the nursery/nicu week was fun. i got to suction babies, rub them until they turned pink. even the one-on-one case discussions in nicu were fun to do because the cases actually piqued my interest.

e.r. rotations were never my favorite. even in the benign rotations (ortho, orl, ophtha), e.r. duties were always stressful. pedia e.r. was no exception. everyone was always in a hurry. orders were all verbal, hence, i would sometimes forget one or two. toxic patients had parents (or bantays) missing in action. my stash got depleted because patients never have enough money. typical. i hardly learned anything in the e.r. except how to monitor with my eyes. bwahahaha. kids, wag nyo akong gayahin.

wards was even more toxic. hema-onco patients needed so many blood extractions i was actually forced to extract from the most exotic places. i learned how to line small kids, do arterial blood extractions in newborns, slow push a hundred meds into a hundred patients, make histories in 5 minutes, endorse...

gen ped 4 patients were even more toxic. i had to run up to the lab to check results, run back down to monitor my q1 patients, then go back to check if there are new culture results (they only come out at 3 pm). orders piled up, papers were left unfinished. i felt like i was doing a very bad job of helping my residents and patients.

i hated the rotation. it made me regret choosing pedia as an elective. it made me seriously rethink my plans. maybe... i'm not meant to help children.

on my way home, i stopped by the ward to collect my things. the duty team was having trouble extracting from my patient because he kept flailing his chubby arms. i went to his bedside and attempted to get blood. surprise surprise! he stayed still the entire time. and i actually succeeded at the first try. the patient's father smiled and exclaimed, "si dok lang pala ang kailangan eh!" and after saying goodbye to all my patients, i realized that they were worth all the stress after all.

so let me try again. parang ayoko nang mag-pedia. pero shucks, nararamdaman ko na yung calling.



verse for the day:
blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. for He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal. [job 5:17,18]