawaii Teen USA and had a boyfriend by the age of 17 she knew that she was a transgender and decided to have a sex transplant and hormone replacement when she was with her partner Nancy, who was fully supportive of her. And now she became a he because his breasts were removed (mastectomy) and he grew a beard and his body became more muscular because of testosterone therapy. He still has his female organs retained but he claims that his clitoris looks like a small penis now due to hormone replacement and that he can have intercourse with his wife (yup he is legally male and married).

So why would he want to get pregnant when he wants to be a male? It's because of two reasons. First, he says that, "It's not a male or female desire to have a child. It's a human desire." Second, Nancy can't bear a child because she had to have her uterus removed because of endometriosis.

So Thomas had artificial insemination done. He actually had triplets at the first attempt but had to have the pregnancy aborted because he had an ectopic pregnancy (the fetuses implanted themselves in his falopian tube). The second attempt is his present pregnancy which by the way is normal and would be normal through NSVD or Normal Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery.

The first impact of this story to people would be "Wow! Unbelievable!" The second thing that would rush to some closed-minded people is "What kind of freaks are these!" Society may have great difficulty accepting such situations which society brands as abnormal but time will come when the society will accept these occurrences.

The relationship of Thomas and Nancy is a testimony that nothing can ever be a barrier to true love may it be race, age, economic standing, and in this case gender. Thomas and Nancy are just two happily married couples where the husband is having the baby. Let's just all wish them good luck!

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Bumrungrad International

If you're thinking that these are pictures of a famous 5-Star hotel located in a famous tourist destination then you are partly correct.

Bumrungrad (Thai meaning "care for the people") International is an internationally accredited, multi-specialty hospital located in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. It's the largest private hospital in Asia and well known for it's medical tourism. Millions of patients come every year to have their medical procedures because health care is cheaper in Thailand and the hospital is fully staffed (700+ nurses and 945 doctors, covering 55 sub-specialties) and has all the latest medical equipment and facilities. Red Cross gives Bumrungrad its top classification of "A" – defined as "a tertiary care center which should be able to provide quality care in all medical specialties including invasive cardiology, cardiac and neurosurgery."

And speaking of specialized doctors, Bumrungrad even has a golf doctor. Yes they have a golf course and an in-house ortophedic doctor/surgeon that not only cures golf-related injuries but help you improve your game! How cool is that.

And yes, Bumrungrad is a tourist destination/hospital that offers a shopping center, restaurants, and fully furnished private rooms. The room amenities include private bathrooms, cable TV, refrigerator, DVD players (available on request) and high-speed Internet connections. Suites also come with full kitchens as well as washing machines and dryers (available at one bedroom apartment up). The shared facilities include a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room. And did I mention maid-service?

But before you pack your bags to have a cheap cosmetic surgery and recuperate in a 5-star hotel suite you better think twice. Because Bumrungrad has some secrets behind it. Just like the death of 23 year old Josh Goldberg who died because of malpractice but Bumrungrad is protected from medical suits since it is a huge money earning company that brings a lot of income to the Thai government so it's natural to protect this gold mine from being exposed.

Bumrungrad has also been speculated to harvest organs from live patients that is why it's quite easy to get organ "donors" from Bumrungrad. But all of these are not proven because they are all perfectly covered up as said by bumrungraddeath.com.

But aside from these controversies Bumrungrad International is still such a wonderful place (for the filthy rich anyway). So if you plan on staying at Bumrungrad or any hospital for that matter please take note of these reminders/tips:

• Always have a watcher with you at all times. You don't want to be a victim of organ theft or dying due to malpractice.
• Always ask for explanations for all procedures and treatment, especially medications. Doctors might be blinded by greed and over treat a patient to get more pay from insurance.
• Take note of all expenses and know the "hidden charges" are carefully tagged as miscellaneous fees and don't hesitate to ask what these fees are for even before checking in to any hospital.
• Check the accreditation of the doctors and staff.
• Refer to friends and relatives for feedback on their hospital stays so that you will be aware of what to expect.

Let us remember that health care is now a business (sadly). So let us not be victims of large greedy health corporations and let us protect our rights by always being informed.

