RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Make them not want you there.  Question every instruction: I don't understand, can you say in English please?

They will soon tire of having to put effort into something and excuse you from future endeavours.

 

At our last one I raised my hand and asked a question (in Korean) to the presenters about the possibilities of breaking ribs when performing the technique. He said he would address it later. Then never did.

At our last one I raised my hand and asked a question (in Korean) to the presenters about the possibilities of breaking ribs when performing the technique. He said he would address it later. Then never did.

  It's actually a really big issue when performing CPR on infants. When I did my lifeguard training, we learned that for children under 12 months of age, one should use only two fingers when doing chest compressions rather than the heel of your palm. Also, they should be only about 3.5cm deep rather than the usual 5.

TL;DR: Try not to break ribs, especially in Korea where we aren't protected by the Good Samaritan act, or its equivalent.

Mandatory CPR training in Korean again. I explained to my co-teacher that it wasn't appropriate for me to attend a Korean CPR training session because I won't understand and it could end up being dangerous if I'm recorded as being CPR trained when I'm not.

"All teachers must attend."
....
I need to go do something distracting because thinking about health and safety here is making my blood boil.

If it makes you feel any better, I doubt the Korean teachers come out of it much more capable of saving a life through the maneuver than you. Any time I've attended these 'training sessions' they've tried to make it the presentations upbeat and casual, the teachers getting very giggly when it comes time to practice on the dummies. But if you're going to perform life-saving CPR, you have to be prepared to break the person rib cage, and then continue pushing. I don't think anyone at my school would have the stomach to do it properly.

Right. I had to attend one of these sessions despite actually having been certified, and it's very much a huge waste of time. Every single teacher did it incorrectly during the practice portion of the session (they all complained about their wrists hurting while doing it, but they literally, literally just barely pushed down on the dummies, and they weren't even keeping their arms locked and straight while doing it). And they were never corrected by the firefighters who were instructing the class, either.

Plus, this CPR thing is supposed to be mostly in case something happens to a student... but they only ever went over the compressions and never over the breathing. The breathing portion never even got mentioned, at least during the session I was made to attend.

Mandatory CPR training in Korean again. I explained to my co-teacher that it wasn't appropriate for me to attend a Korean CPR training session because I won't understand and it could end up being dangerous if I'm recorded as being CPR trained when I'm not.

"All teachers must attend."

Coincidentally, today I was also told not to give food to the students (I never do this) because a 1st grader choked to death in another school in Chungnam. I don't suppose they'll stop serving lunch, though.

"Didn't someone do the Heimlich maneuver?"
"I don't know."

I found a brief article about it here. Seems that the student choked in the classroom during class and died in hospital.

Did anyone try the Heimlich? Did they know it? Did they do CPR instead? Is the Heimlich maneuver taught to school staff? Where was the school nurse?

I need to go do something distracting because thinking about health and safety here is making my blood boil.

According to the article that you posted, the incident occurred during an 'after-school' class early on Wednesday morning. The regular teachers (whom the CPR training is aimed at) were probably not even in school, and I wouldn't be surprised if the school nurse wasn't there either.

Also, I recommend everyone to get a Korean teacher to perform CPR if it's ever necessary. We all know how much Koreans love to scapegoat other people when things go wrong, especially when they have a non-Korean to blame.

Mandatory CPR training in Korean again. I explained to my co-teacher that it wasn't appropriate for me to attend a Korean CPR training session because I won't understand and it could end up being dangerous if I'm recorded as being CPR trained when I'm not.

"All teachers must attend."

Coincidentally, today I was also told not to give food to the students (I never do this) because a 1st grader choked to death in another school in Chungnam. I don't suppose they'll stop serving lunch, though.

"Didn't someone do the Heimlich maneuver?"
"I don't know."

I found a brief article about it here. Seems that the student choked in the classroom during class and died in hospital.

Did anyone try the Heimlich? Did they know it? Did they do CPR instead? Is the Heimlich maneuver taught to school staff? Where was the school nurse?

I need to go do something distracting because thinking about health and safety here is making my blood boil.

