#medtech intern

[medtechdeclassified]

2018 HIGHLIGHTS

Oral revalidas with my OLFU co-interns

Ya girl finally graduating

RMT oath-taking ceremony at Philippine International Convention Center with EAMC fellow interns-turned-fammm

[medtechdeclassified]

Intern Masipag @ 1:31am: Been more than a year ago since I've done a smear. Practice-practice din pag may time. Marunong naman akong mahiya sa smear kong palaging may butas.

[medtechdeclassified]

November 20, 2017 11:38AM

Wish granted, ER parin ako. Actually, Drug Testing Lab na post ko this week pero pullout kasi DTL sa ER. Idk why but I always get lucky with my posts hehe.

So ayun, medyo bihasa na si mamsh sa extraction. Nakatry na ako sa braso, kamay tsaka paa mag phlebo. Natry ko nang with IV both arms, diabetic, nasa operating room, especially natry ko nang sinungitan ng doctor. Kaya nga masasabi kong bottom of the food chain yung interns. Tango ka nlng kahit may pangangatwiran ka and may point ka naman. Iwas nlng sa gulo and learn from other health professionals:

1. May additional test si patient sa electrolytes (red top tube). Nakunan na siya for electrolytes din mga 1h ago. Papakunan ni doc ng dugo ulit. Sinabihan ko si doc kung okay lang ba hindi na kunan si patient kasi same lang naman yung tube gagamitin. Tinarayan ako mamsh, "Aba, malay ko sa yo." E doc hiningi ko nga permission mo e. Anuba.

2. Another patient may hep-lock pero walang IV insertion. Gusto ko sanang dun nlng sa hep-lock kunan para hindi na tutusukin si patient. Matakutin kasi sa needle kaya sinabihan ko si doc (ibang doc to). Mamsh tinarayan niya rin ako, "Sa hep-lock ka kukuha ng dugo? Pwd ba yan?" Sabay taas ng boses si doc, mamsh. Andun pa nman yung relatives ng patient. Nakakahiya. Haynaku. Sige na nga doc, ikaw doktor e. Same doc din to sa ayaw magpastop ng IV fluid ng patient with both arms merong IV. Pinapatupi niya yung IV line mamsh, 1st time ko nakita yun. Edi now I know na pwd pala yun.

Siguro may point din mga doctor why they do what they do. Kasi whatever happens to the patient, sila mananagot e. Pero pwd naman siguro babaan lng ng konti yung kasunggitan doc, diba? Pare-pareho naman tayong health professionals e. Yung difference lang, ikaw may lisensya ako wla. Ikaw 10+ yrs na experience ako 4yrs pa lang. May one time pang hinanap ko yung isang doctor sa Doctor's station kasi may lab test na hindi available tas sinabihan akong "wla dito. Hanapin mo lng diyan (sabay flip ng kamay)." Jusko. Buti nlng mataas pasensya ko. Pag ako talaga maging doctor tas fellow na ako, lagot kayong mga resident na masusungit.

Anywaaays back to the topic. Yung pedia nlng talaga hindi ko pa kabisado. I really don't like pedia. Malikot tsaka umiiyak. Ang ingay, sobra. Mas gusto ko geria kaysa pedia, at least nakaka usap mo nang matino sina lolo tsaka lola. Pag bata makakita lang nang karayom iiyak agad jusko. High risk maprick din sa pedia kaya mej takot ako pag pedia. Pero as they say, "conquer your fears". Maybe this week if I get pulled out, vovolunteer ako for pedia. Kapa muna, hindi lang sa extraction.

Tsaka oo nga pala. Di pa ako nakaka GS/CS. Yung sa gram stain and culture sensitivity - yung iodine, alcohol, iodine? Shizz gusto ko din matry na ako kukuha ng dugo and tatransfer sa culture bottle. Hanggang assist lang ako sa senior e. Goals ko matry both bago next post. Well, another two weeks to go!

P.S. bonus na rin mka try ako ng arterial. Kahit hindi ngayon bsta makatry ako bago matapos ang internship. Pls Lord! 🙏

- G

[medtechdeclassified]

October 23, 2017 7:06pm

Week one of internship is done. So far, hindi naman toxic sa serology and my senior interns were really nice. Ang dami kong natutunan. As in, ako lang ba ngayon natuto nang forward tsaka reverse displacement nang pipetting? Jusko. Anyways, kung di mo alam ang isang bagay huwag kang mahiyang magtanong.

