1st week of hols is coming to an end.
i was jus slacking for e whole week.. =) enjoying my life.
3 more weeks to go.
BUT, i start miss my poly friends a lot, a lot.
i miss school wif u guys..
ohh, esp my clique.
will our crazy-ness continue even after we become staff nurses?
will we still be e same?
will we be gathering again?
my year 3 sem 2 without u guys..
anyways, i read an article today on smoking.
which i think i shld share..
In singapore, most heart attack cases fall into the 40 to 70 years old age group. So what cuases it?
“there are several causes, but the top few are smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. The first of these- SMOKING- is a big factor. There are lots of toxins in cigarettes that contribute to heart disease, so the longer you smoke, the higher your risks. For example, if you quit smoking for 10years and did so before age 35, your risk of a heart attack when you grow older would haven fallen to nearly that of a non-smoker. It never reaches normal, but stopping smoking at any age will significantly reduce ones risk,” says Dr Nair.
A person who had previously survived an attack may also be at greater risk of having another. This is due, in part, to the already damaged heart, which affects heart rhythm, pumping action and blood circulation.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES, DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
When it comes to the heart, the old adage still applies – prevention is better than cure.
Screening is one form of prevention.
“We can perform several tests to assess CHD in patients who are at high risk or have symptoms. This will then help us in managing and monitoring the patients,” says Dr Nair.
Such tests may inculde any one of the following :
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) : a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of the heart and can give clues to indicate a number of heart problems.
- Echocardiogram : a test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture to study the fucnction and structure of the heart. The picture involves no raidation exposure and is much more detailed.
- Cardiac stress test : a test that indirectly reflects blood flow to the heart during physical. By comparing to the blood flow during rest, the test reflects imbalances of blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Cardiac catheterization : the insertion of a narrow, straw-like plastic tube into chamber or vessel of the heart. This inculdes a test called an angiogram, where dye is injected throught the catheter into the cornary atrteries. The doctor can then take an x-ray to see the flow of blood through the heart and check for blockages. Angioplasty can be perform if deemed necessary.
“Heart disease can be prevented. All of us should take responsibility for our own hearts. We need to control the risk factors now that we know what they are. Diet and exercise, for example, will go a long way,” he says.
Since what one eats can contribute significantly to one’s risk, following a healty and balanced diet is critical in protecting oneself against heart problems. This means limiting fat inake, eating less cholesterol-rich food, monitoring salt content, consuming enough dietary fibre and avoiding excessive alchol consumption.
Diet aside, exercise plays a big part in keeping the heart healthy.
“Exercising does not mean doing nothing for five days, then palying three hours of soccer on Saturdays. Regular exercise cuts your risks, but the risk of a heart attack actually increases during extremely vigorous and unaccustomed exercise, So condition your heart slowly and don’t overstrain,” he cautions.
In general, one is recommended to do 20 to 30mins of aerobics about 3-5 times a week. For those who are older, exercise is also a good form of weight management, whcih can help keep other diseases at bay.
“People who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease as well as diabetes. They are also at greater risk of having other contributory factors for heart disease such as hypertension and hig cholesterol. If your BMI exceeds the healthy weight range for a person of your height, weight management, is advisable,” says Dr Nair.
In fact, losing just 10% of one’s current weight can significantly reduce his or her chances of developing weight-related coronary risk factors.
“At the end of the day, i think most of us know what we can do to keep our hearts healthy and strong. What’s important is that we take the correct steps towards this,” reflects Dr Nair.
what do you think?
the article basically telling us very basic things that we shld do. but, are we following?
why are the healthcare stressing on this every now and then? have you really thought abt it?
there mus be an increasing number of people with heart attacks. thus, it brought the healthcare to attention.
smoking is a no-no thing..
STAY HEALTHY, my friends and beloved ones. =)
exam results just released.
i din woke up to on time purposely.
i looked at e time, it was 815am.
so since i m awake.. i checked my results.
i scanned thru for any Fs. lols.
NO Fs !!
i was seriously, surprised.
but once again, this results doesnt only base on my final paper..
if it is purely my final paper, i think i wun even pass.
satisfied wif my Ds.
and and… my GPA increased! it’s finally a 2 point something. LOLS.
yea, my results hav always been that bad.
but, i m still proud of myself. cus, there are improvements.
now, two more modules to clear.
like i promise myself, i will scored A for sociology.
cus that is e only module that i need to study for.
加油！
am i ready to be a staff nurse?
posting to AH, DEM, ended ytd.
i could say, e posting was really fun and i learnt alot.
although there isnt much cases here, we still learn thru theory.
sister and staffs are really helpful and very willing to teach.
two weeks of attachment in AH taught me alot.
it is definitely a nice place to learn. =)
first day in A&E, had an resuscitation case that came in.
i got involved.. and, i did CPR on a real patient. for my very first time.
nurses and doctors were really trying their best to save her, but she still left anyway.
the whole process was really fast and we are really challenging with the time.
its only 6mins to pronounce a patient brain dead, 6mins.
wasnt really affected by her death cus i sort of read her case.
but i did my part, my best to save her too. =)
may she rest in peace.
second day in A&E was in the procedure room.
so, normally doctors will order some procedure to be done..
eg. injections, dressings, suturing, bandaging.
the staff nurse was really nice. almost all the case i did that day.
i gave injections, i did dressings, i assisted in suturing..
e staff nurse basically let me do everything.
it was very nice of him, so trusting of my skills. LOLS.
i hope i din disappoint him. hahas..
third day was in the triage.
what they do here is, taking the vital signs and triage them accordingly to P1 or P2.
i was attached to the Clinical Instructor that morning.
well, also very nice of him..during our free time, he will teach me. like, ECG.
i m really bad at reading ECG.. i couldnt ans almost all his qns. OMG !!
but he was patient luh…
my afternoon was attached to sister.
she is really very nice sister. best sister i ever seen..
she taught me too.. alot alot. and even help me to find a case study tt i was supposed to present to HER on friday.
