I WILL SPEAK IN A CONFERENCE: The 1st Philippine Graduate Research in Education

I am inviting everyone to witness me speak about my research on Tourette Syndrome entitled “Group Dynamics as Intervention for Filipinos diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome” at the Benitez Hall, College of Education, UP Diliman on March 7, 2009. The conference will start at exactly 7:45 am. Slots are for first come, first serve basis. Register now.

REGISTRATION DETAILS:
Registration fee is affordable (at PHP 500, inclusive of snacks, conference kit, and certificate!) And, if you register on or before February 21, 2009 , you don’t have to worry about lunch. You get it free! Registration is strictly first come, first served, until all seats are taken. Only paid registrations are counted. And all payments are non-refundable, but transferable with 25% surcharge to cover administrative costs. We have only 240 seats available, and we won’t overfill the venue. If you want to make sure you get a seat, you may register through BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands) or see us in class, until March 6, the day before the conference. On-site registration is on March 7, 7:45-8:15 AM.

REGISTER THROUGH BPI
Here’s how to register through the bank:
1. Go to any Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branch.
2. Fill out a deposit slip to:
ACCOUNT NAME: Philippine Graduate Research Conference in Education
CURRENT ACCOUNT NUMBER 1991-0083-023.
3. Deposit your payment of PhP500 and claim your deposit slip. Bring it on the day of the conference as proof of payment.
4. Text, fax, or email us the details in the application details right here to reserve your slot.
Our Telephone numbers: PLDT (telefax)— 02-927-9860Globe Cellphone — 0927-628-7148 Our email address:philresearch.conference@gmail.com
5. We will call, text, or e-mail you back to acknowledge your application.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE PHILIPPINE GRADUATE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

Thanks Dr. Ruff!

Just when I needed to open my inbox for some files that I needed to have for work, I was so elated to receive two emails from my previous advisers in my thesis during my masters. They are both American neuropsychologists and professors in psychiatry. I’m so happy that they consider me as a friend now, been exchanging emails for quite a while. One email came from the Stanford University and the other from Louisiana State University. I’m glad that they have been so positive in the original scale that I made especially for people diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. I was even touched with their messages. In fact,  one of them said

        Congratulations on your academic success, and best wishes for your growing and important service venue. If only the world had more people like you…  May you have health and joy in this New Year.

Heartfelt, indeed!

Yet again, I would like to share the message of one of my friends, Dr. Ronald Ruff since this message is for all the people in the Philippines who are diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome especially the members in my organization. Here it goes:

         Dear Members of the Tourette Syndrome Organization,

From San Francisco, I send all of you my very best wishes for the coming year. As Einstein said: “The only life worth living is a life lived in service to others.” Your organization gives you the opportunity to contribute to each other, while also receiving the support from those that have walked in your shoes. Remember the strongest character emerge when an individual diligently copes with hardships.

I am proud of your organization.

Respectfully yours,
Ronald Ruff
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
University of California San Francisco

Thoughts on the Side

I’m sorry for not having been able to update SDNL for so many months— I’ve been busy sleeping, watching movies, playing games and chatting. *wink* On a serious note though, of course, work has been the major  activity in my life aside from taking care of the kids and domestic responsibilities.  I’ve planned to update this early last year just to give you updates on certain things except that from the moment I should be updating was the incident I had on the “F” word. I was even told to just focus on more important things and not on blogs and websites. LOL!  Again, I don’t really have to explain anything to people who don’t know how blog works or perhaps who don’t necessarily respect the inviolability of this private domain. That was history! When crabs strike, you can never really do anything except to move on and smile despite your veins dilating in dismay, your body roasting in irritation and your head infuriately heats up.  I am, on the other side, glad to have good friends beside me who somehow empathizes with the kind of antagonisms back then.  I guess you can never question when I say that I earn $ every time I do blogs. I might be oppressed by some people because of their insecurities however when I go home I’m just a plain mom giving life to three kids.  

