R.N. Guy

DRUG: Brand Name: Ectrin
Generic Name: Erdosteine

CLASS: Mucolytics

DOSAGE:
• Capsule: 1 cap 2-3 times daily.
• Suspension: Adults and Children >30 kg: 10 mL (2 tsp) twice daily.
Children 20-30 kg: 5 mL (1 tsp) 3 times a day; 15-19 kg: 5 mL (1 tsp) twice daily.
• Direction for Reconstitution: To make 60 mL suspension: Add 42 mL of water and shake well until all the powder are evenly suspended.
• To make 100 mL suspension: Add 70 mL of water and shake well until all the powder are evenly suspended.

INDICATIONS:
Treatment of acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis and its exacerbations. Respiratory disorders characterized by abnormal bronchial secretions and impaired mucus transport.

MECHANISM OF ACTION:
Erdosteine contains two sulfhydryl groups, which are freed after metabolic transformation in the liver. The liberated sulfhydryl groups break the disulphide bonds, which hold the glycoprotein fibres of mucus together. This makes the bronchial secretions more fluid and enhances elimination.

SIDE EFFECTS:
No gastrointestinal nor systemic side effects due to Ectrin have been observed.

CONTRAINDICATIONS:
Known hypersensitivity to erdosteine. Because of a possible interference of erdosteine metabolites with the methionine metabolism, erdosteine is contraindicated in patients suffering from hepatic cirrhosis and deficiency of the cystathionine-synthetase enzyme.
Suspension: Phenylketonuria, due to the presence of aspartame.

NURSING CONSIDERATIONS:
• This drug can be taken with or without food
• For the reason that of a probable intrusion of erdosteine metabolites with the methionine metabolism, erdosteine is no recommended in subjects experiencing hepatic cirrhosis and insufficiency of the cystathionine synthetase enzyme.
• Ectrin Suspension is also contraindicated for Phenylketonuria, because of existence of aspartame.

Sources:
http://www.mims.com/USA/drug/info/erdosteine/?type=full&mtype=generic#Actions
http://www.mims.com.ph/Philippines/drug/info/Ectrin/?type=full#Indications
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17216233

Cherry Mobile unveiled one of their latest smartphones which is the Cherry Mobile Titan. It is a 5-inch Phablet which is quite similar and a local version of Samsung Galaxy Note. Will MyPhone be left behind in this kind of technological craze? Well, MyPhone also has its bet and that is the MyPhone A919 Duo.

We've been seeing rumors and hearsay about this phablet and now it's showing up gradually.

Photo by: facebook.com/pinoyphones

The MyPhone A919 Duo is the biggest android smartphone of MyPhone and is built with the following features:


• Dual Sim / Dual Standby
• 5" IPS-WVGA Capacitive Touchscreen (480 x 854 pixels)
• 5-Point Multi-Touchscreen
• 16 Million Colors Display
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Downloading Thousands of Applications and Games
• 4GB ROM / 512MB RAM / 1GHz Dual Core Processor
• 2000mAh Lypolymer Battery
• Motion Sensor / Proximity Sensor / Accelerometer
• Triband GSM
• 3G / WiFi Hotspot / GPS
• HSDPA 7.2Mbps / TV-Out
• Dual Camera: 8MP Auto Focus Camera with Dual LED Flash (Main) /
VGA Camera (Front)
• 720p HD Video Recording
• Bluetooth 3.0
• JAVA / EDGE / WAP / GPRS / SMS / MMS
• MP3 / Multimedia Player / FM Radio
• Pinoy Phone Apps.
• 3.5mm Headset Jack / 2.0 Micro USB
• Micro SD up to 32GB

MyPhone A919 will start at PHP 7,999. What will be the best-seller local phablet in the market today? Will it be the Cherry Mobile Titan or the MyPhone A919? Let's find out. :)
For more details visit this website: https://www.facebook.com/PinoyPhones

Any board examination is not just a simple 15-minute quiz on a piece of paper. This kind of examination is like a summary of your stay in college. It's about showing what you got or what you've stock in the past four years. Well, most of us can't hold a piece of nursing knowledge for a span of four years. The tendency is we usually forget them if we are exposed to certain distractions. Do we really have enough stock knowledge? Or do these knowledge are already stuck!

