The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

I haven't really posted a good blog here lately. It seems my work as a Pedia PGI has caught up with me. Not that I am toxic. My benign streak is still unbeatable with a record zero admission. It's just that being in nursery gives me limited movement during the day. Most of my day is spent inside the big "baby day care" center where the sight is nothing but bundles of joy with sucking mouths to feed q hourly (every hour). At around 10 a.m., the drapes are raised for moms and dads to view their products of affection, and then you get to know how a goldfish feels like. Later in the day, you wait for some G2P1 woman in labor for her own child to come out. So, across the delivery room you stand, all gloved and capped and so on, waiting beside a female stranger, with legs spread and mounted, then the scissors start to sound as the obstetrician begins doing her episiotomy. A few minutes later, that familiar cry of a totally dazed neonate wakes you up from La-la land. Umbill...

I got a link from a friend about this very hilarious video. It makes me think of how proud I am of knowing how to speak the language very well. Filipinos are good english speakers and we are fast becoming a country of Korean English tutors! :-)

Thank God I am Sunday off so I have enough time to take a rest and enjoy an afternoon of relaxation coming from a toxic Saturday duty. I only had 3 admissions but one of these admission is a very toxic, septic-looking 3 month-old child with multiple abscesses. The child came in very icteric, dyspneic and with penniless parents. The prognosis isn't good. The Chest X-rays were not very promising either. There seems to be a mass of some sort pushing the heart and the trachea towards the left, causing the respiratory distress of the patient. It must be another lung absecess. Anyway, I spent this morning waiting for another C-Section delivery. A pre-term infant which meant another toxic baby in the nursery. Lately I am getting a taste of this toxicity thing. Got an email from a friend who sent me these hilarious pictures of actual math test exams. Note the genius-ness of these students who took these exams.

Due to a very untolerable headache, I skipped work last Wednesday. So I woke up that day with a throbbing headache, swallowed a pill of Tramadol and Nimesulide, slept the entire morning and spent the rest of the day almost bedridden and TV-hooked. That night I could sleep because of another severe toothache. Yes, it is the same tooth that has to go but I missed my dentist appointment by 2 weeks already. I had to swallow two more pills of NSAIDs then slept for another 3 hours. It was only the following day that I later learned that rumors about my headache and M.I.A. stint (Missing In Action) were spreading like wildfire. To be brief, they were actually debating whether it was a post-coital headache or a coital deficiency headache. Either way it is still classified as a tension headache, considering that coitus or no coitus can give one enough stress. I was 24 hours duty last night and as usually, I am so benign. While I did receive 3 new admissions in the morning, I no longer had any a...

My benigness continues. I was Sunday Duty yesterday and after 24 hours of duty, I have zero admissions, 1 OPD case and no admissions at the nursery. Even our "toxic" VIP babies in the nursery were all behaving very well. So most of the day I spent doing rounds at the wards, hanging out in the nursery and the labor room and slept the entire night with only one ward call. Yesterday was gesp's bday and I was so sorry I even failed to greet him through SMS. But I did send him one this morning when ConCon reminded us about it. During lunch time, Gesp came with some baked macaroni. What happened next is almost a spontaneous mini-bday partee! It was stormy the entire day and the benigness of the Pediatric department continued, especially in the Ward and OPD section. Before I left the hospital this 5 pm, there has been no new admissions yet. But we did have one mortality though at the nursery. Anyway, I am having trouble with my pc and internet connection today. What else is new...

Since the day I started my PGIship, I really haven't written down anything about my 13 other fellow PGIs rotating in BOLMSH. While for most of them I have known for the past 4 years already, this PGIship period has given me a new perspective about who they are as persons and friends. So here are some fun facts about the Post-graduate Interns of Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital for 2006-2007. 1. Of the 14 PGIs, 7 are females and 7 are males. 2. The PGI who comes from the most distant locality is Andylou Mangubat, who hails from Cotabato City, in Mindanao. 3. Three of the PGIs come from Iloilo City, all first timers in the City of Smiles; they are Mark Agana, TinTin Castronuevo and Ken Villan. 4. Two of the PGIs are married already, that includes me (who is happily married to Roann) and Joanne Villanueva, who is married to Melvin (not the Melvin Chico!) 5. All of the PGIs are into steady relationships, except for one, Gerard Espelleta, who remains "single and availab...

I love my life so far. It has been my 3rd 24 hour duty as a Pedia PGI and so far, I have maintained myself to be the most benign of the three. Yes, I do have from time to time some stat CS during my night shift but it's better really than waiting to catch a baby delivered via NSVD (normal spontaneous vaginal delivery). Anyway, I only had one admission during the entire night shift so I was able to wake up early, take a bath, change into my "formal" clothes and did my early morning rounds, referred some of the recent labs to my wonderful JC (junior consultant) and had breakfast. Later we attended our usual Friday Medical Conference where the topic was Pulmonary Tuberculosis. After the 3 hour conference, we had another round of breakfast. After the conference, Melvin and I went to the JC's quarters where we watched TV. Later, Dr. Libo-on, the Surgical JC on duty, joined us as we watched "The Last Samurai". I wasn't able to finish the movie because I had to...