Nevertheless, entering year 2009 makes me more thankful for all of you who have been keeping an eye on “Strolling Down Nursing Lane”. All of you who have been complimenting me on this site, all people whom I inspire. Thank you! Thank you! You guys also inspire me to always be genuine on my writings. Last year was definitely a tough but sweet one for me. It was a huge learning experience. There were many things that have happened, things that put me on the line of maturity not only on what can be seen by the naked eye but also the most important essence of being alive— my soul! I became stronger because of heartaches, I became stronger because of kind and true people around me, I became stronger because of oppression, I became stronger because of people who believe in me—I generally became stronger because of a collection of both positive and negative things in my life. Everything is truly memorable and important to me.  Until then—I am still dreaming!

The "F" Word

I can’t believe that even in my most private moments in front of the computer, my thoughts and actions would be coerced to put its limits to mentioning anything about the “F” word. That is fairly fine though except that the manner on how it should be isn’t at all. I don’t want to constrain myself to elaborating every aspect of it because that may mean something I’m not totally in favor of. I’m just thankful that I am involved in the “F” word. However, being human puts me to feel that there are really some people out there who will really try to put you down behind your back, people who are like ticks waiting to bite you without you even knowing and cause severe illness. Remember my entry about “hemorrhoids”? Those ‘pain in the ass’ negativities? Well, this is, once again, a perfect quintessence of it. And one more! Remember “crab sucks”? Well another archetype of that kind— I really hate crabies! I know a lot of you have experienced that kind of oppression. Or perhaps you may be the tormenter yourself. Oh please! Don’t ever be like that….not in thoughts, not in words and never in actions. We are registered nurses of the Philippines—one of the very best! These ticks, these hemorrhoids, and these crabies will just ruin the best of our image. If you are like that while still being here in your homeland, what more when you are in a foreign land earning a huge amount of money—- then you can be the worst person you could ever be. Money is not everything. A big house is not everything. A great career is not everything. Your attitude, your character, your very essence are the crux of all that matters here in the world. What you give is what you will receive….that’s what I learned from the law of attraction. If you will always pull other people down then you will be pulled down yourself. That’s how the universe works— it’s the law! But since I also believe in celtic tradition— then this will come back to you three fold! Man! If only people can be so giving then this world will really be a better place. At least I learned— did you?

A Weekend Revel

I think I’ve told you about the tons of paper works that we had to finish back then. This weekend, I whoop it up a little bit. My nursing collegue spend the night with me at my house and the next morning my other collegue came by. We did nothing except to spend the whole Saturday like a bunch of couch potatoes wanting to be more slothful through out the day not thinking about the surplus of blubber in our bodies. Until about 4 in the afternoon I offered a moment of musicality— plugged in the “magic mic” and the next thing we knew, we were already buying booze to go with it. Man! They sure sang very well! And it was nice to have a little bit of RNR once in a while not thinking about anything else except to finish the bottle (hehehe).

I’m still hoping I could finish ‘The O.C. and One Tree Hill”. I didn’t get to have the last few seasons of it. I’m unable to watch it on TV because of work. Nevertheless, I would really want to include that in my snip of time whenever. 

For the meantime…I’m looking for more burger shops and cooking dashes at the office on a Monday morning.

Red Cross Mania

The last week of my supposed to be RNR before going to work was utilized by attending trainings on Basic Life Support and First Aid at the Philippine National Red Cross Quezon City Chapter. I realized that my first BLS and FA were taken roughly two years ago so an update was much needed. Good thing that when I called to Red Cross they were offering the training every week so it was really the best time since I also needed the certificates for it. At first I really didn’t know how far the PhP1,600 would go as far as the program was concerned. But when we started the whole thing, it was really pretty good. The speakers were good and communicating very well with us, the participants. They were very accommodating and considerate. And honestly, they were better instructors than the clinical instructors in the hospital. The sequence of the demonstrations was very clear. Some of our instructors were RNs, some were not but all of them were EMS. Some of them even told us that they witnessed doctors who couldn’t do CPR properly. Anyway, the BLS was worth it…but the First Aid training was the best! The final practicum was a simulation of a disaster event where the whole participants were grouped into small units of the whole emergency assistance. There were the first aiders, supply team, documentation team, rescuers, transport team, bystanders, victims, security team, and the lead person—the incident officer. The victims were scattered everywhere the Red Cross parking lot and some of them were placed at different rooms of the building. Everything seemed real especially the costumes and make-up. Man, it was really really fun!

