day four!
Today is day four of my volunteer work! yesterday, which was day three was just ok. Got to know that the exploded flesh that i mentioned in my previous post is actually known as bedsores. Saw more of that yesterday and how to clean it. but nothing much about yesterday seriously.
But today! i got to approach a occupational therapist! this was like THE path i was going to choose if i could not make it into nursing. It was really cool to know what an occupational therapist does. They help patients to be as independant as possible while doing everyday task. For example switching on the light, wearing clothes, walking , climbing stairs etc. Yupp and they rehabitate the patient by letting them do some activities. Today the OT(occupational therapist) asked the patient to use his hands to do a cycling motion on a stationary machine to strengthen his arms and thrown small rubber hoops of various distance from the seated patient into a basket. The OT told me that this helps to strengthen his balance and his strength. An OT will also visit the home of the patient and advise the caregiver of the patient what to install to aid the patient in everyday living, example a ramp to go over a small curb. Yupps! so it is an really interesting job as you have to come up with creative ideas to help the patient. Its somewhat like physiotherapy too.
Tmr is my home nursing attachment, apparently the nurse forgot to help me ask the home nurse people. Hope it does not happy tomorrow! cross my fingers!
it was at; 5:25 AM
Today had to wake up at 6.30 to make it to st lukes hospital. Its the second day of my attachment and its getting more interesting by the day. Yesterday which was the first day, it was kinda ok ok only, had lecture then was at the ward until around 4. Learnt how to take blood pressure, temperature, pulse and respiration rate. I didnt know all the graph drawings that we learnt in secondary school will come into use when recording all those readings. The readings are actually drawn as a graph to see the fluxuations. Blood pressure is drawn in red and temp and pulse in blue.
Today was much more exciting. In the morning the patients were showered. I saw them do a trolley shower, that means the patient is placed in a trolley and they shower him when hes lying down. They use this hand gloves to shower and scrub the patient. Its really complicated cause the patient cant really move himself so imagine two tiny nurses flipping him over to the side.
I also wittnessed a sponging of a patient. This patient has like a contagious wound disease, so when u go near him, you have to wear gloves and an apron. one of his leg was amputated and his hair was kinda like falling out. He was on diapers so when the nurses opened his diaper, its not a pretty sight with "discharge" all around the diaper. Later they peeled open a dressing to reveal a wound. This is the worse wound i have ever seen. Its located somewhere near the pelvis area and the flesh is like blasted open. I actually saw his spinal cord bone! as it was near his anus, some "discharge" also went into this wound and as the wound had a contagious disease, the nurse could only squeeze the sponge "water" into the wound to clean it. After that they dried him up and clothed him.
around 9 am, i was brought to the out patients' clinic. Its where patients of the hospital, or the public can visit the doctor for followups, x-ray, dental and wound care. I got to sit next to a speech therapist! He said he did his degree in malaysia and came to singapore to work. He specialises in swollowing disorders and i noticed he was talking to the patient about anything under the weather. He told me later that this is one form of checking for any slurring or stuttering. He also made the patient swollow water to check if there is any obstuctions in the trachea.
After looking at what a speech therapist does, i went over to sit in for two consulations by a doctor. He basically follows up with the patient and provides appointments and medication for the patient. He got some missing information off the net when he could not find the hardcopy, i didnt know our medical records were all recorded online!
After that i went for lunch before heading back to the ward to measure BP, temp, pulse and respiration. I was also taught how to use the manual measuring BP instrument! i always wondered how the mercury filling up would tell u the bp until i discovered the secret today!
It was definitely a fun and exciting day. Tomorrow i might be attached to a house nurse, woo exciting!
it was at; 2:38 AM
yay i got promoted! though overall my chem was still Ungraded. My bet with Jesus has came true. Yea i sort of challenged him to this promos. My faith was pretty weak before this promotional exams so i had a gamble with God, i said " dear God, if u are true and real, and all that i have learnt is authentic and genuine , you will make me pass my promotional exams. My faith is not strong and i need this reassurance from you so that i can directly see that you are true." Something along those lines. So i waited and waited, without a worry cause i knew that somehow God will answer my prayer. I see my prayers gettting answered not really instantanously but slowly, from the doing of my exam papers, to the hardcore mugging behind it. I felt a sense of spiritual encouragement to push me to strive to promote. But i still needed that last confirmation on 9 of nov to see if Jesus is real to me. Well yes he is! although i know it was wrong to challenge God like that, i just really needed this affirmation when i was starting to lose my trembling faith. Like a newborn calf i stumbled when i tried to pull my faith together, but now i can proudly say i have a new testiment to make! And that is Jesus promoted me! He promoted my faith, my belief, my confidence, my trust, my love and all that is good! God is good! All the time! through the darkest nights, His light will shine! Yes i have not worshipped a pagan God all these while!
I punch my Fist up into the air, for i know my renewed faith will carry me through!
it was at; 9:37 PM
Its the holidays now, thought i hav Op next monday. Sure feels boring. O ya my promo results were ok, i got BBU for my 3h2 and CDU for my 3h1. so kinda like sitting on the fence, dunno if i can promote anot. Its november already, the year sorta flew by so quickly, it seems like only yesterday i was still at JJC. My volunteer attachment at st lukes home for the aged is coming up in a week, and so is my metro SIF charity , in december i have my lions gift for sight programme where i help kids at laos prescribe spectacles. Looks like i have a busy holiday ahead and might not be so boring after all. Church camp is also coming up on the last day of december. Activities activities activities, and i stil have my untouched holiday homework. I should find some time to exercise too for next years nafa test. Getting all flabby and unfit this few months. work work
it was at; 8:22 AM
