Day 41 Dalaguete, Cebu #DPC IVTT, IV Removal

Today was another day spent in the ward. I completed the normal tasks: IVTT's medications, syringe loading, vitals, etc. Today, however, was the first time I removed an IV from an infant. It was a little more difficult since the baby is scared and flailing it's arms, but it's basically the same procedure.

For the past month or so, the nurses have been giving me more paperwork to do and just countersign everything I do. It's interesting learning how to chart in a hospital setting. For example, when charting for vitals, I have to plot graphically the temperature and heart rate. This is so when the doctor looks at the chart of the patient, they can see quickly and clearly if the temperature and heart rate are holding steady. I'm not a doctor, not even a med student yet, but after working here, I've noticed that those two specific vital signs are usually good indicators for relative stability in a patient. If the heart rate is abnormal, you can almost be certain that the blood pressure will also be affected. If the temperature is abnormal, that often indicates something is wrong. Why aren't blood pressure and respiration rate good indicators? Blood pressure has a wider "normal" range. Simply eating or drinking something can change blood pressure by a degree of 10 - 15 points, so its often not the best indicator. In addition, hypertension is rampant here and almost every single person above the age of 40 is already on medication for high blood pressure. This means, sometimes, when taking the vitals, the BP of the patient is high because they haven't taken their medication yet or the medication is still kicking in.