So guys, I recommend for you to update your BLS and FA with the Red Cross QC Chapter. Classes are held every week. BLS + FA is 1,600 inclusive of all certificates and IDs (6 days) , BLS only is 600 inclusive of all certificates and IDs (2 days only). Payment is done at the Red Cross QC office, Kalayaan St. beside QC Hall. Trainings are held at Red Cross Training Center, C.P. Garcia Ave. UP Diliman Q.C.

Dog Beggars!

 The last day of my weekdays was devoted entirely to fixing all necessary documents for employment. It was an extremely hot day and I could feel my veins pulsating vigorously when I walked through hot pavements of the metro. Fortunately the migraine fairy didn’t visit me all through out the travel. I first went to my college alma mater— the University of Santo Tomas, where I got my BS Nursing. The old buildings inside the campus really amaze me. I always look up the big “arcos” when I enter the university. And the big clock at the middle of the main building with palm trees at the top always catches my sight. I went to registrar to have some academic records authenticated then I went to PRC. What I like about PRC is that it’s like a “one-stop-shop”.  So I get to accomplish everything by lunch time. Thanks to NSO booth at the corner for the much awaited certificate of birth. By the time I went out, my throat started to dry up signaling the demand for H2O. But I gave my body a little more than what it needed, so I bought a bottle of Gatorade to still maintain the FEB (fluid and electrolyte balance—ha!) What made my day was the noticeable “dog beggars” at the corner of Morayta. It was one hell of a scene!

TO YOU TIN: "BEING BRAVE"

Hi tin! i’ve been greatly overwhelmed by responses from my readers. And you’re one of them tin, who by the way recognized my drive to live a life as a fulfilled registered nurse of the philippines. So, i thank you for that. Anyway, i graduated my bachelors degree in nursing way back in 1999. After graduation, I took time out from nursing to rest a little bit and get a hang on life in general. Until i went abroad for some more RNR. I didn’t realize that i have to look for a job and start my career as a registered nurse. Years passed and i’ve counted to 7 years until my first post- graduation nursing experience. I was so afraid at that time but my enthusiasm to learn everything gave me the bullet i need to go on with the fight. Talking about “braveness”, i think when you’re a first- timer in the hospital, nervousness and a little bit of that “katangahan” are all but natural. But once you get the hang of it there’s no more excuse for any mistake. I can say that i shared a few mishaps myself during duty hours and you will just look back laughing at yourself afterwards. But you know what, I thing i never dropped from my career is my passion for continuing education. I can say that my career accelerated during the time that I started my masters degree with UP and finished it just in time for UP’s centennial year. So i’m really very honored to have been a centennial graduate of the university. From there, my confidence just went up, i gained more ideas on how to love my career as a registered nurse, on how to maximize my time personally and professionally. I can’t say i’m great becaue there are a lot of people out there who are greater than me. But i love myself for being me and i love the fact that i’m becoming more contented on the things that i achieved and been wanting to achieve in my life. So i think  being brave is wanting to have your dreams materialize for the people you love.

Nurses Can Cook! : A Cook Book Project for Nurses

Yey! Finally i’ve come up with the first project of “Strolling Down Nursing Lane” for nurses all over the world. I’ve given it a whole lotta thought and i decided to give justice to all nurses who got that knack for what esle but COOKING!!! You know how our life as nurses goes, most of the time we can’t even have that snip of time to eat properly during working hours even if we are entitled for a 30-minute break. But because a lot of us love cooking either as a hobby or maybe some form of therapy for long hours of duty in the hospital now is the time for you to share your recipes. I just love cooking especially when i get complete ingredients for a dish and i love to experiment and make different kinds of dishes. This project will be made available to all nurses who love to cook. Share your own original recipes to the whole world. Now this is how it goes:

1. Email me  (mrb.victorino@rxpinoy.com) these information: full name, nickname, a little bit of your personal background, how did your interest in cooking start?, a whacky picture of yourself and send me your original recipe with this format—> name of the recipe, ingredients, how to cook, and a picture of the recipe

2. There should only be at least 2 original recipes per person

3. Your recipe should be unique and original

4. tell me why i should include your recipe in this book project

5. your recipe can be a main course, an appetizer or a dessert

6. This project is limited to 50 people only so hurry! Send your recipes now! If this project may be so overwhelming, we can make a second book to accomodate more interested people so don’t worry.

