Nurses Notes

The World Health Organization has escalated the spread of the swine flu or the A (H1N1) Flu into the world’s first influenza pandemic in 40 years, as hundred of cases have already been reported to have been affected globally.  In the Philippines, there are around 604 reported cases where 85% of them have already recovered. Certain localities as well as schools and universities near our sites were reported to have positive cases of A (H1N1) Flu.

Our challenge now is to prevent the spread of this virus and make our home and community a “Swine Flu Virus Free Community”.  We therefore encourage everyone to report all suspected cases of A (H1N1) flu to to health centers or community health officers if you notice anyone who exhibited the following symptoms:

“High fever, chest pain, drowsiness, labored breathing, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue, severe or persistent vomiting” and those you know who have direct contact with person who have been diagnosed  positive with the A(H1N1) flu virus.

Also, we enjoin everyone to observe the following precautionary measures: 

1. Cover your nose when coughing or sneezing and dispose of tissue papers properly
2. Wash your hands regularly especially after coughing or sneezing – all our wash rooms have adequate supply of hand soaps
3. Disinfect – use the hand sanitizers located in every entrance door of our facilities before going to your work stations

 The best defense against A (H1N1) is to boost your immune system.  Doctors recommend the following preventive measures:

1. Have adequate rest or sleep;
2. Drink plenty of water, fruit juices or hydrating solutions, however, coffee or any power drinks is not advised;
3. Eat balanced meal – rice, meats products, vegetables and fruits;
4. Smoking should definitely be withheld;
5. Take high doses of vitamin C ( 100mg once a day)
6. Use surgical mask for those who have cough and colds.
7. Avoid close contact with sick people.
8. If you have the symptoms of A (H1N1) flu, self-monitor and stay home, limit close contact with other people and consult your doctor for medical management.

As a teen moving to early adulthood, I still love exploring. That’s our stage of life and we are fond of taking risks just to experience the “something” of life. Our stage has been the target of most market places. I love music. We love music. And nowadays, we mostly decide on what type of genre and what type of song would be popular. As a blogger and being a sociable person, I do get updates on what’s hot and what’s not to friends and relatives who live overseas and also for me to know the next step to do to for my career. I was chatting to my friend last month who is already a nurse in London and she was bragging about this new Filipino-British band who’s now becoming a new band sensation because of how they gave the music in UK a new style. Because of it’s classic and originality in style, a Firefalldown promo was made! As a Filipino, when I heard that there’s a Filipino getting successful in making a name to whatever good industry, it made me proud and interested because they’re also giving pride to our country. Filipino talents are really global. The band has inspired me a lot especially in showing something new to people. That I’m not only surrounded by a fences. And that if in case I am? I’d jump over it. I’ll keep expanding like firefalldown had done.

INSPIRATIONAL, semi-sophisticated, and anthemic… this is Firefalldown.

[...]

Nowadays, especially that the world is in financial crisis, everyone is looking for better ways to earn and save money. In our luxurious life from the past, we’ll notice that we have purchased several items that is either more than what we really need or want, or have purchased those items because we want to be in trend with what’s new. But don’t you think it is about time to do something to those items that we have purchased before, like selling them as second hand items? But how? It’s hard to sell something now if we’re gonna do it person to person and that the percentage of selling the item successfully is so low. Doing that today is not strategical anymore. Personally, I consider that as a waste of time. Because you know, instead of you doing something more important, may that be to earn money or not, you are losing those opportunities because you are busy upselling, right? Good thing to this generation now is that you don’t have to sit anymore and wait til that long waited potential customer arrive which is basically the original setting of a marketplace. I know we are all aware now of the largest marketplace ever in the world of internet which is ebay. But the hard part there is that you have to create your account, the items usually come in bidding form, potential buyers have to create their account as well and that the marketplace is toooo large making it hard to find the right customer you want.

[...]

The influenza virus in humans is subjected to inner structural changes thus changing their strains from time to time. This explains the need to be vaccinated on a yearly basis. This process is being regulated by the WHO.

2. How effective is the vaccine?

Influenza vaccination is 70-90 % effective in preventing the complications brought about by Influenza or the “flu” such as pneumonia.

3. How long after vaccination does it take for the antibodies against the “flu” is to be produced?

It takes up to two (2) weeks for the vaccine to give full protection.

4. How long does the vaccination last?

The protection lasts for one year. Re-immunization should be done annually.

5. Who should NOT receive the vaccine?

[...]

 

Drinking even fairly high amounts of coffee does not raise the risk of developing heart diseases in diabetic men or increase their risk of dying early, according to a brief report in Medical journal Diabetes Care.

 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – There’s reassuring news for coffee lovers with type 2 diabetes. Drinking even fairly high amounts of coffee does not raise the risk of developing heart diseases in diabetic men or increase their risk of dying early, according to a brief report in the medical journal Diabetes Care.
Although research involving people in the general population has suggested no harmful effects on the heart from drinking coffee, there’s been little information about any effect in people with diabetes, Dr. Rob M. van Dam and colleagues point out. Recently, however, there has been evidence suggesting that coffee consumption may impair diabetics’ ability to process glucose.

