#nursingreflections

12/17/2025

Scrolling through my old photos during my break this afternoon, I had one of those... wait, is that really me? moments. Looking at the blurry selfies in my old, wrinkled scrubs, it hit me... ang layo na pala ng narating ko. It feels like a lifetime ago since those early nursing years.

Back when I started as a Med-Surgical nurse, it wasn't just a job... it was a daily Olympic sport. Imagine me balancing more than 10 patients’ charts like a deck of cards while sprinting down the hallway. Mag-isa ka lang na magpe-prepare ng mountain of oral meds, while trying to remember if Bed 5 liked their pills hidden in applesauce or if they were the one by one type. Sabay-sabay yan... checking IV drips, carrying out doctor’s orders and following up on lab results.

And let’s not forget the extra challenge... handling the significant others. Bless their hearts pero sa Med-Surg ward, lahat ng kamag-anak instant Google-certified doctor! I’d be trying to finish my rounds, tapos may haharang sa’yo para itanong kung bakit nag-change ang heart rate from 82 to 83. Then there’s the ultimate test of patience... The Impossible IV Insertion. Grabe ang kaba kapag hard reach ang veins tapos nakatitig sa'yo ang buong pamilya ng pasyente. You’re sweating under your mask, praying for a flashback. Getting that line in on the first try felt better than winning the lottery! Ang nakakatawa pa, kung kailan ka uupo para magchart, doon pa may magca-call light dahil lang gusto magpa-lipat ng channel sa TV. Doon ko natutunan na ang pantog ng nurse parang camel... walang ihi-ihi hangga't 'di tapos ang shift!

Then, I leveled up to the ICU, where the pace changed from a sprint to a high-stakes chess match. It was just me and 4 beds for 12 hours but those 4 beds felt like the cockpit of a spaceship. Every single hour bantay-sarado ang vitals, titrating drips and updating doctors who were sometimes more caffeinated than I was. Here, the challenge was the intensity and the high stakes. And don’t get me started on some moody doctors. Not all pero may mga iilan talaga na kapag tinawagan mo about a crashing patient in the middle of the night parang kasalanan mo pa na naistorbo mo ang beauty sleep nila. I learned to handle those big egos with data, clinical evidence and a lot of deep breaths.

Transitioning into Occupational Health in a Corporate setting was like entering an alternate dimension. Biglang ang kalaban ko na, hindi cardiac arrest, kundi Paperwork Mountains. Swapped my stethoscope for a keyboard, drowning in annual reports for DOLE and tracking every sneeze on the floor. Ang pinaka-challenging dito? Managing the high-stress energy of the floor. Sa BPO, dahil sa pressure ng metrics, minsan ang mga employees ay nagiging "main character" ang level ng stress... yung tipong konting ubo o headache lang, feeling nila end of the world na. I had to be their voice of reason and gently remind them... Bes, breathe lang tayo, galing ako sa ICU... promise, we can handle this headache. There’s something funny about being an ICU-trained nurse tapos kailangan mo mag-explain sa isang executive kung bakit hindi dapat ginagamit ang staple remover panglinis ng kuko.

Now, as a Medical In-Charge in the Industrial Sector, ako na ang Health Sheriff. I spend my days implementing health prevention talks, convincing tired workers na kasing-halaga ng makina ang hydration at tamang stretching. Looking at my photos today, I realize I've traded the hospital beeps for factory hums but the mission is the same. From life-or-death scenarios to serious consultations about why someone's knee hurts (spoiler: kasi 8 hours kang nakatayo sa semento, kuya!). I handle everything with that same Med-Surg grit and ICU focus.