VivaLasViejas ASN, RN

LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych

Once a nurse, always a nurse!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

All Content by VivaLasViejas

  1. VivaLasViejas

    Has anybody been re hired after beig fired by the same hospital?

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNOTODAY's topic in Nursing Career

    Nah, it's just company policy on account of all the people you hear about who have "gone postal" in the past and caused destruction to their former workplaces (and/or former bosses and co-workers)....
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Has anybody been re hired after beig fired by the same hospital?

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNOTODAY's topic in Nursing Career

    Oh, sweetie, you are singing my song! Same thing happened to me this spring: I had to go out on leave for a severe episode of illness, tried to go back too soon, and learned later that same week that...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Me time. Do not enter!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in Nurses Rock

    Oh, what a relief it
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Another spanish for nursing question

    VivaLasViejas replied to northmississippi's topic in General Nursing

    Oh, this reminds me of when I was a hospital CNA and had to interview a farm worker in the ER who'd suffered a crush injury to the pelvis, because I was the only person in the house who could speak a...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Starting Nursing school... to disclose or not to disclose? HELP!

    VivaLasViejas replied to jeshicuhx3's topic in Nurses Recovery

    Your school's nursing program may want you to submit a health history and urine drug screen, which will test positive for the suboxone if you're still taking it. (Whatever you do, do NOT stop it on...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Med. Transcription?

    VivaLasViejas replied to aachavez's topic in Nursing Career

    My psychiatrist's office laid off all their transcriptionists a couple of months ago, and my PCP's clinic is down to only 2 for eight physicians! If this is more than just a local trend, I wouldn't...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    How to Survive the Job Search

    VivaLasViejas replied to JeanettePNP's topic in Job Search, Interview, Resume

    Excellent advice! I appreciate this article a great deal, not only because it's so timely for me, but because it's well written and full of optimism, and it makes me smile instead of wanting to put my...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Felons and Nursing in VA

    VivaLasViejas replied to dr3amline's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    I, too, live under a chronic stigma (mental illness) that I never asked for and didn't do anything to earn. Where's my clean slate? FWIW, I don't believe that all ex-felons deserve permanent...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Before You Take An Elderly Family Member To The ER

    VivaLasViejas replied to sharpeimom's topic in General Nursing

    This really is a great idea! Going to doctors as often as I do, I keep a current med list in my wallet which also includes allergies. It doesn't list diagnoses though, and it might be smart to list...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Why is nursing school asking?

    VivaLasViejas replied to smoup's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    The school doesn't need to know this information. Think of it this way: if you don't put anything down, there's nothing for them to look up. It's not like they're going to call your doctor's office...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Why are people uncomfortable talking about mental health?

    VivaLasViejas replied to wish_me_luck's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I wish I could afford to work PRN, but I need health insurance in the worst way, so I have to plan on working at least 3/4 time. I don't mind that so much. But the idea of going back to five-day weeks...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Felons and Nursing in VA

    VivaLasViejas replied to dr3amline's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    And, there are many ways to better oneself---and be of service to society---other than becoming a nurse. I liked the above suggestion to become an A&D counselor.....no one is more credible in this...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Prayers for Oklahoma

    VivaLasViejas replied to mvm2's topic in General Nursing

    I wish I could go there and help take care of the injured, but since I can't, prayers will have to do. Although I can't help but wonder, at times like this, what might have taken all of God's...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Dysphoric Mania---what's up with THAT??

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    True that........I have one son who's diagnosed with PTSD and depression, not BP, but shows every sign in the book and then some. Even HE knows he's bipolar. The VA psychiatrist just doesn't seem to...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Dysphoric Mania---what's up with THAT??

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Here's a question for folks who have been cursed/blessed with the lovely "gift" of bipolar disorder: Have you ever had a "mixed" episode, where you felt both hypo/manic AND depressed at the same time?...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Has Nursing Made You a Homebody?

    VivaLasViejas replied to nicurn84's topic in Health, Stress Management

    My social life went to pot after I became a nurse. I was older than you, but still young enough to go and be and do.......but those 12-hour shifts and working nights sucked every bit of the social...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Nurse Disabilities

    We've been talking a lot about mental illness during this early part of May, which has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month. Nurses and students with all sorts of psychiatric conditions...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I appreciate that. I go back and forth between hope and despair; the job market for nurses in my area is almost nonexistent, and I'm even looking outside of nursing at jobs that at least pay more...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Dysphoric Mania---what's up with THAT??

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Oh, wow, you guys describe this stuff PERFECTLY! Yes, yes, it's all that and then some........I can almost feel the nerves snapping, like the strings on a violin, and I want to...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Dysphoric Mania---what's up with THAT??

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Arghhh! You nailed it on this one. I'm terrible about this! I wait to call until I absolutely cannot stand myself one more minute....it's a game of "how much can I take before I blow a
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Dysphoric Mania---what's up with THAT??

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Thank you.. I wish I could blame this development on hormones, but I went through menopause years ago and if I have a single hormone left, I'm unaware of it. LOL Things are calming down now; today I...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Long shifts = Higher levels of burnout

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in Nurses Rock

    12-hour shifts KILLED me, even when I was much younger and more fit than I am now. Inevitably I'd get to a point around 0500 when I almost stopped caring whether the patients lived or died, and that...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Physical for new job

    VivaLasViejas replied to Julius Seizure's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    If you're a patient, of course a history is appropriate. When you're an *employee*, however, it's an invasion of
  24. VivaLasViejas

    What sacrifices will you make? / How hungry are you?

    VivaLasViejas replied to NCmcMan's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    Bless your heart, OP, your story reminds me a lot of my own. My family was dirt-poor when my husband lost his minimum-wage job and couldn't find another one back in the early '90s. His company...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Stuck In The Middle With You

    VivaLasViejas replied to SoldierNurse22's topic in Nurse Management

    A position with a great deal of responsibility and very little authority---sounds like my last job. Another excellent story, SoldierNurse! You bring your subjects to life in a way that few can...