As soon as the entries for this book project is complete, we will make a book out of it and voila! you’ll be an instant star and contributor to the book entitled “Nurses Can Cook!”

So what are you waiting for? Send me your recipes now!!!

JUNE 7TH FORUM

 Yes! Im very glad that the June 7 exposure about Tourette Syndrome was very successful. I gained new friends again, people who have the disability, their family and friends. It was all worth it! Of course, i should give credit to my officers and of course, the consultant for medicine at St. Lukes since he coordinated with the admin to let us have a place for the forum. I am now looking forward to our third exposure!

Finally, an Experience With Nursing

It’s already been almost two years since my last nursing practise. Finally, work has come my way. You might be wondering what i did for the past two years without a nursing practise. Well, i started my tourette syndrome organization which is not very easy. i finished my masters degree, which is not easy either and took care of three rambunctious kids which i will be doing for the rest of my life hehehe. But fortuntely, yes, i chose to gain mastery in the field of dialysis which is more interesting than gaining experience in the ward. i prefer a more focused area of specialty such as this. so i’m really excited to give this a go.

We’re on our Second Exposure for the Campus Tour Series of PTSA

The first forum was done pretty well and i say that it was a small group but very interested participants for the whole Tourette Syndrome thing. Now that we’re on our second forum, i hope that this will go on and on. Our second forum is going to be at

MOVEMENT DISORDER CENTER 4TH FLR, ANNEX III, ST. LUKES MEDICAL CENTER, JUNE 7, SATURDAY, 9- 11:30 AM

We will hold presentations about the organization, about Tourette Syndrome as a disorder, and workshops. Eventhough we have very limited resources, i hope that we can pull this off the second time. By the way, if you are interested to come, the forum holds a registration fee of only 150 pesos. Certificates will only be given to those who will request for it. Snacks will be offered. Please register your full name to 0915.4424340.

Thoughts about the IWitness Documentary on Tourette Syndrome

Aside from being a couch potato from time to time is my work with the Philippine Tourette Syndrome Association. The documentary was finished and as far as the staff of IWitness for Sandra Aguinaldo is concerned, they’ve got good rating about the whole story. And as far as the organization is concerned, being a newly founded organization, iWitness was a very very good exposure for all of us. After that episode my mobile phone never stopped ringing. Calls just went here and there. And i was so happy to also get good feedback from these people, that they wanted more out of it. And so because of that, my work to make Tourette Syndrome known in the Philippines went on double time! I met a lot of people especially individuals who were diagnosed with the disorder, their family and friends. I felt very glad that people are starting to educate themselves about TS. I really hope that more and more people will start joining the organization because this is really for an excellent cause. Since my partner and I started the organization, we’ve been shelling out our own money to get this running. We are actually in need of financial donations for some projects to materialize. We’re not loosing hope..we will never lose hope. We aspire for great things to happen.

WATCH THE IWITNESS DOCUMENTARY ON TOURETTE SYNDROME HERE

VIEW PICTURES OF THE IWITNESS SHOOTING HERE

Bad Blogger

 I must say that i have been a very bad blogger since i’ve forgotten to update this blog for nearly two months. I just enjoyed my time being a couch potato after finishing the enormous task of doing a thesis for a masters degree. And yes, i’ve already graduated. Thank you for those who have congratulated me. I actually saw and experienced ”toxicity” on a different level while finishing the paper. It was indeed so laborius that, yes, i’ve experienced a little bit of tachychardia and believe me that even if you’re deprived of sleep, your LOC should be maintained at a highest level. Otherwise, you wouldn’t get as good writing as you wanted to. But as nurses, we are trained to multi-task so finishing the paper is another thing in history.