***
Sources:
Bumrungrad International
Bumrungrad Death

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Being a Pharmacy Technician

I'm still young and I still have many opportunities waiting for me. I still don't have a clear picture of who I will be in the future but I am definite that I will be in the health care industry someday. Upon checking out many health-related careers I had my eye on being a pharmacy technician.

So what are the job responsibilities of a pharmacy tech? Quite simple really, pharmacy technicians assist licensed pharmacists. In the hospital setting, after the patient's meds are checked by the licensed pharmacist, the pharmacy tech delivers it to the patient. While in the pharmacy, technicians prepare the prescription after checking its accuracy, which could include counting pills, or weighing, measuring, or mixing the medication. There's no need to worry about making mistakes here because the pharmacist will always double check your prepared medications before it is dispensed.

Being a pharmacy tech requires no formal education too! One could just have an on the job training how cool is that? All you need in being a pharmacy tech is being a hard worker, organized, and alert. You must also be careful with your drug preparations as wrong dosages could seriously harm a patient.

So the most important part, the pharmacy technician salary. In 2002, the median hourly pharmacy tech salaries were $10.70. But wages actually vary and other factors that affect wages include the job environment, certification, union membership, and shift.

So being a pharmacy technician is not bad! In fact it's a very interesting career choice! So if you want more information about how to be a pharmacy technician and where you might want to study why don't you visit this very informative site: medical-career-training.com.

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Harsh CI Love

As a student nurse I have encountered so many kinds of clinical instructors (CI's). There are CI's who are very friendly, there are CI's who you admire so much for their intelligence and skills, but the CI's that you might want to get away from are the "terror" CI's with matching tiger-looks hahaha!

Who are these "terror" CI's? They are the ones who will not hesitate to shout at you in public, fail you, and even throw heavy steel patient charts (you must evade to avoid serious injury hehehe). But I understand why CI's may sometimes be strict and uptight. This is because their hard-earned professional license is on the line. So if ever students become lax in the hospital student nurses might do more harm than care to patients. and who would suffer the consequences? Not the students but the CI's because what will you take away from student nurses they don't even have any license yet. So if you hate your CI go kill a patient, joke. ^_^

But if CI's are not strict with their students the clear line that marks authority is broken and student nurses won't show respect and won't follow the instructions of CI's. Plus if our CI's don't care about us then they would just leave us making a lot of mistakes. If CI's don't inform us of our mistakes then we would never learn.

But at the end of the duty or class CI's are more friendly because they don't have to be the authority after class hours, they are now our friends. I'm really going to miss my clinical instructors especially Ma'am Asne who has always been a mother figure to us. She has always been so generous with us in terms of time and food (hehehe). I will try to be like my clinical instructors and I will make them proud me, their student nurse who gave them trouble once in a while...

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Shopping Cart Anyone?

You have heard that I was having a Nursing Garage Sale right? I only wish that I have heard of Ashop Commerce's shopping cart software sooner so that I could have easily sold my items online! Anyway selling stuff online is one way to earn a lot of money as you have a much wider customer range that is why an ecommerce software is needed in online businesses.

I say ecommerce because Ashop does not only provide a shopping cart but also sales analysis, web optimization, inventory, and shipping and tax. Plus Ashop offers free store designs! It's like having a software that is the master control of your whole business operation! How cool is that?

And did I mention that this software requires no installation at all? Yup Ashop Commerce's ecommerce software is a web-based program so even if your not a computer geek you can easily use this software with ease and immediately. And about being a computer geek Ashop has a live technical support so you can get help easily.

Interested? Why don't you try Ashop Commerce' right now for 10 days without any use of a credit card!

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I Hate Smokers!

Honestly I think smokers have a disgusting habit and I guess you would know what that is right? SMOKING!

I don't know what is it with them that they want to die that much! There are so many reasons to quit and one reason is good enough to quit! So what are these reasons? Here they are:

• CANCER! What kind of cancer? Adult Acute Leukemia, Adult Chronic Leukemia, Cervical Cancer, Esophagus Cancer, Laryngeal Cancer, Lung Cancer,
  Kidney Cancer, Oropharyngeal Cancer, Pancreas Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Urinary Bladder

• CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES Stroke, aneurysms, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular illnesses.

