Geriatrics

Geriatrics is a branch of medicine that aims to promote health and prevent diseases and disabilities in elderly clients, as well as treat existing diseases and disabilities. Geriatrics focuses on health care of the elderly people. The term comes from the Greek word Geron which means “old man” and iatros means “healer.” Immobility, incontinence, instability, impaired intellectual memory, delirium, impaired vision and hearing, and use of multiple medications are some of the health issues and ‘geriatric giants’ that we always try to consider in elderly clients.
For almost ten years now, our family has been celebrating my grandfather’s birthday joyously every year, thinking that it might be his last. He is already 95 five years old, not getting any younger but surprisingly, he still appears to be physically in shape. Although at times he is experiencing joint pains due to arthritis, and it takes some effort to make our voices audible enough for him, generally he is an able-bodied old man. The picture shows the oldest and youngest member of the family, my grandfather at ninety five and my daughter at two. What makes the gigantic difference between them? My grandfather has already lived his life fully, while my daughter is yet to discover life ahead of her.

Nurse Licensure Examination…the Big Day

On the first day of the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination, June 6, 2009, our students have big smiles on their faces on their first ‘big’ day. As we always term it every after post test during their review days, “so far, so good!” That was a good omen. Although it was too early to get confident about the exam, that’s how we want to perceive it. Positive attitude garners positive outcome. Remember the Law of Attraction? Well, let’s all have our fingers crossed.

Test Taking Tips in the NURSE LICENSURE EXAMINATION

1. Debrief yourself from stress.
-It’s about time that you relax and free yourself from stress.
Cramming is not helpful at this time.

2. Prepare yourself mentally and physically.
-Eat a balanced diet, eat regularly. Don’t skip meals and tire yourself from studying.
-Have adequate sleep.
-Drink your vitamins.
-Never read in dim light. Don’t stress your eyes days before the exam.
-When worries arise, try some relaxation techniques.
-Visualize oneself in taking the exam and turning in one’s best work.
-Avoid negative self talk.
-Don’t dwell on past testing failures. Learn from them and leave them behind.
-Gather and organize the necessary supplies for the exam.
-Have confidence that you will make it!

3. Manage your own time.
-Follow your own schedule and not of others. Don’t force yourself in group study if it’s not
suited for you. Chances are, you will not retain most of them.
-Make a checklist of the things that you need to review.
-Don’t overkill. Don’t give so much time in areas that you keep on forgetting.

4. Keep focused
-Keep calm. Panicking only leads to mistakes.

5. Get yourself motivated.
-Instill in you that you will become a nurse.

6. KEEP PRAYING.
-It’s our KEY to success. Remember that GOD’s GRACE POLICY of providing the best for
His child. Cast your burden upon Him and He will take care of you. Pray harder. GOD can
do more in three seconds than what you can do for yourself in three years.
7. Remember some of these test taking strategies:
* Read questions carefully from the first word o the last word. Do not miss out key words
that would lead you to what the question is really asking for. Underline KEYWORDS.
* Look for hints:
“most, first, best” - indicates must establish priorities
“further teaching” – means wrong statement or something negative
“understands the teaching” – means correct statement or something positive
*Rephrase or reword the question so it can be answered by yes or no, why, when, what
*STOP! Before looking at the choices, think of the answer first. Whatever that comes in
your mind first that matches one of the choices, this may come from your stored
knowledge and may be a possible answer.
*Look for qualifiers such as NEVER, ALWAYS, ALL, NONE… these are most often absolute terms. Generally, we don’t choose these options.
*Most of all, TRUST YOURSELF & TRUST IN GOD.


“OF OUR THOUGHTS, WE MAKE ACTIONS. OF OUR ACTIONS, WE MAKE HABITS. OF OUR HABITS, WE MAKE LIFESTYLE. AND OF OUR LIFESTYLE, WE MAKE OUR DESTINY. HAVE GOOD THOUGHTS AND YOU WILL HAVE GOOD DESTINY…”

Goodluck Nurses!!!

I feel dignified for being bestowed upon this Interesting Blog Award by my most admired online writer, Femmepower. Thank you for continuously giving me a boost. =)

Mock Board Exam

With heads bowed down, puzzling themselves with the complex questions of their pre-board examination, these forthcoming Registered Nurses are working their way out to surface the best possible answers. In no less than three days, it’s gonna be their “judgement day.” Each and every one of them are going nuts and agitated on their preparation, from the things that they have to bring, the instructions that they have to bear in mind, the proper way of shading the answer sheet, and the psyche that all of them have to safeguard and preserve for the big day. What a strain, but everybody must keep their cool. It’s a good thing that they are looking forward for our Grand Final Coaching on Thursday, and for the post-board party on Sunday night. It makes them stay poised and maintain their equilibrium. =)

The License is Mine!

The Nurse Licensure Examination for June 2009 is fast approaching. All our students are already on the level of moderate anxiety. Some of them are already having asthma attacks, and unfortunately, some who has a history of psoriasis are beginning to have exacerbations due to stress. They have a week more to get prepared and put everything in order.
There are more or less 78,000 nursing students who will be taking the June 2009 NLE. About 44,000 of those students come from Manila, 11,000 from Baguio, and 6,000 from Cebu City, and the remaining 17,000 goes to the rest of the country. And as usual, it is expected that out of the 78,000 examinees, merely half of them will be rejoicing when the result comes out. Optimistically, we suppose that all our students will be part of those rejoicing. It’s never too late. One whole week is still a lot of time to warm up and get ready, if not mentally, at least psychologically and spiritually. So brace yourselves future RN’s!

NLE Review Countdown

Ten more days and it’s already the June 2009 Nurse Licensure Examination. As early as now, we are already declaring that our students will soon be our colleagues in the nursing profession. This is our means of promoting positive outlook to our students. We uphold positive reinforcement. We believe that it is a better way of encouraging our students to give their best and make it to the passers' list. Through this, the would-be Registered Nurses’ confidence and spirits are uplifted and they are motivated to knock their fears off. Stress and anxiety are two of the biggest reasons why some students unexpectedly fall short of their board exam. They may be equipped with knowledge, but in most cases, they experience the so-called ‘mental block’ during the exam, which causes them to panic and eventually lose their confidence that they can pass the exam. It’s just like everything they have learned for the past few months of review went down the drain. That’s why keeping them posted how many days to go rings a bell to them of how well they are prepared for the boards, and that their preparation is geared towards taking hold of their license and not towards allowing fear to get in the way and let their chance slip away. The theme ‘It’s Raining License’ speaks of the countless opportunities ahead of them, the myriad of promising career that awaits them.
Our students also look forward to the last day of our review which is our Grand Final Coaching. Here, we just have fun, fun, fun. We prop our students in flaunting their talents. We have shows like Ms. Macho Gay, where in the contestants are certified males, videoke sing-along, dance performances per school, bidding of showcases, awarding of our top ten students, and mass. Stress debriefing activities like these are meant to alleviate the tension that they have been dealing with for months. We also do this to reward them from their hard work and perseverance. And as recommended, before taking any exam, let’s put our feet up, have a break, and take it easy! Believe…