WEEK 1

November 22 – 29, 2019

During our first week of immersion, we’ve been able to perform our tasks very week. The

moment we enter the office every morning, it was already our routine to check and prepare the

necessary medical supplies and equipment for Emergency Go Bag. We also do our tasks in

cleaning the office like mopping, washing the dishes, etc.

When we first met Sir George, he examined and criticized our résumé. He pointed out that

when submitting an identification picture for résumé, always remember neither smile or frown too

much because it can affect the employer’s impression to you. He also conducted short interview

to each one of us to fully know us.

Moreover, we mostly did lectures throughout the week. the lectures are divided into two:

fire safety and basic first aid. Fire safety was handled by Sir Joseph Catibayan, a professional

rescuer and fireman. He was kind of a strict person and likes to give punishment to us. One time,

when we got so many mistakes in immobilizing the patient’s spine and head, he made us to roll in

the ground for more than ten times. He also likes to share his past experiences in rescuing that

sometimes he just narrates his stories not knowing that he was going away from his topics.

However, we learned so many things from him. Most essential is the misconception during

earthquakes. We were supposed to cover our face and head, not only head that we commonly

knew, because impending debris can cause injuries to our face. He also taught us about the medical

equipment, Go Bag, and what are the first things to do when responding to an accident. We also

learned from him how to perform Spinal Motion Restriction (SMR) that will help us to immobilize

and support the head and spine of the victim. We also learned the nature of fire and fire extinguisher

and how to operate it properly.

 The lecture about basic first aid was handled by Sir John Dave Delos Reyes. He was

actually a psychology graduate, but trained to be a first aid provider and rescuer. His lectures

comprised of basic knowledge regarding to first aid. In our first week, he taught us three modules

about first aid. The first module is about the responsibilities and characteristics a first aider should

have. Second module talks about how to respond in case of an accident happens and the third

module tackles about the different types of injuries and how to treat them. On our sixth day, he

gave us 100-item assessment quiz to test how well we understand his lessons.

This week had become hectic and tiring but the lessons that we learned are refreshing

because they are new to our mind and we know that we can apply all this knowledge in real life to

help others.

WEEK 2
December 2 – 9, 2019

The second week at immersion site had become memorable to us. We became close to each

other and also to Kuya Lenard and Kuya Roland, our co-immersion buddies from Western

Colleges. They are Business Management college students and were assigned to MDRRMO for

their OJT. This week was also hectic to us because there are so many lectures that were given to

us, together with practical exams.

First of that is the bandaging techniques. Sir John introduced us the triangular bandage, a

necessary medical tool that will allow us to create sling for fractured bone or pad for wound

injuries. He also taught us how to properly fold and use it depending on the injuries. He cited

different injuries and each had their own unique techniques. Examples are head bandage, burned
hand bandage, arm sling, ankle support bandage, etc. After the discussions, he gave us a practical

exam wherein he used Kuya Roland as the victim and he cited what his injuries are. Then, we were

the one who will perform the bandages while he is watching. I am the one who first performed and

I was so nervous and pressured because he uses his knowledge in reversed psychology to trick us.

He would ask as if we were really sure to what we were doing, making us to think that we were

wrong.

Furthermore, we also learned how to perform proper cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. It

was hard and tiring because you need to pump the victim's chest gently using metronome beat,

while counting 1 to 30, and you need to do that for cycles of five until the patient continues his

breathing.

Moreover, Sir Joseph continued his discussions about fire extinguisher. He even made us

to demonstrated to him how to properly use fire extinguisher. He also taught us the extrication

technique, wherein we will use extrication device to retrieve the victim from a crashed vehicle

without creating further injury. Honestly, it was so hard than it seems because there are so many

things to remember and we need to retrieve the victim for a short period of time.

For the last day of the immersion, we had the experience to wear a fireman's uniform. But

before we end our immersion, we need to perform a graduation rite, which is a simulated rescue.

They said that we need to compile and remember all what we learn through them in order to

perform well.

They gave us a scenario wherein there are two victims inside a crashed vehicle; one on the

driver seat, and one on the passengers' seat at the back. We need to perform extrication device in

order to retrieve the driver, while the other one needed bandages for his injuries and be retrieved
using a spine board. We almost took about two hours to finished the simulated rescue. We were

so pressured because it feels likes we were in a real rescue since there are people who are

distracting us. After the rescue, we proceeded to practical of performing CPR to human dummies.

I am so tired of that moment that I can barely breathe, but it turns out to be okay. In the end, we

were so tired and relieved at the same time, because it is a new experience for us.

To summarize all things up, this two-week immersion gave me new knowledge. We

learned so many things. I know it will not help us in my career objective, since I decided to take

civil engineering in the near future, but to have knowledge on this kind of field is kind of refreshing

because I can apply all what I learned in real life and to help other people in case an accident

happens.