They made me go to that last year even after I already showed them my up-to-date, in-an-actual-classroom, paramedic-level CPR/AED/First Aid certs from back home (first earned way back in 2009, and kept up-to-date with recertification and trainings until I moved here, as required by both my lifeguarding and my preschool jobs back home). Because apparently it wasn't as good as the "certification" earned from watching a 20-minute video in Korean, listening to a 10-minute lecture in Korean, and then "practicing" for 10 minutes on a semi-functioning dummy with two overly-giggly coteachers.

None of them were doing it right, and they were teaching the CPR technique that was recommended back in like 2010. They updated the compression/rhythm recommendations a couple years ago, right before I came over. IIRC, the new Red Cross guidelines push compressions over breathing, and changed the number (NOT depth) of compressions to be the same between children and adults. Infant CPR remained the same. But, honestly, this particular class was over a year ago, so my memory is a little foggy, and I have let my certification lapse since moving here.

They made me go to that last year even after I already showed them my up-to-date, in-an-actual-classroom, paramedic-level CPR/AED/First Aid certs from back home (first earned way back in 2009, and kept up-to-date with recertification and trainings since then, as required by my preschool job back home). Because apparently it wasn't as good as the "certification" earned from watching a 20-minute video in Korean, listening to a 10-minute lecture in Korean, and then "practicing" for 10 minutes on a semi-functioning dummy with two overly-giggly coteachers.

You'd think that natural selection would weed them out at this point... 

I just took a hard fall from the uneven tiles in our teachers room.  I went down hard.  I'm now going to have a huge bruise on my knee and probably my hip. 

I wish they would fix or replace those stupid things. 

You need to go to the hospital and get your injuries checked out. Scans etc.

And do it today. It's vitally important for claiming worker's compensation. Medical expenses for accidents at work are fully covered by the employer. Take pictures and video of the uneven tiles too.

IIRC, the new Red Cross guidelines push compressions over breathing, and changed the number (NOT depth) of compressions to be the same between children and adults. Infant CPR remained the same. But, honestly, this particular class was over a year ago, so my memory is a little foggy, and I have let my certification lapse since moving here.

It's been a while for me, too, so (and for anyone else who's interested):

https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr/performing-cpr/cpr-steps

http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Compression-Only-CPR-Okay-in-Certain-Situations

https://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240175_Pediatric_ready_reference.pdf

https://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240170_Adult_ready_reference.pdf

I just took a hard fall from the uneven tiles in our teachers room.  I went down hard.  I'm now going to have a huge bruise on my knee and probably my hip. 

I wish they would fix or replace those stupid things. 

You need to go to the hospital and get your injuries checked out. Scans etc.

And do it today. It's vitally important for claiming worker's compensation. Medical expenses for accidents at work are fully covered by the employer. Take pictures and video of the uneven tiles too.

     But why? To what end?
     It's a lot of hassle with no benefit to denimdaze, unless she plans to sue. Which would be difficult considering that the MOE would just not renew her. Considering the how easy these kinds of cases are to delay, she would end up pursuing the charges from out country, making it both really expensive, and nearly impossible to win.
    Better to use use the accident to gain a bit of social capital, to be spent on negotiating a better summer/winter holiday. 

I just took a hard fall from the uneven tiles in our teachers room.  I went down hard.  I'm now going to have a huge bruise on my knee and probably my hip. 

I wish they would fix or replace those stupid things. 

You need to go to the hospital and get your injuries checked out. Scans etc.

And do it today. It's vitally important for claiming worker's compensation. Medical expenses for accidents at work are fully covered by the employer. Take pictures and video of the uneven tiles too.

     But why? To what end?
     It's a lot of hassle with no benefit to denimdaze, unless she plans to sue. Which would be difficult considering that the MOE would just not renew her. Considering the how easy these kinds of cases are to delay, she would end up pursuing the charges from out country, making it both really expensive, and nearly impossible to win.
    Better to use use the accident to gain a bit of social capital, to be spent on negotiating a better summer/winter holiday. 

i'd probably go to the hospital so i had 'evidence' and could then negotiate a better holiday, etc

What are broken limbs but proof of what a hard worker you are!

3 weeks ago I started having symptoms of a disease I'd rather not disclose. I go to the doctor and of course they prescribe medicine. Symptoms are not only still present but worse a week later. I go to another doctor and they actually check rather than just ask me my symptoms. They also prescribe medicine. Now I'm on the last dose and I still have symptoms. What are the odds that if I return to either doctor they'll just prescribe meds again?? 

