Playing with the Legatoscope

Wala lang, perpective pics kunwari, using a digicam, the legatoscope, and CT plates of a guy with hydroceph…

First Paycheck

Just received my first paycheck as a “Medical Officer III,” employed by the Republic of the Philippines-University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital. And now that the customary treat for the more senior residents and the required contribution for bills at home are already done/paid, it’s time to contemplate what to do with the rest of what the government has decided to compensate for my (rather amateur) services as a physician. Do I:

 [  ] buy a laptop I can use to make the 7 mortality presentations I need to finish by the end of the month? (correction, 7 and running, since Feb is not yet over)… I’m eyeing the white ultraportable eeePC:

[  ] buy a dual-SIM phone I can use to call my family and friends (Globe) and co-residents (Sun), without the hassle of having 2 bulky phones in my blazer pocket? The stylish myPhone Slyder is at the top of my list:

[  ] buy the latest edition of Adams’ Principles of Neurology? So that I won’t fail the next exam? (or else, Sunday duty ang katapat).

[  ] buy a new Littman branded stethoscope? I lost mine in the Pay wards last month, and I’m now using a cheap imitation (works great, by the way, so this item is at the bottom of my things-to-buy).

Or, I could be really childish and buy something totally unrelated to work… like my own Playstation!

It’s shopping time!!!

GCS 3

I hate to say it, I hate to admit it… but this blog is probably dying. More specifically — and very ironically – it’s suffering from brain death. It still exists physically (aha, but whether internet space is physical is one other question to dissect), it still has visitors (paambon-ambon, hehe), it still is a blog in the most skeletal definition of what a blog is… but really, there’s no new activity, no recent creative output, and the electrical impulses signaling excitement have long since left it. GCS 3.

Side note, the CT Scan in PGH is still non-functional (for about 1 month now), so if you’re going to have a stroke, drop by Mediscan first to have your scan done before heading to the PGH ER for admission. It will save you (and me) from a lot of hassle later on. Thanks.

 

PaRappa the Rapper

My social life recently has been limited to visiting patients, interaction with the friendlier consultants (I try to hide from the scary ones), and playing PSP (actually an alone-activity, but at this point, any respite from hospital work would qualify as socialization). Of the three, it is obviously the last that I enjoy the most. Especially since I rediscovered that the PSP reincarnated one of my favorite Playstation games of all time… PaRappa the Rapper! In this video PaRappa is being taught by Instructor Mooselini to drive and rap at the same time (my personal favorite, Stage 2):

Neuroyloy#1: Earthquakes and Epilepsy

Starting today, I’ll be posting interesting stuff related to my chosen specialty (Neurosciences) that I find on the net in a series I’ll call neuroyloy in aloyloy. This serves two purposes: 1. to promote Neuro as an alternative to boring old residency programs (calling all medical interns out there still deciding where to go after the Boards… join us in Neuro na lang!); and 2. to prevent this blog from CODING (ie, flat-line) while I am in first year (ie, while I am the slave of all slaves in the department, at the bottom of the totem pole, jingle lang ang pahinga). So, even when I’m too busy with hospital work or too tired to post, you, dear loyal readers (yes, the 3 or 4 of you) will have something to aloyloy about.

The first of this series is a very interesting article from The Guardian about what I think is one of the most complex diseases known to man, epilepsy. I remember that there were many instances in the past when, while I was in Church, or at a dine-in, or even while I was lounging at the beach (yes! true story!), a PWE (Person-with-Epilepsy) near me suddenly seized. All these events I took to mean that I really belong to Neuro. Here’s the article, pasted without permission from The Guardian’s website (I cite Fair Use):