Watch us on I-Witness, May 5

I have recently been busy coordinating with I-Witness regarding their documentary episode on Tourette Syndrome. Being the co-founder of the only TS organization in the Philippines, they chose us to appear on this documentary. This has been a major endeavor again for the organization since we are actively advocating for TS in the Philippines. Please support us so that the awareness on TS will be heightened and more people will be able to understand what Tourette Syndrome is all about including the struggles that people with TS experience hence we will be more compassionate for these people.

PLEASE WATCH OUT FOR US ON MAY 5. CHANNEL 7, IWITNESS AFTER SAKI: DOCUMENTARY EPISODE ON TOURETTE SYNDROME 

Neurofeedback Therapy and Tourete Syndrome

Understanding Brainwaves: The origin of all our emotions, thoughts and behaviors are the complex networks of communication among billions of neurons in our brains. The communication brought up by the patterns produced by these neurons, manifested by rhythm or pulse, is measured by what we call BRAINWAVES. Brainwaves are tiny pulses of electricity produced whenever one neuron communicates with the other. It actually results from what you are doing from moment to moment. The slowest brain waves are the delta waves, we experience this during sleep. Beta3, on the hand, is for our highest levels of concentration. Neurofeedback’s goal is to teach you to recognize and use your calm (SMR) waves and your thinker (BETA) waves. By using the computer monitor to watch your brain wave activity you can train yourself to stay out of the Theta and Alpha levels. This means that a single defect in the patterns of communication within the brain causes problems considerably. This happens when, say for example, you feel very anxious and you feel that their are reactions which occurs in your body such as stomach ache, nausea, headache and others, your brain has elicit within itself a pattern resulting in these symptoms. And these patterns can result from very diverse possible stressors. In an individual with Tourette syndrome, it has been reiterated in the other articles on this site that the brain electrical activity is defective; Dr. Mink even described it to be somewhat “buggy”.

BAND HERTZ MS
Delta 0.0-4.0 1000
Theta 4.0-8.0 1000
Alpha 8.0-13.0 500
SMR 13.0-15.0 500
Beta 15.0-18.0 250
Beta2 18.0-24.0 125
Beta3 24.0-32.0 125

[READ MORE]

My Organization is Starting to be Recognized

I am very excited to recieve an email from my colleague saying that the Philippine Tourette Syndrome Association, the organization I co-founded last year, has been included in the Tourette Syndrome Association of USA’s international contacts. This is an excellent way for us to be exposed to people all over the world. And it’s really great to know that even if we’ve been only here for a year, international organizations and people all over the world have already noticed the work that I’m putting in this organization thus contacting us through Marlon, the other co- founder, to have us be a part of their list of contacts internationally. Hmmmm, I guess my interest is slowly paying off.

The Philippine Tourette Syndrome Association has no official website yet but you can visit the organization thru my advocacy website for TS in the Philippines. Just go to the Neurology Department of the Nursing Lane’s Department on the right side.  

Your Diet and Tourette Syndrome

Many of us have been wondering what could possibly be the correct diet regimen for people who have Tourette Syndrome. For people who are very meticulous with what they eat, they also sometimes wonder whether certain ingredients affect the production of tics in individuals with Tourette Syndrome. Unfortunately, this is where all the complications come in.

It is universally accepted that if we eat healthy then good health will follow.
Same concept lies in consuming foods containing too much fat which can lead to high levels of cholesterol in the body which can eventually lead to heart disease. But then again the question still remains whether there are some foods that lead to the symptoms present in an individual with Tourette Syndrome.

One needs to understand that the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome wax and wane during the course of the illness. This means that there are times when the symptoms are less and there are also times when the symptoms are at their peak. In connecting these to the diet of the person, you will really come to terms when you might be questioning your own nutrition that may lead to the changes in symptoms. Another thing is whether there are certain cyclical events that can also lead to having the symptoms of the disorder. One example is a woman’s menstrual cycle. According to Dr. Gerald Erenberg, the medical advisory board of the Tourette Syndrome Clinic at Cleveland, there are actually two theories that explains the relation of nutrition with the symptoms of Tourette syndrome.