Most nursing graduates prefer enrolling in a review center; but most review centers are expensive. Yet, enrolling in these review centers will provide you greater chances of passing the board exam because of the nursing resource materials(lectures, practice exams, reviewers) you paid for.

But how about those nursing graduates who prefer to do SELF-STUDY?

Well, self-studying is a great way of challenging and pushing yourself beyond the level of your comfort zone. It's a way of disciplining yourself by living in a much focused world.

It is difficult, energy-draining and exhausting. But once you've passed the exam. It is more rewarding than those people who enrolled in a review center.

A simple food for thought: What you reap is what you sow. If you worked hard for this, then you will bear a fruit with a supple taste of sweet success.

Before reading the following tips you must carry on these three words. CONSISTENCY. PATIENCE and PERSEVERANCE.

These 3 words will be your cornerstone in passing the board exam through self-review. Without these 3 keywords, it'll be hard for you to conquer the challenges that you will face.

Here are the tips on preparing for the Nurse Licensure Exam through Self-Review

Plan your own review schedule and stick with it!
The Nurse Licensure Exam is fixed on July or December of the year (before it was June and November). If you have plans of taking the board exam by July and you graduated by March, it means that you have almost 4 months for self-review. That's already enough for most of us.
Review at least 1 or 2 concepts per week.

For example:
Week 1 - Monday to Wednesday: Fundamentals of Nursing
Week 1 - Thursday to Saturday: Cardiovascular Nursing
Week 1 - Sunday: REST

Week 2 - Monday to Friday: Community Health Nursing
Week 2 - Saturday and Sunday: REST

You can review up to 8 hours a day with breaks and you must stick with it. Remember... CONSISTENCY!

Take note of this, most people who are in a review center provides tremendous amount of knowledge in a lengthy way. You will usually start at 8 in the morning and will have a 15-minute break at 10 AM and beyond that most of us are not listening already because our attention span is not that adequate. In some scenarios, there are lecturers who are fond of extending their time just to cover up the required topic for that day which is brain-draining and exhausting. That's a type of feature in which you can't control if you are in a review center.

As a self-reviewer, you can control your own time and pace. You will have time in digesting every detail that you study. But I'm warning you... This kind of freedom can be abused by and it may lead to poor results. This will lead to the next tip.

Fend off distractions
This must be the most difficult part of being a self-reviewer. Depending on your location, it's in your preference if you want to study in your room, living room, coffee shop or in a mall; it's up to you. But each place has its own distractions.

You want to study in your room, but it is equipped with your laptop, television with your PS3 installed, your iPod, your gadgets and whatsoever. This will distract you from studying and your focus will shift instantly if these things are constantly present to your study place.

The solution, make a pact for yourself and stick with it. Use your laptop and surf the net after you finished reviewing. Play your game console after you've reached your day's review goal. Sounds like a tip for elementary students but it's true! Sometimes, when we grow up, we just make things so complicated, why not go back and make things simple.

Use these gadget as a way of rewarding yourself after finishing a day of review.
Don't use these gadgets in the middle of your review or it will ruined your day's plan. Always remember... PATIENCE!

A better plan? Make your preferred place free from distractions. Try keeping these gadgets to your parents and tell them that you will not be using it for the next 4 months. It's a sacrificial way of going beyond your comfort zone. Always remember... What you reap is what you sow!

Or convert these gadgets to learning tools. Use your tablets for reading Nursing Ebooks and reviewers or sync podcast reviews to your MP3 player, that'll be helpful!

A real best place for review? Of course, your college's library. I have a friend, who is a self-reviewer too, and he always went to campus and locked himself up inside the library. This is a great place because it is quiet and you have everything you need from books, reviewers and test banks. Plus, your professors are there so you can ask for their help in discussing and clarifying concepts you can't understand.