• RESPIRATORY DISEASES Smoking is cited as a risk for dying of pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema.

• OTHER ILLNESSES:

  A report recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggested that smoking increased the risk of developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) by more than three times.

  Studies have pointed to smoking as a risk in vision loss among older people, mental impairment later in life, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

• EFFECT ON PREGNANCY Pregnant women who smoke can pass nicotine and carbon monoxide to their baby through the placenta leading to fetal injury, premature birth, or low birth weight.

Still not convinced? Here are some fast fact from the FDA Fact Sheet:

> Number of deaths per year attributed to tobacco in the United States: 400,000 *.

> Number of deaths per hour: 45.

> Number of deaths due to:
Cardiovascular disease: Almost 180,000. *
Obstructive lung disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema: 65,000 *.

> Risk for a smoker dying of lung cancer, compared to a never-smoker:
Male: 22 times
Female: 12 times

> Number of scientific studies on the health effects of tobacco, approximate: 50,000.

> Percentage of United States adults who smoked in 1993: 25 *

> Percentage in 1965: 42 *

> Number of years of life smoking costs the average smoker: 7 *

> Number of identified carcinogens in tobacco smoke: 43

> Estimated 1993 health care costs due to smoking, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: total $50 billion. This figure includes:
$26.9 billion for hospital costs
$15.5 billion for doctors
$4.9 billion in nursing home costs
$1.8 billion for prescription drugs
$900 million for home-health care expenditures

But what do I care if these smokers die? They want to die then let them die. But what's so disgusting with these kind of people is when they drag other people down with them to their graves. Who do they kill with them? The non-smoking people! Smokers are so shameless! Non-smokers have a 20 percent greater chance of death from coronary heart disease when they become secondary smokers or when they inhale smoke from smokers. Also non-smokers have a greater risk to have respiratory diseases and lung cancer because smoke particles that are inhaled cannot be expelled again unlike smokers.

And another important fact to know is that smoking by parents following the birth of babies is linked to sudden infant death syndrome, or cot death, and higher rates of infant respiratory illness, such as bronchitis, colds, and pneumonia.

So smokers are only liabilities in society! Billion of dollars are wasted on health care for them when they caused their own illness. These people also don't have any conscience as they kill other people.

Whenever a smoker smokes in public like the public transportation i never hold back on showing my great disgust and annoyance. if you want to die do it alone don't drag non-smokers with you!

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A New Way to Search for People

I just joined a website that offers a unique people search engine! It's like a hybrid of Google & Wikipedia because you can search for people using his/her name, email, or tags like has brown eyes, lives in Canada, and etc. What's more exciting and unique about this people search is that you can actually edit the search result of a person adding more information related to that person. And the search results also contains the person's contact details or homepage making it easier to contact that person.

If more people joined this people search then you can search for people who have similarities with you or even long lost friends! The possibilities are endless with Spock.com!

I have tried out Spock's people search and I searched for "student nurse" and here are the people who turned up! And you notice the websites below the name right? You can reach these student nurses through these websites and befriend them and link to them. Isn't it great? Why don't you check out Spock.com for yourself and go people search right now!

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Please Honor the Milk Code!

It was in the OB Ward when I was on duty that I first heard of the "Milk Code". Executive Order No. 51 (Philippine Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes) or more commonly known as the "Milk Code" protects babies from dying by barring milk companies (like Nestle) from promoting their product as a substitute for breastfeeding which of course is morally wrong!

The milk code clearly states that breast milk should exclusively be given to babies younger that the age of one and that milk substitutes is a big no-no! Why? Because failure to breastfeed leads to the deaths of 16,000 children in the Philippines each year and 1.5 million infants die around the world every year (from The Manila Times and Baby Milk Action).

So why is breastfeeding so important that taking it away may lead to the numerous deaths of infants around the world? Here are the reasons:

1. The babies immune system is still inactive and they only get their protection from a great number of childhood diseases EXCLUSIVELY from breast milk, specifically from the colostrum. Antibodies are passively given from the mother to the baby. Without these antibodies babies could die!
   
