Saturday, October 22, 2005

Before I tell you how my week went (this is just actually an excuse so that you will know why I haven't been blogging as much as I used to), let me just share with you this letter for a very dear friend who celebrated her birthday last Friday.

Dear Michelle,

Hello friend! How was your birthday? Was it your first birthay in 3 years that you weren't on duty? hehehe! Must have been a big change for you. It was like that for me too so hindi ka nag-iisa.

I know it has been a stressful 2 weeks for you but the worst is over now so you can smile na and EAT! Don't be sad na din kasi everybody goes through what you are going through right now. I am going through the same situation but I do not let it get to me. Ask the big wigs there and they will tell you the same. Ganon lang talaga, lilipas din yan. Be happy! Sayang lang ang cute mong face kapag sad ka. :-D I know you must be thinking, bakit sina ganito at ganon okay na sila pero are they REALLY happy? You don't have to strive as hard as them. You are trying it out on your own, not riding with somebody else so you should be proud of yourself. Enjoy your newfound freedom for now and one of these days, our time will come.

I love you my friend and I miss our residency days. Kahit na hindi ka sumasama sa mga gimik at palaging nagmamadali umalis after endorsement, madami din tayong mga fun times together. If I would do it all over again, I wouldn't want to change anything. I would never trade you guys with the others. Pero mas masaya siguro kung kasama natin si Jex. ;-)

Smile na dyan! Hindi ka ba natutuwa sa clinic natin? Makulay di ba? hehehehe! Pwede ka maglagay doon ng other toys if you want. Belated happy birthday Mi!


Love,
Nikki

p.s.
Kelan mo ako ililibre? :-D



Now, on to other things....

It has been a physically plus mentally stressful week and also an emotional one for me. But I don't want to dwell on the emotinal part anymore. So let's just focus on the stressful part. I spent 3 of my 6 day clinic week in one of my mentor's clinic. She attended an out of town convention so she asked me to cover for her. I covered for her several times before so it wasn't something new to me pero this time I was in for a shock. Grabe!! My first day there didn't start well because I was so mad at the guard on duty when after explaining that I was there not as a patient but was covering for someone else (who had a reserved parking space), he still asked me to pay him Php60.00 which was later returned to me after some harassment from the secretary. I had lunch at 2:30 pm that day. I was willing to finish all the charts infront of me but the secretary said, enough is enough, you need to eat because you might be swamped with patients again (at the time, there were 3 charts remaining still on the desk). I saw a total of 16 patients and for me, it is a fete because some patients are very particular about seeing their own doctor not some substitute doctor. But I wasn't as tired as I thought because I even had the energy to meet with an old friend from med school. I went home late but relaxed and smiling.

I had a break the next day but I still had to go to my other clinic, a 45 minute drive for me and attended our weekly conference. I am glad I made myself attend that because had I followed my heart, I would've missed one of the most informative conferences we have ever had this year. Little did I know that the updates I learned that day would be a great help for me the next day.

The second day I covered for my mentor, I saw.... drumroll pls! 40 patients. I had my lunch 30 minutes earlier than the first day but by 4 pm, I was so tired, all I wanted to do was drive home and sleep for a whole day. But it was not meant to be because I still had several patients to see so I went home at 5:30 pm.

By the time my last day to cover at the clinic came, I was already dreading every minute of my drive to the place. I saw 18 patients in all. But by the time I was halfway through the charts, I was starting to feel the beginnings of a headache. By 10:30 am, I was already massaging my forehead in between patients and at 12:30 pm, I was finally able to eat lunch and take some paracetamol for my headache. But the day was not yet over for me. I was still supposed to drive from Quezon City to Manila to my mentor's other clinic. There were several rallies scheduled that day in Manila and I was prepared for the worst traffic of my life but lo and behold, it was smooth driving for me. God must have been really looking out for me that day because I didn't even have a hard time looking for a parking space. However, I still had to take another 500 mg tablet of paracetamol before I started seeing patients. I was done by 6 pm and had seen 19 patients in all. My throat was so dry and as much as I wanted to go home already, I had to eat the food the secretary gave me so that I can drink another stronger pain reliever in preparation for my long drive home. I arrived here at 7 pm and sweet talked my dad into massaging my head, so at 10 pm, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was already in dreamland.

There were times when I regreted having said yes to this cover thing but when you look at it in another light, it has been a great learning experience for me. I can now explain the benefits of the flu vaccine even in my sleep (that from giving the explanation over and over again) and I once again passed the test in patience with flying colors. I am also flattered that I was chosen to do this, it could have been someone else from the pool of pediatricians she trained but she chose me. :-)

I believe I deserve a break hence I shouldn't be feeling any guilt when I go home with my parents to the province for All Soul's Day (but I still haven't made up my mind yet on going). I am so looking forward to being with my cousins and other relatives again even for just a day or two. Yipee!!!

I still do not know what to expect this coming week because I was given other responsibilities at the hospital. But I am guessing that it involves a lot of practicing for the coming annual inter-departmental case presentation in our hospital. Haaayyy....