Wow! The first week in the Philippines is now complete! After long days of travel and orientation, Jake, Mia, and I, or as we call ourselves, JAM, arrived at our apartment in Santo Tomas, Batangas. On Monday, we met our preceptor, Sir Jeff. He is the head trainer nurse who will be by our side throughout these two months at St. Francis Cabrini Medical Center. This week, we stayed at Station 1 which is the equivalent of a general floor. We met so many nurses and doctors who were all very welcoming to us. It is not an understatement at all when people say Filipinos are very hospitable people. Almost every day after work, our coworkers took us around Batangas to try new things and explore new places. At the hospital, Sir Jeff has been teaching us old and new skills and I already feel like I am a more confident student nurse in the skills I am able to perform. We’ve learned medications, found and listened to fetal heartbeats, given medications to patients, drained all sorts of bodily fluids, observed IV insertions, and learned how to use their IV infusion pumps. Off to next week where we will start our ER rotation!