LOLS..
fourth day, nothing much..
fifth day was the most relaxing day.
reported to work and i got myself involved in a critical case again.
really participated as a nurse 3. hahas..
nothing much to do anyways.. jus ECG and BGM. and standby to do CPR if patient collapse.
it was fun luh.. patient din collapse anyways.. jus breathless, case of C.O.L.D
fulfillment, satisfaction.
den, presented our cases to sister.. a short meeting frm 230pm to 530pm.
sister did a lot of talking that day, non-stop. hahas…
and had an hour of break.. and went back to e ground.
sister talked to us again.. for abt an hour? before she went for her dinner.
so, we left another hour..
there was really nothing to do.. e A&E was really quiet that night.
seriously, i strongly encourage if you hav an emergency, but its non-life threatening, go to AH..
there isn’t going to be a LONG waiting time and u will be attended to. =) take my advice.
DEM is fun.. i may even consider joining khoo teck puat DEM after graduation..
cus like wat they say, i may lost my skills if i join paramedics right after graduate.
so, why not start from A&E? but i still like paramedics..
probably 2 years of A&E before i go for my 1.5years of paramedics course?
i still love ambulance. =) 
attachment finally ended and 1 mth of break is here.
results are releasing nxt week. well, excited.
excited to see how many ‘F’ ’s i will get. =)
i really din do well tis time round.
简简单单，平平淡淡的生活
或许。。 也是一种幸福。
Next Post
September 13, 2009
1st week of attachment is finally OVER.
was attached to alexandra hospital.
trip there took me an hour plus everyday. tiring can?
BUT…
OT posting was great ! and nurses there were really nice ppl.
they are all so willing to teach and get us involve like one of them.
but cases here are really simple as compared to SGH, where u get to see more cases = more exposure = more experience
anyways, i still get to see operations done. and i get to scrub in on e last day of attachment.
( Scrub in = passing instruments to surgeons wif techniques, maintaining sterility, surgeon’s pair of extra hands. )
thank god e surgeon i scrub in for was nice and quite patient.
scrubbing in was so fun. e tense is really there. afraid that i might contaminate, pass e wrong instruments etc.
its still a very very good experience afterall.
and.. the nurses going ard looking for students to scrub in. see how nice were e nurses?
best surgery i have seen was the colon reconstruction.
i dun quite remember the name of e surgery.
wat i could rmb was there were tumor to be remove.
tumor removed at the transverse colon and merge it back again.
and, it was an emergency op.. thus, no bowel prep was done pre-op.
so, surgeons gotta use suction machine to suck the faeces before merging.
see e importance of bowel prep now?
heard from our lecturer that NYP is offering a degree in nursing and priority giving to nyp ex-nursing
students. =)
hmm, by 2011 i guess.. thats wat she say. shld be furthering if i hav e opportunity.
everyday, i hav been waking up early for attachment..
and rush back to semb for work
and home asap to catch my sleep.
it has been a tiring week and will go on for another week.
n nxt week going for A&E attachment !!
5 more days to go and i will be having my ONE mth break !!
and i will be back school to complete my 2 other modules.
its SHIMIN’s 20th birthday. 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART !
finally finally.. guorong will be the next.
and soon, our clique will be all in our tweenties.
old already luh.
we were all so dead drunk after a bottle of tequila and martell.
we sang and drank and sang and drank. crazy night wif e clique. =)
but enjoyed.
anyways, hangover the nxt day and only managed to wake up in e afternoon. lols.
went for arnold’s chicken for dinner.
my first time having that.. eh, not too bad luh. (but not smth i will crave for )
met sara for supper at hk cafe.. i always love update session. lols.
our heart to heart talk was really a great one. i see wat i wanted, and wat ur fears. my nonsense will stop here.
Previous Post
August 31, 2009
alrights, finally got myself a new blog.
i m finally off blogger.
really cant stand it when i cant upload pics and sometimes, cant even blog.
updates updates now..
haven been really bloggin. hmm..
i had just ended my sem’s exams. which was really a stressful one.
when i started opening e book, i only realised, there is really alot i dunnoe.
hahahas.. a pass will really satisfiy me.
so, can i pass, like please?
and, i m having my hols now.
one week of hols = one week of paryting? lols…
just went to DBL O last saturday wif bizhen and her JC friends. =)
a post exam relieve.. 
my lovely saturday. =)
and e cute bartender. lols
HAPPY NURSES DAY !!
swimming was great wif ester-jie. she finally managed to swim wif me after so long. lols.. and ger n rosy were really boring that day i guess, they actually went in to e complex and waited for us to swim. hahahas..
walked ard e new ION orchard ytd. there is really lots of shops, i could say, interesting shops. hahas.. at least those shops are not common shops we will see in every shopping mall. i will be going there again wif rosy. to collect her phone and to buy SHOES !! and i went for a movie at 11pm. caught “murderer”. its interesting plot, but its quite gruesome.
blogger was really dwn for several days.
had my practical exam today.
collected my specs wif rosy today.
busy week.
hmm.. went for flea again last saturday at SMU.
a very last min decision with ah-bi.