I just took a hard fall from the uneven tiles in our teachers room.  I went down hard.  I'm now going to have a huge bruise on my knee and probably my hip. 

I wish they would fix or replace those stupid things. 

You need to go to the hospital and get your injuries checked out. Scans etc.

And do it today. It's vitally important for claiming worker's compensation. Medical expenses for accidents at work are fully covered by the employer. Take pictures and video of the uneven tiles too.

     But why? To what end?
     It's a lot of hassle with no benefit to denimdaze, unless she plans to sue. Which would be difficult considering that the MOE would just not renew her. Considering the how easy these kinds of cases are to delay, she would end up pursuing the charges from out country, making it both really expensive, and nearly impossible to win.
    Better to use use the accident to gain a bit of social capital, to be spent on negotiating a better summer/winter holiday. 

i'd probably go to the hospital so i had 'evidence' and could then negotiate a better holiday, etc

Taking a photo of a bruise is probably faster, easier, less stressful, and equally convincing than going for an MRI for the same thing, but to each their own. 

aye, but legal/official documentation is probably better if you were 'threatening' or suggesting taking legal action, at least from what i've read in various korean legal help groups

i left my public school on a bitter note and from being a bit screwed over, so maybe i'm a bit more mistrustful and less likely to give the benefit of the doubt than most

3 weeks ago I started having symptoms of a disease I'd rather not disclose. I go to the doctor and of course they prescribe medicine. Symptoms are not only still present but worse a week later. I go to another doctor and they actually check rather than just ask me my symptoms. They also prescribe medicine. Now I'm on the last dose and I still have symptoms. What are the odds that if I return to either doctor they'll just prescribe meds again?? 

Which STD did you get?

But seriously, go to a reputable hospital instead of small-town clinics if you're not getting proper treatment.

3 weeks ago I started having symptoms of a disease I'd rather not disclose. I go to the doctor and of course they prescribe medicine. Symptoms are not only still present but worse a week later. I go to another doctor and they actually check rather than just ask me my symptoms. They also prescribe medicine. Now I'm on the last dose and I still have symptoms. What are the odds that if I return to either doctor they'll just prescribe meds again?? 

Which STD did you get?

But seriously, go to a reputable hospital instead of small-town clinics if you're not getting proper treatment.

Wouldn't know since these doctors never give me a diagnosis

OK, so disclose your symptoms. We'll help diagnose you.

Wouldn't know since these doctors never give me a diagnosis

If you suspect a specific disease, go to a hospital that you know conducts tests for it and request those tests.

Seoul even has places that are known to be very discrete with a lot of those tests.

3 weeks ago I started having symptoms of a disease I'd rather not disclose. I go to the doctor and of course they prescribe medicine. Symptoms are not only still present but worse a week later. I go to another doctor and they actually check rather than just ask me my symptoms. They also prescribe medicine. Now I'm on the last dose and I still have symptoms. What are the odds that if I return to either doctor they'll just prescribe meds again?? 

Which STD did you get?

But seriously, go to a reputable hospital instead of small-town clinics if you're not getting proper treatment.

Wouldn't know since these doctors never give me a diagnosis

Never blindly trust doctors, especially in Korea. I went to the dermatologist with some random inflammation that I believed to be an infection. He said it wasn't infected, but he'd give me medicine to treat the symptoms. One of his choices was Tramadol, an opioid painkiller which is used to treat severe pain and has a lot of side effects and warnings. Luckily, I always google every medicine prescribed by a doctor and tell the pharmacist not to dispense any inappropriate medicine.

Go to a big hospital and ask for a proper explanation of what's wrong with you. Have tests done, even if they're not cheap. I've never had an STD, but I've had prostate trouble with uncomfortable symptoms, and it required going to a major hospital for the proper tests to be done (which thankfully didn't involve an ajeosshi sticking his finger up my arse).

aye, but legal/official documentation is probably better if you were 'threatening' or suggesting taking legal action, at least from what i've read in various korean legal help groups

i left my public school on a bitter note and from being a bit screwed over, so maybe i'm a bit more mistrustful and less likely to give the benefit of the doubt than most

Oh, I definitely agree here. If you're keen on going in for legal action, then the more documentation the merrier!