Hello, I'm back! Back from my 16-hour Lab duty that began at 2 pm yesterday and ended at 7 am this morning. Tough. A little. Things went well during my 16-hour shift and my Venipuncture skills have started to improve or should I say, return to the way they had really been before.

(So what happened during my 16-hour shift? The usual, CBCs (Complete Blood Counts) Platelet counts, Urine Examinations, and Stool exams. Let's throw in a 15-lead EKG, a nap during a lull in Lab tests and some eating, too.

The only thing I need to deal with now is taking ABG (Arterial Blood Gas) samples because ever since, I haven't done that and it's not really the usual task of Med Techs to take ABG samples. It's supposed to be the job of the Pulmonary Section and/or Respiratory Therapists. Anyway, the thing with ABG samples is that they are drawn from the wrist, where the pulse can be felt. Now, it's different from Venipuncture where blood is drawn from the vein (in which case, the blood sample is called VENOUS BLOOD) and I'm fine with Venipuncture. But, ABG? Yikes! All sorts of WHAT IFs filled my mind.

Last night, one of the younger Med Techs, Elvin, offered to introduce me or "baptize" me into the "art of taking an ABG sample". I told him I was scared but he said it was only natural and that he'd be there to accompany me. Fine, I agreed. So, there we were, waiting for the ABG request to be approved and the waiting only increased my apprehension. But, at the same time, I felt that I had to do it. So, I just resigned myself to finally getting an ABG sample last night. But, the ICU Nurse called the Lab to tell us the request had been cancelled. That was strange and we all wondered if the patient was...oh, well, later on, our suspicions were confirmed when Elvin did some rounds to endorse Lab results to Nurse Stations. He came down to the Lab and told us the bad news. The female ICU patient for ABG testing had just "expired". DIED.

Well, it's all part of Hospital work. I'll talk more again later. For now, let me catch up on my sleep. Before anything else, I'd like to make special mention of the young Med Techs of the Medical Mission Hospital namely Elvin, Rhodora, Elvie, Mars, Malla, Denise -- thank you for your encouragement and moral support for this "old timer" While I'm in the neighborhood, thanks to Jinky, Grace, Jay, and especially to  Liezl (the OIC HR officer) for the warm reception. Thanks a lot, guys!

wow..congrats girl:) unta sugod napud ning si anne oy. btw, got a tag for you here..i miss Sir J pud. so far, he's the best boss i've had and yes, I agree that Mr. M pales in comparison hehehe! got a tag for you here..http://www.pinaylighterside.com/2008/09/why-do-we-need-friends.html

go ate, taking ABG is kinda difficult at first but later on you'll gonna used to it. At DMC nurses specially like us from ICU's are the one doing stuff done by Phlebo's...taking blood extractions, iv insertion, taking ABG's etc..we have less manpower so nurses performed their job. I guess its still an advantage on our part because we got the opportunity to perform those stuff...Better luck on you ABG....