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It’s past 24 hours when I saw this on Facebook and no one has reached out nor confirmed if this is the same patient I extracted blood from for transfusion last January 08. Even my direct supervisor hasn’t replied to me yet to confirm if this was my patient. It’s just all the details posted here matched the details of my patient.
This has been bugging me since the moment I did the phlebotomy, while processing his blood and after. Iniisip ko kung ano gagawin ko if magpositive ‘to. I can’t believe nagpositive nga!!! Now that it happened, I don’t know what to do.
To say I’m scared is an understatement. Results only came out on the 14th but the specimen was collected on January 8. What if he was already highly infective at that time? Considering the onset of illness was January 6???
I wore PPE, a combination of surgical mask + N95 and a faceshield. Was it enough to protect me???
Except the fact that there is a wooden divider from the regular ward, the patient’s room was nowhere near from being isolated because the window was wide-open (I can see the road en route to Cathedral). Were the nearby residents aware that a COVID Ward is in front of their very own residences? The virus must have already fled and mixed with the wind already since the patient wasn’t wearing a mask due to oxygen (at the time of my extraction). The relative was also just wearing a cloth mask by the way and my workmate said the relative was walking freely inside the hospital.
I always do proper handwashing. Is this enough to protect me?
Yesterday, I felt something in my throat. I can’t account it because my throat is normally dry. Today, as of writing, my head is throbbing like it’s being cracked open. I remember seeing a post before that it was also a symptom. When I told my mom, she said it’s probably just psychological… which I pray it’s just it.
Tik… tok…
Bakit wala pa rin nagre-reach out? Nasaan ang contact tracing? Maghihintay pa ba ako ng ibang symptoms?
The hospital is nowhere near from being equipped and ready to handle COVID19 cases yet you all pushed for it.
If I am positive… This is all on you, CNPH.
Edit: My boss confirmed it’s the same patient.
I’ve seen several patients being coded during internship… it was a painful sight indeed but seeing a patient in a public hospital helplessly die without the same medical care as those I’ve seen as an intern was 10x worse.
I was walking back to my station after chasing a relative who left before I could give her the clearance she needed to discharge her patient when I walked past the Medical Ward where there’s a commotion; a patient apparently is having arrest. I stood still, thinking “This is real life. I am not watching some medical drama”. I stood there doing nothing because 1) I don’t have the authority 2) I don’t know what to do. It pains me how even after coming in terms with the reality, I still defeatedly question and bawl how unfair it is that even in the last few minutes of your life, you can still feel your social class and leave the Earth as your social class. It’s unfair how despite the advent of medical technology and several advancements in the field of medicine, only a small fraction of the human race can fully benefit from it. It angers me even more how some healthcare professionals can even lower their standard of practice just because this is a public hospital. How can you possibly resuscitate a patient with one fist??? Really??? Did that nurse even undergone a Basic Life Support Training??? As someone who took the training myself, I can’t believe with what I just saw!!! It’s as if they just left him as is and the resuscitation was only done as a form of formality. Do we really have to come to this point when we are already working long enough???
It’s sad that I had to turn and move back to my station with the thoughts of the man who lied helplessly along the Medical Ward alley, not even in a hospital room and a proper hospital bed but a cot along the hallway, his right hand I couldn’t forget clutching his shirt on his chest has now left us and joined our Creator.
Right now, I’m back in my station writing this very blog post… wondering when will the Philippine Healthcare System would ever improve and finally cater those who can’t afford quality medical services you can probably only acquire in private hospitals at present. I hope time will come that the government would finally realize just how important healthcare is above all for them to invest more into it than focusing on some shit poor-oppressing battle you call “drug war”. Praying that the government would finally hear the cries of poorly-compensated health care workers so that we can restore and establish a proper and efficient healthcare worker to patient ratio… so that healthcare workers would never have to leave the country in order to sustain their lives. I believe in the saying “if oras na nila, oras na nila” but I also want to believe that if only the patient would be given the proper medical care his condition requires, then what we thought “it’s their time” could be not yet their time. I sound really hopeful, maybe ludicrously ambitious even but I really do think it’s possible.
For now, I’ll just do my thing and pour my all whenever I perform my tasks. Not even faltering with the fact that “I’m only working in a public facility”… that’s more of a reason for me to provide the best that I could, the least that I could offer to the people who receive the least in this field… even if I (over)do it by the book or by JCI standards (to the very best that I know of) as how my alma mater and internship trained me to be. Not ever giving in to “pwede na yan”.
// This, is one of the many reasons why I doubt if I ever were meant to even become a doctor. I’m such a weak-hearted, idealistic, almost delusional and opinionated myself. Hayyy Lord, is this really the field you wanted me in?
First Week as a Medical Technologist!
I remember writing on my last post that “I don’t have the spirit to find a job yet” but two days after that very post, I landed a job… in a freaking public hospital!!! Yep, can’t believe it myself either.
It honestly still hasn’t sank in because it all happened too fast??!!! I’M NOT EVEN EMOTIONALLY PREPARED TO WORK YET!!!! I’m not even 100% sure that I’m going to practice the profession but surprise surprise! I remember only getting up in the morning (which I usually don’t because I always wake up at lunch unless my niece has school affair) to submit my PDS in a local hospital then the next thing I knew, I was already signing a contract and getting my biometrics!!! I thought there’s still a long process and all that but it all happened in a flash!?
I was assigned in the Blood Station Facility of our Provincial Hospital. So far, I’m getting the hang of our work flow. My seniors were nice enough to teach me everything I need to know and actually left every crossmatching during my shifts to me for almost a week which I am thankful and afraid of at the same time. I am a self-proclaimed loser in phlebotomy due to my infamous phobia in needles (yup, ironically) and I was never even able to develop the “skills” during internship since I had it in two private hospitals that’s why I’m really scared and nervous whenever I was told to ward and extract. So far, I only had 2 failed extractions (endorsement) because the first patient’s vein collapsed, ‘di ko na nahabol which I thought was QNS (which later on I learned that okay lang pala huhu sayang) while the other one was a diabetic whose veins I couldn’t palpate #defensive. But I was also shocked and glad to have heard/ been told as a “sharp shooter” by a patient and her relative. Me??? A sharp shooter??? Over my shaking hands looooooool nope. It’s so funny that I developed the habit of praying “sana madali lang ang vein” whenever I receive blood requests. It’s still a looooooooong way to go for me in phlebotomy and I’m praying I’ll get over my fear of needles soon and extract like a pro.
I’m still as anxious as I am the first day because I am very aware of the fact that just one wrong drop of mine, I can kill a patient… and automatically lose my license. I always make sure to ask for guidance whenever my shift starts because that’s the only protection that I can get against all possible mishaps and my innate stupidity. I’m still really slow whenever I do crossmatching. I only do it per patient because I can’t risk doing it simultaneously with other patients because I may or may not confuse one from another. I tried once to do three crossmatching all at the same time and copy the way my senior labels and I seriously (lowkey) got confused that’s why from then on, I decided to stick with the way staff from St. Luke’s label as I’ve seen during my internship. I also developed a habit of checking the units I crossmatched for the day in the Crossmatching Logbook as well as the Completed Transfusion Logbook the moment I enter the lab in my next shift to see if any transfusion reactions or problems had occurred in the units I’ve crossmatched lol.
Every day is a new learning experience for me! Really looking forward to learn more and hopefully fulfill my dream of being a person for others as Medical Technologist. I’m still not sure if this really is what’s meant for me but I’m really leaving everything to Him for his plans will always be the best.
Here’s my first ever crossmatching and signature as a Blood Bank Registered Medical Technologist!!!