Don't read each nursing book page per page!
This is the worst way of reviewing for a board exam. If you plan to read each book page per page then good luck, that four months is not enough for you. The best way is to do selective reading and I will discuss it to you on the next tip.



All you need is Selective Reading
This is an effective tip that I can give you, it may work for most of us but to tell you the truth, this is the only strategy which I used when I was self-studying for the board exam.

How Selective Reading works?

For example...  For today, you will study about Fundamentals of Nursing. All you have to do is to answer at least 100 nursing questions about Fundamentals of Nursing. Just answer it!

After answering 100 nursing questions. Know your score. If your score is 65 over 100. It means you have 35 wrong answers. All you have to do is to focus on your wrong answers. It is just an optional to read the rationale for your correct answers but focus more on your wrong answers.

For example: one wrong item is all about oxygenation. Then you must read the rationale, and study more about oxygenation on Fundamentals of Nursing. That will be one of your focus for the day!

The whole nursing concept is a massive jungle of ideas and knowledge. It'll be difficult for us where to start in preparing for this type of board exam. In this strategy, it will filter out your stronger concepts and will make your weaker concepts more prominent This will give you an opportunity of strengthening these weak concepts.



Answer Lots of Test Questions with added Selective Reading
Answering lots of test questions with added selective reading is a great way of preparing for the board exam.

The Nurse Licensure Examination has a total of 500 nursing questions. In a span of four months, let's say, through your self-built schedule, you review for 5 days a week and you answer a total of 100 questions a day. So that's a total of 500 questions a week. And you do it consistently for four months. That'll be a total of 8,000 nursing questions!

8,000 nursing questions against the 500 nursing questions of a board exam. Not bad right?

The board exam is not a 'know it all strategy'... It is more of answering lots of practice questions and with this type of strategy you will also develop test taking skills. Plus, there are tendencies in which you will face a question in the actual board exam which is quite similar with a certain question that you faced during your self-review. That's why answering lots of questions is an effective way of preparing for the board exam.

Focus on the Basic Stuff and Don't Complicate Yourself
The Philippine Nurse Licensure Exam are made for entry-level nurses so you must learn only and nothing but the basics. Enough said.



Share and Connect
The idea of no man is an island is applied in this tip. Being a nurse is like being involved in a community. We are built as one body and every nurse has its own function for optimal performance. Thus, if everyone's goal and vision is to pass then everyone has its own responsibility in passing the board exam.

Share your knowledge to your friends. Share lectures, reviewers, correct confusions and always keep in touch. Don't be too selfish, share what you know and help each other in developing your knowledge and skills. Your folks and your family will be your great supporters during the arduous four-month review of adventure; and if all of your friends passed the exam then it's a one great success of both teamwork and friendship.


Prayer can move mountains
Above all the tips that we mentioned, this the best. Surrendering everything to the one who is mighty to save. If a prayer can move mountains, then how small your problem is. The board exam is a 500-item exam yet you have a greater God who knows no limits. Preparing for the board exam is about 10% Knowledge and 90% Prayer. Faith without action is dead. Thus, with Consistency, Patience and Perseverance... Your diligence will bear fruit with a taste of sweet success!

Review faithfully and God bless future RNs

Photo Sources:
http://seo-hacker.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/big-ideas.jpg
http://blog.agendize.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/stress.png
http://www.prwatch.org/files/images/Scantron%20Form.jpg
http://www.nursingtimes.net/pictures/586xAny/7/9/7/1221797_generic__pray.jpg
http://www.nursingandhealth.com/assets/Group%202%20photo.jpg

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"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9"

Yes indeed, our God is the greatest and most kind. He had given us His only begotten Son to save us from our sins and He will bring us to life everlasting.

There's a story in the bible that I embedded in my heart in which I applied to my everyday life. It's a story about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11). When Lazarus died due to his illness, Jesus went to them and Martha runs hastily to Him and said "Lord if you had been here, my brother would have not died" (John 11:20). But Jesus retorted, "I am the resurrection; whoever believes in me, though he die, shall live. Whoever is alive by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)

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Yes, I believe. Every day we face different kinds of situations. It may upset you sometimes or even degrade your spirit. But as long as you have a firm belief and faith that Jesus is always here to help and guide us. We will be saved.

