Patient Privacy

The advent of technology has a lot of advantages. With Yahoo Messenger, Skype and other internet chat/ conferencing services, we can now talk to relatives and friends around the world at no cost at all, or very minimal if any (that's if you have to go to the internet shop and pay per hour). It allows us to rant or praise through blogs, reconnect with friends and make new ones through networking sites, and practice our writing, photo editing, singing, dancing instrument playing talents. Mobile phones are becoming cheaper and more high tech, you can now have a mobile phone, a camera, a videocam, an organizer and an mp3 player all rolled into one teeny tiny phone (and that's just the basics). Technology allows for better documentation of our daily affairs, reunions, vacations, projects, etc. Unfortunately, people have gotten overboard with these new found powers. They air their dirty laundry for everyone to see, mess with videos and pictures to destroy people. Some are premeditated acts, and some just fell victim to ignorance. Sad but true, even nurses have had issues with misuse of technology.

The first sensationalized case in the Philippines involving nurses was the canister videotape scandal where members of the medical team deliberately videotaped (using a cellphone) a procedure on patient who came to the ER with a very humiliating situation. That video found its way to the world wide web. It was very malicious and there's no way it could be argued that it was (the videotaping and the posting) an honest mistake. They thought it was funny, and even funnier if the patient suddenly finds his face plastered on the internet. These were people, who took an oath, to respect the dignity of any patient, regardless of color, race, political, religious or personal beliefs, etc. Shame!

Then this year, the technology bust came through again, this time in the form of the right-of-passage summer ritual among boys - circumcision. It's nothing new, every summer, there's medical missions offering free circumcisions to young boys. It's tradition. What was new was this year, pictures from these activities flooded the internet. Worse, it showed young boys, faces, penises, and all. No effort was done to protect their privacy. Worst of all, members of the medical team were seen smiling and posing over patient's agonized faces, or their private parts being cut (and that oh-so-annoying finger sign!) I doubt one will argue the "free" gave them the right to do whatever they please. It wasn't that at all. It was ignorance, and maybe complacency. After all, it was a good deed, a medical mission. Surely, anyone would be excited to share in someone's being hero for the day....right? Pictures started being shared and perused by friends, friends' friends, and so on and so forth. Pictures were re-tweeted, side shows became available on youtube. And then someone cried FOUL!

All of a sudden, Filipino nurses and doctors are being called pedophiles, exhibitionists etc. We've been branded! There's even a facebook page about it. You should see what's being said about us over there. It's unfair to be branded and generalized, it's true. But what's even unfair, is that the patients' rights to privacy and confidentiality were again violated, our oath to protect was disregarded. Seems to me like that oath isn't worth squat.

We can blame technology but I think that technology has helped us (in a twisted sense) realize that in every action that we do, we always need to look at it 360 degrees. Specially if it involves patient care. The patient always come first. Boohoo, You can't post pictures of the excitement, or need to take time blurring patients' faces. But remember, you took an oath. Better serve up.

Who Dunnit?

A lot of people are blaming the police for their decisions/ actions on the tragic Luneta Grandstand hostage taking. A lot of people find the efforts of the police to break the windows (unsuccessfully) with a sledgehammer, or to pry open the bus' doors with a rope tied to another vehicle funny. I felt sad. I felt sad because it reflected on the kind of training and machinery that our police have to contend with in trying to fulfill their sworn duty to protect us. Substandard training, substandard compensation, being the laughing stock, not only of this nation but of the whole world. You say the PNP gives you shame. I say shame on you! Because while you were watching the live coverage on TV, pointing your finger while you were laughing out loud, those men in uniform were risking their lives to save another's.

A post-script of one of the hostages circulated through the internet just a day after the incident. There was no need to read between the lines but it was obvious he was siding on Mendoza. Granted that Mendoza had a legitimate demand, to me, the end still does not justify the means. When he picked up his gun and his knife and decided that he will make a hostage of some tourists in a bus, he has already decided their fate. No matter if he did not intend to hurt anybody, he put himself, his hostages, the police, the media and the stupid bystanders in a situation he knew could turn bad in a split second. I sympathize with his cause, I really do. We live in a country that has yet to rise above the sick and twisted governance of the past. But there is no way that what he did can be justified.

