Harry Emerson Fosdick has said that 'No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.' With these words I start this blogging journey, a 53 year old Mom with 7 kids ranging from 4 to 30 years of age and totally challenged by the cyberworld! More daunting, though, is the fact that I'm going back to school after 31 years of leaving the portals of the University of the Philippines when I should be having fun this 2nd half of my life span instead! I certainly am no 'Sea Biscuit' or another 'Niagara' but I see myself more of the little choo-choo train that persistently chugs along a steep hill with a load of toys and candies for the kids in the other side of the hill.I returned to school to become a Nurse Educator, hopefully to impact the lives of those who choose nursing as a career and a vocation.
Hailing from Tondo, a probable counterpart of Bronx in Manila, Philippines, I stand with my Mom in front of the house that my youngest sister once described as just lacking with one signature of a termite and it would have crumbled to the ground! Despite our poverty, I had a childhood enriched by laughter with my siblings, challenged by the Encyclopedia books and entertained by the Classics Illustrated invested in by my father and nurtured by a faithful mother who was widowed at 41 years of age and left with 7 children ranging from 2 years old to 18. My mother was the impetus behind my nursing education. She has ingrained in us that education is the great equalizer and it releases us from the yoke of poverty.
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| REWIND: 31 years ago; Looking forward with gratitude & hope |
With my nursing career spanning 30 years of PACU, medical, surgical, pediatrics and psych experiences, I look back to my Mom's words which have now come to pass. Having been in-charge of the Infection Prevention & Control/Employee Health Programs of Heritage Schools, a JCAH-accredited residential treatment facility for 12-18 year old adolescents for the last 10 years, I witness the crucial role of a nurse in impacting the minds and hearts of this vulnerable population. I believe that I am strategically positioned to raise both our staff and students' level of awareness about health and wellness- one of the ways I did this was when I conducted our annual health fair just last June. I carry out immunizations, conduct staff in-services, analyze for trends and clusters in our student and staff statistical data and carry out surveillance, preventive and control activities as part of our program. Being a school nurse enables me to cater to a well population and focus on preventive measures to foster health and wellness.
I believe that Nursing is both an art and a science- a formidable combination of service and evidence-based practice that has grown in leaps and bounds from the time that Florence Nightingale diligentlly tended the soldiers during the Crimean war. With nursing informatics at the helm of such evidence-based practice, I am blown away by the availability of knowledge at my fingertips. I sincerely hope that I can harness such power and channel it into improving my skills to become a committed educator and provident health care provider.
I guess that like the 'Little Engine that Could,' I will keep on chugging along!!!