2. Breast milk is the ONLY COMPLETE source of nutrition. Artificial food supplements that Nestle and other milk companies could never be a substitute no matter how many minerals and vitamins they add to their formulas.
3. Formula milk is NOT STERILE! It’s been proven that some infant formulas contain enterobacter sakazakii, a highly lethal pathogenic microorganism. Milk formula labels don’t have warnings on these (from UNICEF).
4. ONLY breast milk contain necessary growth factors that help babies develop physically, mentally, and emotionally!
5. Bottle feeding will confuse the baby and will prefer to be bottle fed than breast fed making it very difficult to return to breast feeding.

Aside from protecting the baby from dying from diarrhoeal diseases, breast feeding has countless benefits not only for the baby, but for the mother, and society as well. You don't only strengthen family ties with breast feeding, you also help the government save a lot of money! Don't believe me then visit MotheringFromtheHeart.com for the list of some of the numerous benefits of breast feeding!

So why is Nestle an INFANT MURDERER? It's because their infant formula advertisements present artificial feeding as healthy and comparable to breastmilk therefore discourages mothers to breastfeed. Health claims such as “contains all the nutrition babies need for all-around visual, mental and psychomotor development” or “helps your baby fight against harmful free radicals of the environment” manipulate mothers. “Formula milk does not provide babies immunity from infection. It provides inadequate level of nutrition making babies susceptible to infection, malnutrition and death” stresses Sterken, a key player in the 20 country two-decade international boycott against Nestle & breast feeding advocate (from UNICEF). And with all said, Nestle even has the audacity to counter and challenge not only the Milk Code of the Philippines but of the codes of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF)!

Help protect our babies from greedy unethical companies like Nestle! Join the boycott and spread the word that breast milk has no substitute! For student nurses and nurses, or any medical professionals working in the hospital especially in the Philippines, always confiscate milk bottles from mothers! We are the empowered deputes who will enforce the Milk Code. If the mother says that she is only using the bottle but the milk is breast milk and not formula, inform her to use droppers or tablespoons instead because again, using baby bottles for infants below age confuses them and makes breast feeding difficult.

***
Breast Feeding Resources:

• Baby Milk Action
• Department of Health (EO 51 or Milk Code)
• UNICEF
• Manila Times
• Mothering From the Heart
• Infant Feeding Action Coalition Canada

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My Nursing Garage Sale!

Yeay! Who would have guessed that I would earn so much for my Nursing Garage Sale! Well I didn't get to take back the original amount that I spent in buying my books and other stuff but at least I get to earn something right? I'm hoping that nursing books in Canada is not that expensive. Besides it's better to buy new books that have updated info right than bring with me very heavy books that I will have to pay for if they exceed the baggage allowance given to us by the airplane company.


But my garage sale isn't over yet so to all people who live near me (Cagayan de Oro) please visit my Nursing Garage Sale HERE so that you can avail of the great stuff I'm selling at an incredibly low and reasonable price, hehehe.

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Being a Medical X-Ray Technician

These past few days as I blog hopped through other nurse bloggers out there I found out that some of them are actually thinking of taking another job. This isn't a big wonder since being a nurse drains so much out of you, your physical, mental, and even emotional aspect are all exhausted. Even I maybe thinking of pursuing another medical career if I get tired of nursing (hopefully not).

But if ever I do get tired of nursing there is one job that I can see myself someday. And that is being a medical x-ray technician. It's quite fascinating how you operate these radiologic equipments plus those MRI and CT Scans. Being an x-ray technician is also less stressful and the pay is also very good! It's a good way to be able to work in the hospital as a medical professional without the headaches and stress that nurses and other allied health workers have to experience.

And I've heard that there are online schools for anyone interested in being a medical x-ray technician, how cool is that? Wonder how I would look like and be like if I was an x-ray technician? Great I presume hahaha!

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My Morning Workout Nightmare

I'm quite proud of myself that I was able to partially complete my objectives for this day. After a month of procrastination and exhausting my scapegoats I finally did it! I went jogging early in the morning! I was quite amazed at my determination to lose weight hehehe. I woke up at 4:30 and started jogging at around 5:00 am on the highway. Yup the highway since of some reasons that I have posted here. The dawn was actually beautiful, it seemed as if it was still 12:00 am and the stars were still twinkling and the moon was still up. I told myself that this was a good day to jog. But the beautiful "evening like"-dawn turned to a scene taken out from a horror movie.

