MMN Sept 25 Mag Online - Flipbook - Page 13
We formally taught Basic Life Support as well as teaching - or reprimanding - about medical topics to
the OJTs. One such topic was regarding blood pressure.
ing accuracy.
Manual blood pressure itself is a
very therapeu琀椀c procedure in the
Philippines, so much so that the
police o昀케cers o昀琀en asked for us to
take theirs. The implica琀椀on of the
reading is grossly misunderstood,
with many claiming to have ‘high
blood’ when they have a headache.
This is one of many misconcep琀椀ons
we a琀琀empted to gently challenge.
Despite the love of the task, the
readings were suspiciously similar,
rarely veering away from a number
to the nearest 10. In response, we
held a teaching session with the
students with the hopes of improv-
Running an NGO was a whole new
level. It made me think how di昀케cult it would be to maintain the
quality of work being done while
not physically present. Inevitably
things will not get done perfectly.
But, it is costly to pay sta昀昀 members and provide legal and medical
assistance. I would 昀椀nd it stressful
watching things being done not
quite how I had hoped. It is also
not a role that o昀昀ers a break. There
are things to be dealt with 24/7, so
knowing when to tackle the problem, when to delegate, and when
to let go, is a skill in itself.
With all of this, it was tricky to 昀椀nd
the balance between improving the
quality of work by locals, while respec琀椀ng their way of doing things.
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