[...]

Popularly known as flu, influenza is a disease that is caused by a virus. It mainly affects the nose, throat, windpipe, bronchial tubes, and lungs. And of all the contagious diseases, influenza is one of the most easily spread from one person to another. There are different kinds of influenza viruses; some cause only a mild illness, others can make a person extremely sick.

Influenza is so contagious and the virus is widely present that huge number of people can be affected at a time. In some epidemics, millions of people in one part of a country may get the disease within just a few weeks’ time. The two main viruses of influenza are called Influenza A virus  and Influenza B virus.

Scientists who study contagious diseases can tell when and where epidemics of influenza can be expected to break out. For instance, if there is an epidemic of influenza in Europe or Asia, these scientists can usually guess when the disease will strike the United States, and what part of the country will be hit hardest. Scienstists can also forecast fairly accurately how many people will catch the disease. In some epidemics, one out of three or four children can be expected to get the disease. Luckily, in most cases, the condition is mild, especially if one has been vaccinated beforehand.

Epidemics of influenza don’t come every year. For some peculiar reason, the virus doesn’t attack many people one year but may hit extremely hard another year. But to be safe, people should do their best to prevent the disease each year by getting influenza vaccine injections. Since the condition comes most often in the winter/rainy and early spring, it is wise to get your flu shot late in the fall.

[...]

DOH has confirmed that a female traveler who arrived in the Philippines on May 18, Monday, from the United States and Canada was tested positive for Influenza A (H1N1).

She was immediately started on an antiviral, Oseltamivir, and given supportive care. At this time, the patient is continuously being monitored. She no longer has fever or cough, but still has sore throat.  DOH is now contact tracing those in the same flight. The family as well as the household has been asked to practice self- monitoring, home quarantine, social distancing, proper hygiene and respiratory etiquette procedures.

Though the government is on top of the situation and emphasizes that there is no community level outbreak in the country, our collective efforts is vital to the early detection, management and effective response against this virus.

Individuals are advised to seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza A (H1N1)-like illness such as high fever, headache, body ache, extreme fatigue, sore throat, runny nose and dry cough, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Health and Safety measures include observing cough etiquette by covering mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, and social distancing (refrain from engaging in handshakes, high fives, hug greetings, etc.).

To know more about Influenza A(H1N1), you may go to the DOH Influenza A(H1N1) Website at www.doh.gov.ph/h1n1

Photo courtesy of www.huffingtonpost.com/

 

What is swine flu?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.

Is this swine flu virus contagious?
CDC has determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it not known how easily the virus spreads between people.

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

How does swine flu spread?

[...]

What’s new in the Nursing Roadmap?  How is Road mapping an adaptive and proactive means to create the future of Philippine Nursing to be globally competitive?

With the nursing profession’s vision of becoming the lead in promoting Philippine Nursing in the Asia Pacific Region by 2030, five strategic themes and four perspectives set the framework of the Balance Scorecard (BSC) that will determine the outcome measures that will have to be achieved.  The five strategic themes are: Dynamic Leadership, Service Excellence, Operational Excellence, Strategic Partnerships and Social Responsibility. The performance of the nursing profession shall be measured across four balanced perspectives namely: Learning and Growth, Internal Processes, Customer and Financial Perspectives. These are the key areas of the nursing profession into which objectives naturally fit.
The crafting of the Nursing Roadmap is a continuing work in progress participated in by three (3) clusters of organizations, namely: the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) as the accredited professional organization, the nursing specialty organizations and nursing interest groups. The nursing profession’s charter statement, i.e., mission, vision and values, shall be the banner, we, Filipino nurses shall hold together.

[...]

Several months ago, news of unemployment among Filipino nurses remained afloat with the number reaching up to about 400,000. Statistics from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), particularly on its “Market Trend” analysis, revealed that while unemployment and underemployment is a fact in Philippine Nursing, there is inaccuracy in these reports. The DOLE and the Board of Nursing (BON) acted with dispatch to review available data which revealed that from 1952 to 2008 the country has registered or licensed 480,992 Filipino nurses out of 523,272 who actually passed the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examinations.

According to DOLE data the total number of Filipino nurses employed between October 2001 & 2007 was 58,000 (fifty eight which represented 3.86% of the total employed professional workers (1.5 million) reflected in the National Statistics Office, Labor Force Survey   as source of data. However, it is important  to consider that there  is actually a market slowdown starting

2006, when the demand for Filipino nurses started to plateau as a result of the retrogression in the US market and a change of nursing employment policy in the UK.  The previous high demand for Filipino nurse has kept our nursing pool in the country relatively large.  Despite the number of nurses reportedly deployed/employed there still is a slow-down in the hiring of newly passed nurses.  While this is a fact, the actual unemployment and underemployment figures would only range to about 80,000 and the developments in the international job markets remain to be bright and still promising.

[...]