So ayun, today first day ko as junior intern sa serology. May inassign sakin na bago kasi rotation na sa lab. Yung seniors ko lipat na sa ibang section so ako na yung 'considered' na senior intern nang section namin. Si kuya (yung inassign), outgoing intern siya. Last niya na yung sero tas ako first section ko pa lang. Inassign kaming dalawang mag malaria test kasi sabi ni maam na try ko na daw. Besh, kinabahan ako. I said to myself 'shet 1 time lang ako nakapag malaria. Pano pag magkamali? Pano pag mali yung naituro ko ni kuya?' Pero meron namang procedure sheet so kung marunong kang magbasa, hindi ka mahihirapan. Ayun kinaya naman ng pawers pero besh andami kong mali kahit sinunod ko yung procedure. Kahit aircon yung room pinapawisan ako. Yung tipong yun naituro sakin pero hindi ako sure kung tama pero nagmarunong si ateng e. Hindi nlng tinanong kay maam kaya ayun feel ko talaga fault ko bat andaming positive sa microtiter plate. Edi waw, 21 ICT test kits naubos namin sa confirmatory. False positive lahat nang nag positive.

I think I have a problem with asking help from people, ako kasi yung tipong nahihiya magtanong and I am very self-conscious. May trauma na ako dahil sa previous school ko. Ayokong sabihan na "intern ka na, bat di mo alam?" Tagos sa puso pag ako sinabihan. As in, feel ko iiyak ako kaya I pretend na alam ko kahit hindi ako sure. Pero in the end, I learned na pag nalilito ka, it's better to ask an RMT rather than relying on anong tinuro sayo nang fellow intern mo. Kasi pareho kayo intern e, mas lamang parin yung knowledge nang RMT. Pag mali yung pagkakaintindi nang kasama mong intern tas nagpaturo ka edi pareho kayong mali.

Most importantly, mistakes are the best teachers. Sana sinabi ko nalang 'uy kuya, one time pa lng ako nakagawa nito. Sabay tayong magbasa nang procedure ha?' Pero dahil dito, I learned din na mas okay nang maraming pagkakamali as an intern kesa magkamali the time magtatrabaho kana. Ngayon, dretso na talaga ako sa medtech pag may hindi ako sure. Fave line ko na ang 'di ako sure atekuy, tanong ko muna kay maam ha?' I am learning so much in 1 week than yung lahat na natutunan ko in my 4 years.

Sa school tinuturo nila lahat nang lessons, pano maipasa yung quizzes. Pero sa internship tinuturo nila pano isapuso yung inaaral mo. Tinitest yung kakayahan mong makisama and more importantly yung pasensya mo.

"In school you are taught to be booksmart, but internship will teach you how the heart is more important than the brain - how humility is more important than pride."

#FIGHTING

[mikkocastellano]

The first time I saw that histopath would be my second post, I was really nervous and also sad. Sad because I'll be separated with the rest of the group. Isolated in another area. And nervous because I would have to adjust to new staffs since thise two histo staffs don't rotate.

After these past weeks, I learned to adjustto all the new things. I suddenly saw myself having fun, feeling at home eventhough I'm working. There tiring moments but I can actuly say that it's worth it. They weren't kidding when they said "enjoy sa histopath" because it really is. Specially with 2 of the most awesome but definitely also the gago-est staffs you would meet. Plus the sweet and pretty OB resident. The different patho consultants. And also my fun co-interns.

BB will still be my first love, but right now I'm considering, histopath might be my true love. 😂😂😂

[anjlovesunicorns17]

MedTech Internship Tips :)

Internship became the best part of my med tech education. Ang saya kaya maging hands-on. Yung mga dating nababasa mo lang sa libro, maaapply mo na yon sa internship :)

Here's some tips:

First, hindi masama ang magtanong. If you don’t know what to do, ask help from the staff. Mas okay nang magmukhang tanga at first kesa mapahamak pa ang pasyente dahil sa mali mo. 

Second, always be kind to your patients. Kahit sinisigawan ka na nila kasi di mo sila makuhanan ng dugo, don’t ever answer back. Yes, maraming ganong pasyente. Masusungit. Lalo na yung mga kamag anak. Smile ka na lang lagi at habaan ang pasyensya. Isipin mo na lang may dinadamdam sila kaya sila nagsusungit.

Third, always have a presence of mind. Di mo pwedeng ma mislabel yung mga specimen. Malaking kasalanan yon. Be careful with the handling of specimen, especially yung mga mahirap kuhanin. Wag mo din iwawala yung requests. 