Anxiety is everywhere. You may be anxious for your upcoming oral examinations, job interview, case presentations and even doubt your forthcoming performance while these tasks are rendered. But as what Jesus said... Do you believe this? As long as you believe, never let your hearts be troubled. Believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and we will be saved. Trust your heart to God. Never let your doubts, fear and anxiety devour you in discord. But leave your useless doubts, fear and anxiety to Him... and He will keep you safe.

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To God be the Glory!

Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles is a fantasy horror adventure comedy Philippine film directed by Erik Matti. Starring Dingdong Dantes, Lovi Poe, Joey Marquez, Roi Vinzon, Ramon Bautista, Janice De Belen and LJ Reyes. It's a riveting movie because of its breakthrough in the Philippine Cinema in terms of outstanding visual effects and animation. A great pre-halloween treat for all of us before spending our days in November, but does this movie worth watching for?

At the beginning of the film you will be amazed by the imaginations of the people behind. The digital artists were creatively effective in showing the Philippines' folklore about the mythical creature known as  'aswang' (or ghouls). The visionnaire of this film is somewhat similar to the creative minds of Tim Burton; but this one is pure 100% Pinoy.

Though the story has lacked vital points in answering the questions about the before and after of the present situation, it did very well in entertaining the audiences through Joey Marquez's and Ramon Bautista's comedic acts. Tiktik was well acted due to the combination of both elder and younger generations of artists. I was surprised with LJ Reyes and Mr. Roi Vinzon's capability of adjusting easily by shifting genres from drama to horror villains.



As a moviegoer, I can see the development of our film industry in creating high quality graphic films like this, with the exception of a good story line and plot.

The Aswang Chronicles is a roller-coaster ride of terror, laughs and excitement. You will grip at the edge of your seat in some heart-stopping scene and it'll be compensated well with a loud burst of laughter. It's actually an admixture of both horror and comedy, (similar to Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell). Plus, I do really love the sound editing. The atmospheric eerie sounds fit very well in the creepy environment. Kudos also for the diligence of creating a wonderful production design. Who would imagine that all scenes are shot inside a studio. Thanks to the use of green screen chroma key technology.

The final question is... Is it worth watching? I will not recommend the story and plot of this movie. There are missing vital points left unanswered. You will be looking for it until the end of the film and you will leave the cinema empty-handed. But YES it is worth watching because of the film's creativity in illustrating our folklore in a modernized and graphical way; with added plus points to the funny scenes too.

Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles - visually stunning and graphically haunting yet compensated with comedic acts minus the inconsistent story line.

Way back 5 years ago, owning a smartphone is being viewed as an elite because of its computer-like features, rarity and expensiveness. Today, Filipinos continue to struggle this type of attitude by purchasing high-priced smartphones just to be included in the block of status quo. Smartphones nowadays with impressive specification has a price range of PHP 15,000 to more than PHP 20,000. But now, our local companies are creating products in making these smartphones available at the hands of every Filipino.

Introducing the new MyPhone A898. A fast, sleek and powerful Android Smartphone yet affordable. At a starting price of PHP 7,499. You will be surprise for its amazing jam-packed features at an affordable price.

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Here are the jam-packed features of MyPhone A898

• Dual core processor - for faster work performance
• Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 5MP Autofocus-Rear facing camera with dual-LED flash
• VGA Front facing camera - for videocall
• Dual Sim
• 3G Connectivity for faster mobile web browsing
• 4.3 inch Capacitative touchscreen with resolution of WVGA (480-by-800 pixels)
• WiFi Enabled
• GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, MicroUSB 2.0
• FM Radio/MP3/MP4 Player
• 4GB Internal Storage
• Up to 32GB of External Storage through Micro SD Card
• GPS
• 1800 mAh Lipolymer Battery

Amazing isn't it? Who would ever imagine a great smartphone like this will be priced at only PHP 7,499. For us nurses, this is already an advance Christmas gift for all of us. I'm hoping for a discount promo soon :)