Still others have opined that it would have been easier to just reinstate him, take the hostages and then charge him for the new crime. Yes, so easy. But who's to say that things will work out as planned? And what kind of message are we sending out then? "We won't hear your grievances unless you take hostage a bus full of tourists. Then you'll get what you want, and right away too! Afterwards, you'll get a slap on the wrist for the stress that you caused all of us". How funny that we think we can coach a team just because we've seen a few games.

And how about the media? They have washed their hands of any fault to the kind of ending the hostage crisis had. Blaming the police (again) for not telling them what they're not allowed to show. Excuse me? You know, this has been a problem of the media for a long time, not thinking abut the consequences of their actions. It's a cut-throat world and whoever comes out with the goriest details, wins. Sad, but true. Who cares if its unethical, or feelings get hurt, or, gosh, people die. I still got to report it first. Whoopie! A blow-by-blow account works for some situations, like the election, for example. But giving information to the enemy on how the police are planning to take him out? C'mon! You shouldn't wait for anybody to tell you to use your common sense.

As for the others who think and preach that the Philippines is unsafe and Filipinos are stupid? Go to hell! If you have never had any incidence of violence in your country then I'll let you trash mine. But we all know that's not gonna happen.

Still, I feel that this situation can be a springboard for the kind of nation that P-NOY has promised, and what we have long fought for. Give the police better training, better equipments, the media can learn to police themselves, the justice system can get a do-over...and shoot those who cry shame for every single thing! We have got a long way to go before we can haul the country from the muddy dump that we're in. And even then, we'll still be faced with other sets of problems. Let's stop with the shame game and start owning up to our Filipino pride. You wear the color, the shirt and all the other material symbols but really, what matters is the symbol that we wear in our hearts. You say you love the Philippines, then show it! You can't ask for others to do it until you have done it yourself.

Go ahead Pinoy, start the change.

Restless Leg Syndrome

(Repost from my Multiply site)

There I was, ready to take a slumber, when out of nowhere came this overwhelming feeling to move my legs. And the more I tried to relax, I even tried to use imagery, the more uncomfortable it got. I started moving my legs back and forth. But the gentle moving could not do any good. As the desire to move became intolerable, I decided to just get up and let it take over my sleepiness.

I don't remember when I first felt these creepy, crawly , uncomfortable and very unfamiliar feelings on my legs, usually when I'm trying to fall asleep. I know that it had, on several occasions, drove me to tears because of frustration. In 2003, I finally learned that other people also suffer from the same symptoms, and that it a legitimate clinical diagnosis - Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS.

To date, there aren't any definitive knowledge as to what causes RLS, however researches have shown that it actually runs in families. That's probably why I have always been told that I am like my maternal grandmother who likes to wiggle her legs when she's trying to sleep. RLS have also been found to be associated with anemia, especially iron deficiency anemia, which I have. Maybe I need to get my bloodwork done again and see if my iron level is low. Thyroid disorders are also found to be associated with RLS....another tickmark on my checklist. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), dialysis and pregnancy can also initiate or worsen the symptoms.....at least I don't have to worry about those....

RLS usually start to manifest when a person has to lay still or a period of inactivity, like when trying to sleep, during sleep, or during long travels/ flights, among others.

There are two approved medications for RLS so far (Mirapex and Requip) and both are actually for treatment of Parkinson's disease which makes sense because they are both (RLS and Parkinson's) classified as a "movement disorders", aside from also being both neurologic in nature. Other medications that have worked for treating the symptoms of RLS are sedatives and pain relievers.... literally force you to sleep. Per my experience, the best way to beat RLS is to MOVE!

So here I am, awake at 3:59 and writing about RLS (and wiggling my legs vigorously), in case other people who suffer the same symptoms don't know yet that it is a condition worthy of a medical diagnosis and not just a figment of imagination.