So there I was jogging with my headset on and my workout playlist playing. I was running and occasionally slow down my pace when I see people passing by and I keep a safe distance (for all I know they could be dangerous and I couldn't see their faces). The wind was very refreshing but suddenly I realized that this part of the road was very dark and the branches of the trees were like reaching towards the road. This is where hell broke loose. I didn't stop and continued running as fast as I could making sure that I'm at the middle of the road because I don't want to be jumped by "anything" at the sides of the road that had very thick bushes and foliage. My feet were already aching when all of the sudden I see these glowing eyes jump out from the bushes! Damn did I get the scare of my life and I quickly evaded the tiny eyes just to discover more of them ahead. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a cat because a cat's eyes don't glow in the dark. They only shine when there is light pointed toward their eyes. I still am not sure what those creatures I saw but I didn't want to stop and find out. I'm thinking that they were frogs because the body was small (but do frog's eyes glow in the dark?).

I was already running a kilometer or more when I suddenly felt dizzy. I immediately knew that this was it. I had to go home if I didn't want to collapse on the highway with those creatures around me. I felt like I was going to have a stroke but this must be because I didn't warm up and I was working my self too hard. This was when my fatigue took over. My music wasn't helping since I had a headache. I couldn't run too because I was so tired so I had to walk home. Geez, i was thinking that I'm such in a miserable state.

I was walking home when all of the sudden a dog walked across me to the other side of the street when *Bang*! a truck just passed by hitting the dog. I didn't even notice the truck as it was going real fast and it did not have bright lights. I was thinking that that dog could have been me if I suddenly crossed the road... the dog yelped in pain and I was guilty because I couldn't do anything for him. I can't bring him home because I'm still very far away and that he might be rabid and bite me and all. I had to be safe so I did what i could do, leave him behind. I'm still guilty up to now.

Upon arriving home I gave a sigh of relief but my doggie. Missy, was acting crazy and played with me by nibbling on my lower pants. But at least I'm home. I made sure that my heart beat slowed down a bit and I crashed into my bed with aching legs and an aching head. I arrived home at around 5:45 am and woke up at around 9:00 am.

With my bad experience I swore never to jog again that early in the morning. I'll just have to wait until we move in into our condo unit in Canada so that I could have the right exercise facility. It's safe and it's near my home so I have no problems about collapsing anywhere (but collapsing would be bad of course). I just have to let my body adjust to my exercise routine of course. Overworking my body will do more harm than good.

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My Workout Songs

I actually don't workout hahaha! But I plan to do some jogging and decided to create my workout playlist. It is undeniable that music affects our emotions, intelligence, and health. Even without words, music can make us joyful or depressed, energized or sleepy.

Listening to music that induces relaxation, before taking a test has been proven to temporarily enhance IQ and improve scores. Music also has unending benefits on our health.

With regards to health, it has been proven that music reduces blood pressure and music is also used as a form of therapy to pain and to calm patients in mental hospitals.

Mark Tramo, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School, commented on a study which "showed that the heart muscle of people exercising on treadmills didn't work as hard when people listened to music as it did when they exercised in silence."

That is why I spent some time creating my perfect workout playlist and here it is:

1. Any songs from Britney Spear's Blackout (yup I love it!)
2. Stronger - Kanye West
3. Elevator - Flo Rida Feat Timbaland
4. I Got It From My Mama - Will.I.Am
   
5. Low - Flo Rida feat t-Pain
6. Feedback - Janet Jackson
7. pump it - Blackeyed Peas (or any songs from them actually)
8. Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
9. Like This - Mims
10. Dance Like There's No Tomorrow - Paula Abdul
11. Easy - Paula DeAnda
12. Aikoi - Kajiura Yuri
13. In the Church - Kajiura Yuri
14. 19 Sai - Suga Shikao
15. I'm Coming - Rain (Bi)
16. Fergilicious - Fergie
17. Tokyo Drift - teriyaki Boyz
18. Get It On the Floor - DMX
19. Show Me The Money - ???
20. Not Gonna Get Us - t.A.T.u.
21. Any Song from Panic! At the Disco!
22. Please Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna (or any other of her songs like Break it Off, etc)
    