Admitting Orders

Aloysius Domingo, MD
A> Neuro first-year resident
Chronic fatigue syndrome

Admitting Orders
January 1, 2008

> Admit to Ward 5 under PGH Adult Neurology service
> Secure consent for admission and for 4 whole years (and possibly more) of toxicity
> Diet: diet as tolerated but mostly PGH canteen food or fastfood
> IVF: none for now, will insert once with dengue secondary to callroom mosquito bites
> Monitor NeuroVSq3days (ie, everytime mag-postduty), WOF decrease in sensorium
> Monitor I&O qshift and record, refer if already urinating coffee
> Diagnostics: [ ] CXR-PA upright — baseline, in case mag-pulmo eff 2dary to PTB
                      [ ] plain cranial CT Scan STAT – R/O first-duty stroke
> Therapeutics: start ChartRounds 25mg tab 1 tab PO bid x forever
                               ServiceRounds 100mg cap 1 cap PO q3days x forever
                               ConsultantRounds 1 amp IV qweekly, WOF hypersensitivity rxn
                               OPD neb 1 neb twice a week
> May give diazepam 1 amp IV PRN for frank seizures during rounds
> Self to ensure meds are given, else will be kicked out of program
> Limit social life
> Refer to Psych for evaluation and co-management
> WOF hypertension (when in Charity Svc), WOF pedal edema (when in Pay Svc)
> Close watch please, for standby intubation
> Inform family and friends once admitted, because they might think he disappeared
> Refer PRN

RIZAL, MD
Lic No 000001

Rizal, MD

Yesterday was Rizal Day; today is new year’s eve; and tomorrow is my first day as a resident physician at the Philippine General Hospital.

So many have inquired about this choice of mine, to stay in the Philippines, and to undergo residency training here.

The Starbucks vs Jollibee Planner Comparison

2008 is just around the corner and it’s about that time of the year again for me to get a new planner (quite a requirement for a semi-OC person like me). Last year and the year before and the year “before-before” (hi to my Comm I/II Prof, Ma’am Gavino of UPM at this point, who finds the distinctly Filipino phrase “before-before” weird), I used Starbucks planners. It was quite easy to get them then; I was still a med student and the stickers overflowed with each exam that went my way (at worst, there could be 4 exams in a week). This year though, the stickers were more difficult to complete (reason 1: unemployed state, reason 2: no more exams, reason 3: tachycardia), so I had to find an alternative, especially since by 7AM of January 1, 2008, it’ll be all systems go for a full year of toxic work c/o the PGH Department of Neurosciences for me (gawd!). Good thing I found the Jollibee planner. As it turns out with my critical appraisal (which follows), it seems that the Jollibee planner is not just a decent alternative, it’s even a better datebook than the one from Starbucks!

No Special Epeks for Christmas

(Poking fun at my friend Manggy’s blog today)

The traditional Filipino christmas celebration involves the preparation and partaking of what is usually a large, lipid-laden, stroke-inviting Noche Buena feast during Christmas Eve (I’ve heard stories of dogs suffering from strokes after begging for scraps at the Noche Buena table!). And while the actual event (ie, eating time) is a very happy time for everyone, the activities some hours prior are usually toxic and stressful. Grocery lines start snaking and become kilometers long, taxis become rare commodities, pots and pans have to be brought down from places you didn’t know existed… all this culminating in a mad dash of cooking/preparing the usual suspects (in our family, they’re spaghetti, ham, and fruit salad).

So this year, our family decided to be practical (read: lazy) and instead of tiring ourselves with hectic cooking, we spent the 24th doing our last-minute shopping; then we just had our Christmas dinner outside (we also had loads of Friday’s Fun taking pics).

Still, Christmas didn’t seem complete without at least a semblance of a potluck meal. Hence, upon arrival at home, I prepared my very own contribution for our Noche Buena Dessert: Strawberries and Cream. The recipe follows (no, it’s not from Jamie’s Kitchen; he wouldn’t dare make a dish this complex):

Putin is Time Person of the Year

Russia’s enigmatic President AND Prime Minister, modern-day Tsar and overall CEO of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin bests celebrity environmentalist Al Gore and crowd favorite JK Rowling to take this year’s Time Person of the Year recognition.

Photo credit: Platon for Time

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