I was kind of surprised when I went inside the On Call Room this morning and found this IV bottle hanging on an IV stand. What's this? A patient strayed inside our On Call Room? Further observation led me to the sight of Andylou, a fellow PGI, hooked to the other end of the IV line. I was later told how Andy suffered some acute gastroenteritis last night after eating some leftover meatballs during dinner. He had been vomiting and agonizing in abdominal pain. He had to be admitted. I told him he should have chosen a private room in the 5th floor, then he would have been enjoying a TV and a cold ref. The rest of the day pretty much went fine. And after almost 2 weeks of rotating in Pedia, I have to take back what I said about me being the most toxic. It seems Melvin is the most toxic PGI. He is posted at the E.R., which means he takes care of admitting patients and doing OPD consultation. I am posted at the wards which means I take care of all the ward calls and follow-ups of labs a...

This is totally hilarious. The moral of the story is don't sit beside a guy with a video cam on his cellphone and start dozing off in between boring medical conferences. You might end up on a website like this or better yet, win some 20,000 U.S. dollars in America's Funniest Videos. Sleeping Pills

I am from 24 hours duty and thank God I spent my second 24 hour duty with one of the kindest Pedia JC in the department: Dra. Anacleto. It was an interesting duty. I only had 3 admissions at the E.R. during the entire shift with 3 additional nursery admissions. One of the babies delivered was a case of anencephaly. Anencephalic babies are born without their skulls, which means their brain tissues are exposed. Eventually, these babies die. What is so interesting about this particular baby we delivered was the placental tissues were actually connected with the brain tissues. It was the second anencephalic case I saw; the first one was during my JI days. I pity the poor parents of this little angel. I am confident that this one is. Somehow, in between the newborn care and the hushed rush to the nursery upstairs with the neonate, I found myself in the shoes of the anxious father or the worried mother still lying on her back waiting for her doctors to finish with their C-section. I wanted t...

After two 24 hour duties in the department of Pedia, I guess it is safe to say that I am toxic in admissions and ward calls and nocturnal OPDs compared with my 2 other fellow PGIs. I slept only for at most 3 hours during my entire 24 hour shift the past two duties and so far, pedia admission is reaching its highest level. I am currently in-charged with the wards that is why it is more stressful for me even if I am already from duty because I had to answer ward calls even after 24 hours. I am not cool with this but the upside to this one is that I can get to experience maximum learning. So far, I have quite a few interesting case in my ward. A case of cytomegalovirus infection, Henoch-Schonlein Purpura, and Dengue Fever. The rest are systemic viral illnesses, acute gastroenteritis and mild pneumonia. I got a call from the house this morning. Rien's having a fever of his own, although it is only low to moderate grade. My wife is also having a flu. They both have to skip classes this ...

Not that I don't like my Pedia rotation. My junior consultants are swell and most of the visiting consultants are fine, even Dra. Amante (during our JI days, we tremble in her presence). It's just that, I missed the jestering surgeons at the OR, the tip-toe action at the ER, and most of all, the good night sleep at the On Call Room. Pedia is like a mini-Internal Medicine. The difference is longer patient histories to write and perhaps more extensive physical examinations to perform. Not to mention, a lot of pedia doses for drugs to calculate. I have always found a hard time in Pediatrics, even during my med school days. God must have noticed this so He decided perhaps to schedule me a Pediatric Case for my Grand Rounds this August. Grand Rounds is where you present a case and different consultants from various departments come to criticise your presentation. In other words, Grand Rounds is where you are eaten up alive. I would have loved it if I would present a Surgical Case fo...

I started my pedia rotation yesterday and I started it with 5 C-sections, 5 ER admissions and 1 intra-op observation. I was kinda uncomfortable during the transition phase. The nursery and the pedia ward are far separate worlds compared to the O.R. and Surgical Ward. And the E.R. OPDs are hectic as well! I had to remind myself to never forget to relay recent lab results, refer IVF to follow and memorize the pedia doses of the common drugs being prescribed in the OPD or wards. I also needed to review my newborn care as well. The intra-op I observed is the case I am suppose to present for my grand rounds on August. It is a case of intestinal atresia, bowel perforation secondary, meconium peritonitis secondary. I initially chose to present a case of Steven-Johnsons but this case has given me another opportunity to use my cellphone cam! So, during the operation I took pics and videos of the entire procedure. Even the pedia surgeon had to pause for me to take the pics. I only slept for at ...