Basic Life Support and First Aid Training at Red Cross

Just finished our First Aid training down at PNRC East Rizal Branch. For a newly graduate and registered nurse, it is now a growing trend that after graduation and/or while waiting for the result of the board exam or having passed the said exam, one would enroll into as much seminars and trainings as humanly possible in a desperate attempt to have something put into their resumes and increase their credibility as a professional. It's common knowledge that almost all the hospitals here in the Philippines are on freeze hiring right now because of surplus of nurses, and it is now almost mandatory to have an edge among the hundreds of thousands of competition out there. Unless, of course, if you have a backer.

Anyways, among all the numerous seminars and trainings many hospitals have wisely integrated into their institutions as both help to their staff's continuing education and a business racket among jobless newly grads, the top 3 contenders for the Most Popular Seminars/Trainings among Nursing Graduates are:

1) BLS or Basic Life Support which includes trainings about everything regarding CPR etc.
2) First Aid Training which tackles on bandaging, transfers and emergency management of various cases, and
3) IVT or Intra Venous Therapy Training which we are now fighting tooth and nail for.

All of these trainings have pretty sparkling licenses at the end of their paths. BLS and First Aid valid for 1 year and IVT for 3 (?) years.

And as of this day, we're 2 down, 1 to go.

What I've Learned:

• That CPR is really tiring work and a pain in the knees and elbows.
• Rescue breathing is harder than chest compressions.
  
• Bandaging techniques are not that hard especially if you've already memorized them back in your college years.
• Doing them neatly, though, in a time pressured situation is a whole different thing.
• I can lift my 5 feet partner.
• My partner cannot lift me. Ha.
  
• Registered nurses know more than we ever thought we knew compared to people with non-medical background.
• I've forgotten at least 40% of what I've studied in review classes. :(
  

Sharing our all RN class with 3 caregivers made me realize how simple terms in our world are not at all common to others. In a society who view nurses as money hungry selfish unpatriotic people in white who would leave the country at a moment's notice (more of that in later posts), it's a great feeling to again be enlightened on how much we know and how much more we can do for other people in need of our help.

Also, I am now compelled to read over my review materials in college and review center because I feel as if I've forgotten almost half of all the essential things I've learned over the past year. Facebook's farms and mansions and stupid little pet friends for sale has taken its last nursing neuron from my brain. Time to get them all fired up again.

Now, the hunt is on... again. The hunt for an IVT training hospital, that is. It seems like everywhere we look, slots get taken right before our very eyes and it's a pain waiting for another training session to open for reservations for the next month. Hopefully, we'll be able to get reservations for an October training if all goes well. As of this moment, I'll be happy and contented with being a Licensed CPR and First Aider. :)