23. I'm A Scatman - Scatman Jack
24. maria - Kim Ah Joong
25. Outta My Head - ashlee Simpson
26. Me & You - Cassie
27. Die Another Day - Madonna
28. Do It Well - Jeniffer Lopez
29. Push It - Salt & Pepper
30. Fighter - Christina Aguilera (or her other fast tempo songs)

So how do you choose songs for that incredible workout playlist? Here are some guidelines:

• The song must have a fast tempo with a nice beat to it that would want you to move more
• A song that you personally love (therefore don't just copy other people's workout playlist)
• A song where you lose yourself making you forget your fatigue and make you go an extra mile.

Music is a great motivation to keep on going and it is fun to listen to music right? Happy workout guys!

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Corazon Aquino & Colon Cancer

I was actually shocked to discover that the former Philippine president, Cory Aquino, was announced by her daughter, Kris Aquino, a famous celebrity, that Mrs. Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer. We know Mrs. Aquino as a living symbol of democracy as she was swept into power by a peaceful EDSA I revolution to overthrow the then President, Ferdinand Marcos. She also was the one that helped bring the current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to power and is also ironically the one joining protests to bring President GMA down. But this time she faces a far more bigger battle, a battle for her life as she fights against colon cancer.

So what is colon cancer? To know that we must first define what cancer is.In a normal body function, rapid division and multiplication of cells are needed to regenerate and heal the body. But there are times when the growth is uncontrollable and spreads (metastasizes) into other parts of the organs where it continue to divides and replaces normally functioning cells with abnormal cells. Cancer cells multiply so fast that they may occlude blood vessels and steal blood flow by forming their own vasculature stealing normal organs their blood supply thus the organ dies. And for the people who are confused, tumors are abnormal proliferation of cells and there are two kinds of tumors, benign and malignant. Benign is non-cancerous and does not spread so it can be safely removed by surgery. The dangerous kind of tumor is a malignant tumor as it is cancerous. Even if the malignant tumor is removed, remaining cells could still multiply at a more rapid rate that is why chemotherapy (the use of medication to kill cancer cells) is also required to kill cancerous cells, but unfortunately it also kills normal cells but that would be a different topic.

I'm not sure if Mrs. Aquino's cancer is malignant or benign, but I'm guessing that it is malignant because she wouldn't have let the whole Philippines know that she had cancer. So let me share the some relevant information as to what causes colon cancer, signs and symptoms of colon cancer, what the treatment is, and what the preventions are. These are very important to know as this could save your life one day.

So what causes colon cancer? It's still unknown but it is believed that a high fat diet increases one's risk for colon cancer. Why? Breakdown of fat leads to the formation of carcinogens (cancer causing substances). Although cancer is not contagious, it is hereditary so if you have any relatives with any kind of cancer then you are at high risk for cancer.

Symptoms of colon cancer are numerous and nonspecific. They include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, change in bowel habits, narrow stools, diarrhea or constipation, red or dark blood in stool, weight loss, abdominal pain, cramps, or bloating. Other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (spastic colon), ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, diverticulosis, and peptic ulcer disease can have symptoms that mimic colorectal cancer (from medicinenet.com).

The treatment for colon cancer, like any other cancer is surgical removal to prevent the metastsis or spread of cancer cells to other organs. But treatment does not mean that you will be treated immediately. Factors as to how much the cancer had progressed plays an important role. This is why prevention is better than treatment because one only notices that one has cancer when it is already too late when the cancer has already grown and spread causing the signs and symptoms.

Preventing cancer entails a healthy lifestyle like eating healthy avoiding fatty foods, carcinogens like charred meat, drinking too much alcohol, etc. But the best prevention is early detection. It is recommended that all individuals over the age of 40 have yearly digital examinations of the rectum and their stool tested for hidden or "occult" blood (from medicinenet.com).In a digital rectal exam a doctor inserts his finger through your anus and feels for polyps (abnormal growth). For males, a digital rectal exam is like hitting two birds with one stone as the prostate gland can also be checked for prostate cancer at the same time.

Other early detection procedures are flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. Here a video camera is inserted to see how your colon looks checking for abnormal growths and other anomalies.

For more information please visit this site: medicinenet.com

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