My ECG Certificate from CCNAPI

After three days of toilsome ECG reading, at last, I've finally earned my certificate. I'm not a pro (yet). I need hundreds - better yet - thousands of practice. Dad and Mom always wonder how my certificate looks like. So, for the benefit of the doubt, I'm now displaying a piece of paper to thousands of people with my not-so-bewitching name on it. Three days of agony is worth the wait. Plus, you get the best deal of what you have paid for - no early dismissal, no break extensions, six o'clock maximum dismissals, best instructors, finical and mind boggling exams and take home assignments, free flowing coffee, unlimited snacks (not meals), all the questions you think of asking they'll answer to the best of their abilities and, last but not the least, ambiance is conducive to learning (clean and organized air-conditioned room). Oh, I forgot to mention, hand outs are included too. There's no hassle on writing what the instructor is saying all the time. Everything is laid on the table, what you just need is to listen and comprehend.

Well that is my say. However, some of my colleagues say that lessons are fast paced. Logically speaking, workshops, like this, are (really) supposed to be swift. Reason behind it is that these seminars are only updates to what you have actually learned from four years of studying nursing. Primarily, it's distinguishing how good the student's foundation in medical-surgical nursing is. I have backlogs for this subject matter but I still read few topics days before the start of the seminar. Summing it all up, graduates who want to attend this seminar should be ready and know the basics of ECG reading. The (normal) P-Q-R-S-T-Us have been taught eagerly during college, maybe most of us were not listening that time. But you should know all the basics and the normals so you could have a pretty background of what is and what's not. Not everything is contingent to the instructor's lesson plan, understanding ECG also depends on how the student behaves before, during and after a lesson is taught.

I just hope and pray that I will be able to practice ECG reading on field (when I start working at the hospital). On August 24, I'll be attending another training on respiratory procedures. So soon...which means I'm back on reading thick books again.

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EKG Steps of Interpretation at CCNAPI

Today marks another significant tale of my life. I am already here in Manila to attend a three-day-training on electrocardiography reading and interpretation. I enrolled at CCNAPI’s (Critical Care Nurses Association of the Philippines, Inc.) main office which was located at the 8^th floor Medical Arts Building of Philippine Heart Center two weeks before the onset of the seminar. I did not count the participants on the master’s list but I am pretty sure that it’s going to be a huge class.

My day one started a while ago.

Following the road directions that I read on their site, I had no problems finding the place even if it’s my first time to go there. I left the house around 7.15 in the morning and arrived at the venue around 7.35. It is a positive thing that my house was just near the place. I surveyed the site and discovered that it is a pretty much convenient place. You’ll find good restaurants to eat at. Although they are all fast foods, I’m sure (if you’re in my place) you’ll find something interesting to eat - McDonald’s, Starbucks, Red Ribbon, Goldilocks and Mang Inasal. I just haven’t found if there are small restaurants who offer “lutong bahay.” (I’ll check that out tomorrow.)

We started around 8.30AM with a pre-test. It was so humiliating for me because I do not know most of the answers. I read a night before but only the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system. I did not realize that they will strike as with a hard pre-test…a very difficult one! But it’s a good karma; I can evaluate myself on how much I learned from my instructors at Fatima and how ready I am to face the ICU-ER-OR world.

It was a long talk - very bulky but it gets boring at times. Sometimes, I hardly ever understand the terms. But in all fairness to our speaker, Ma. Isabelita C. Rogado, she was very much patient to teach us in layman’s term. I wish I can be articulate just like her. How can she not be? She has three decades of experience – two decades of patient contact in critical care and more than a decade in teaching. She was one of the first nurses in the Philippine Heart Center and Lung Center of the Philippines. She has been the vice-president of St. Luke’s and so much more achievements that anybody could wish they would also achieve. Above all her achievements, she’s kind-hearted and very articulate (the quality that I admire most about her). Anyway, that long talk was very moving. I understood the basics, PQRSTs, rate and rhythm. But when the strips are laid on the table, I get blank all of a sudden. I do not know where to start anymore. That’s when I realize, it’s really not easy to say "ECG Easy Steps to Interpretation!" Some may get it fast, well, I say they have talent! Good for them. Some may be taking it slowly but surely. Well, that’s what I call practice. Practice is having determination. That’s the quality I need to have during and after this seminar. I must learn how to analyze and comprehend. I must be good at this. No what if's. No but's.

I’ll keep you posted again tomorrow. For now, I’ll be reading the book. Analyze some ECG strips. Answer the homework given. Oh yes, get some rest (at least).

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