[ READ MORE ] 

A Letter from the Heavens by the Heavens

Wow, I’m amazed by how one entry could reach a person from a distance. The article about Dr. Soria (my former professor in the masters program) has been posted long ago and I was surprised that his niece has commented on the article about him. I decided to just reply here since I visit this site more often than my emails. So Romalyn, please read on…

Dear Romalyn,

I was surprised to receive a comment from you about the former Dr. Soria. I knew him at a professional standpoint. He became my professor in 2000 when I started my master’s degree in UP. My encounters with him grew frequent when he became my instructor in two of my subjects, one was in educational research while the other one was in educational foundations. He was undoubtedly an excellent teacher. He knew the ins and outs of the educational system, making him an excellent contributor to education. Graduate students all over the university always invite him if not to be a critic/ reader, a member of the panel in many thesis and dissertations. His academic excellence not only made him a perfectionist but also a strict and firm kind of professor. That qualities were a plus for most of the students but for some that could have brought some initial negative impressions. He wanted all things in perfection as much as possible. For example, I had a classmate before whom he humiliated in front of the whole class because she couldn’t not report very well. Dr. Soria wanted an extemporaneous, free flowing reports rather  than just reading what you have prepared on your visual aids. Another example was when he threw out a student from the room because of being so late in class. He could shout at you in front of everybody when performance seemed poor. All these things just proved how he wanted every student he teaches to be an excellent student in the University of the Philippines. That was how Dr. Soria mold us to be the best among the rest. That was actually a typical culture in UP but some people could not take the pressure. Dr. Soria was a representation of how UP professors could be the perfect teachers in their own respective fields. You should be proud of your uncle, he was just great. I carry in me everything I learned from him. He was the first professor I came to encounter when I entered my masters program and he was also the last person I came to see after I have finished my program. I couldn’t forget the last words he said…

"Mag- enroll ka na ng Ph.D. mo habang nandito pa ako!"

Little did I know, hindi ko na siya naabutan…

The Day When the Neurons Celebrate

It was holy Wednesday (March 19, 2008) when I had my final defense for my thesis in Masters, a time when most of the people are having their time out to experience a summer getaway or perhaps a retreat in some of the most amazing places in the Philippines. And again, as for me, I had my defense at 7 in the morning. I only had two hours of sleep prior to that because of the presentation that I had to do in powerpoint. Irregardless of the fact that I had an evening class before the defense as well, which I also had to prepare a research report that I presented the night before  All the things that I had to prepare actually came in all at the same time that were all due the day before my defense. So my neurons were unbelievably shaken by all these papers.

During my defense I had to really compose myself and focus because it was really hard to let your neurotransmitters work properly in the time when oxygenation in your brain was deprived because of lack of sleep. But then again, my research really bloomed out from extreme passion of the clientele I chose to work with. So I think I did pretty well in conveying everything to my panel not to mention that I had to fit a whole thesis book into a 30 minute presentation to give time for questioning and deliberation. I got a couple of compliments all throughout the presentation and they liked it, they actually said that I presented the thesis very well. And for a presentor, that was all I needed to hear.

Aside from that, of course, I had to prepare a delicious breakfast treat for everybody. I actually had a team to back me up on that which composed of my father, sister, brother and sister in law who did all the cooking. My God! If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have any idea what to actually do. The Japche (Korean noodles) left a mark on my panel and guests. Not to also mention the crab meat and cheese sticks, the blue berry- sans rival cake and a tuna sandwhich prepared in whole wheat bread. Y-U-M-M-Y!!! They all liked it as in LOVED IT!!!

I wanted to cry that day for a very successful presentation, a very bountiful and delicious breakfast treat and a very supporting and loving family. What more could I ask for? All these were enough for me to treasure a year full of blessings and a very rich history to look back once I move forward in this another year ahead of me…definitely a sufficient birthday present.