Fourth, make sure na alam mo ang gagawin mo before mo iperform yung test. Magbasa ng procedure. Magtanong sa staff. Ask for their guidance. Mahirap magkamali. Sayang sa specimen, sayang sa reagent. Baka mademerit ka pa. 

Fifth, phlebotomy tips. Sa una, mahirap talagang kumapa ng ugat at kumuha ng dugo. Yes, you may fail a dozen of times but that’s how you obtain perfection. Nakukuha sa practice ang lahat. Learn your own techniques. Others may have violent reactions to this but I advise you to learn how to trouble shoot. If pag tusok mo ng syringe sa ugat, walang lumabas na blood, try to search for the vein. Mag to the left, to the right, malalim, mababaw. Usually kasi, yung ugat, anjan lang sa tabi, hindi lang nahit agad. Sayang naman kung tutusok ka ulit for the second time kung kaya mo naman makuha yon sa una pa lang. Mas mahirap at mas masakit sa patient ang paulit ulit na tusok. Pwede magsearch, even the registered medtechs do that. Just be gentle.

Sixth, internship is the opportunity to learn more. Ask questions, observe how medtechs do their work. Minsan, hindi talaga maiiwasan magkamali. Remember that this is a learning process and youll learn from your mistake. Sabi nga sa amin ng staff namin, ngayon, pwede pa kayo magkamali (pero minor lang) kasi syempre, bago pa lang sa inyo ang lahat. Kasi if you finished your internship and you obtained your license, bawal nang magkamali kasi you’re a professional already. And you have your license at stake. 

Lastly, enjoy the experience! Hindi puro hirap ang internship. Anjan yung bagong friends, cool na staff, night duties na puro kainan at kwentuhan, etc. Sa internship, you’ll learn and enjoy at the same time.

I hope these tips can help you! Good luck on your internship! :)  

PS: Para sa mga humihingi ng tips for internship. I hope that this post can help you. Good luck! :D

[anjlovesunicorns17]

1 is to 10

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. And I want to celebrate that non other than with my family. But in order to do it, I had to skip my 12 hr duty on 24th just to go home to our province. I didn't know that it'll be a special holiday. Well, I kinda had a feeling that it will be but then I'm still hoping that it's not since the Histopathology section of our hospital which is usually closed on holidays had duty that day. Oh, well, I just relied on luck. Anyway, our hospital has its rule that the ratio of absence during holidays is 1:10. So that's my big problem.  December 24 was declared as a special holiday and now I have an instant 120 hours of make up duty as equivalent to my 12 hr skipped duty. That's it! One day of happiness turned out to be twelve days of suffering. So, that's my luck. 

Now, I have to do a total of 156 hours make up duty starting 2nd week of January til 1st week of March. And it's kinda impossible since we are only allowed to have additional 12 hr maximum per week since we have no duties during Tuesdays and Saturdays because of school. So our training officer allowed us to bring blood donors in exchange to our supposed make up hours. One donor is equivalent to 24 hr merit. I need at least 5 donors to clear out my make up duty to that hospital.

Well, I want to donate for my self but I am not allowed since I am underweight and my blood pressure is abnormally low. But I will still try because with all the foods that I ate this past holidays, I think I gained a lot of weight. And about my blood pressure, I think I will just rely on luck again that mine will be within normal range that day.

I was telling this problem to my roommates last night and I couldn't believe that they're volunteering their selves to donate blood for me. I also posted this concern to my twitter account and some of my friends have responded that they are willing to help. And as of this moment, I have already 6 possible blood donors. And even though some of my friends cannot donate blood because of the weight and blood pressure requirements, they showed their support by helping me find blood donors. I FEEL SO BLESSED TO HAVE THESE PEOPLE. I am so overwhelmed with the support that I am receiving, it makes me cry. *sniff sniff*

My yesterday's frown now turned into a big smile. I am really hoping that this problem will end soon. But with my friends at my back, I know it will be. :)

[anjlovesunicorns17]

Empty Streets

As I was walking my way home I noticed one thing: empty streets. It felt entirely different. I used to see students roaming around the Dapitan and Padre Noval streets. But in that moment, it was just me and some few cars that pass by. It's 8 o'clock pm but it felt like it’s already 2 o'clock am. I guess everyone is now in their provinces, spending this break from school with their family.

I am one of those few people who are “lucky” enough to spend our supposed to be “Christmas break” here in Manila because of internship. And it really sucks. As much as I want to celebrate the holiday season in our province, I just can’t. Cause it will cost me to have loads of makeup duties. And that’s the last thing I would want to have..