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

    Super Obese

    VivaLasViejas replied to anotherone's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    DINGDINGDING!!! We have a winner!!! Co-dependency is a HUGE (sorry) problem with the super-obese. You know darn well they can't get up out of bed themselves..........somebody's got to be bringing...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Super Obese

    VivaLasViejas replied to anotherone's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I can tell you how people allow themselves to balloon up to 500, 600, 700 lbs. and so on. It's called "self-medication". Not too long ago, I was well over 300 lbs. myself and headed for 400, so I can...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Mental health days

    VivaLasViejas replied to PediLove2147's topic in Health, Stress Management

    And then.......there's the mental health week. As in your psychiatrist saying, "You either take some time off and get away from the stress NOW, or you go inpatient. Your choice." Well, now there's a...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    I can't sleep!!!

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

    I have to do the same sort of thing with the glasses, only in reverse because I work days. My psychiatrist told me I am extremely light-sensitive and it messes with my moods, so in order to wind down...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Mental health days

    VivaLasViejas replied to PediLove2147's topic in Health, Stress Management

    No, you're fine posting what you did. I can relate, because I have my share of employees who reliably call in on weekends, holidays, and the first sunny, warm day in spring. Or they call in with what...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    God Helps Me Pee

    VivaLasViejas replied to tnbutterfly - Mary's topic in Nursing Humor

    BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Seasonal Mood Changes?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Ahhhhh, the first hints of Spring........the pink and white buds on trees, the stirring of new life in the woods and the hedges, the daffodils and crocuses poking yellow and purple heads up over the...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Another month down

    VivaLasViejas replied to wish_me_luck's topic in Nurses Recovery

    CONGRATULATIONS!!!! WOO-HOOOOOOO!!!
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Don't Make this Job Search Blunder

    VivaLasViejas replied to tnbutterfly - Mary's topic in Nursing Humor

    BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Seasonal Mood Changes?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I actually did pretty well after I came out of the depressive episode that ruined my Christmas. I bought a dawn simulator that actually makes it seem like summer all fall and winter long, as far as...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    How not to say the wrong thing.

    VivaLasViejas replied to TopazLover's topic in General Nursing

    Gaaaaahhhhhhhh! I remember that when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder last year, several relatively close friends said things like, "Oh, my mom/sister/aunt/niece/BFF is bipolar, and she just has...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    How Do You Know When It's Time to Hang It Up?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Health, Stress Management

    Your stethoscope, I mean. After months of unrelenting pressure at work---a job I've loved for 2 1/2 years---and the sudden onset of severe anxiety attacks which almost put me in the hospital this...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    How Do You Know When It's Time to Hang It Up?

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

    Thank you for this. :) I've thought of doing home health or hospice, and you may very well be right---I do love the one-on-one with patients! I don't know if I'd be qualified because my actual nursing...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    How to answer drug abuse hx question

    VivaLasViejas replied to spizwink's topic in Nurses Recovery

    In a word:
  15. VivaLasViejas

    How Do You Know When It's Time to Hang It Up?

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

    What kind of
  16. VivaLasViejas

    How Do You Know When It's Time to Hang It Up?

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

    What great wisdom! You've given me some real food for thought and introduced some concepts that I'd never considered before. Thank you for your well-articulated perspectives :) I'm thankful that I...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Dr refuse to sign accommodations for NCLEX.

    VivaLasViejas replied to CrazyCoconut's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Please keep us posted on how you do with the NCLEX. Hopefully soon we'll see you back here as CrazyCoconut,
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Dr refuse to sign accommodations for NCLEX.

    VivaLasViejas replied to CrazyCoconut's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    From what I've heard about nursing in Texas with any 'imperfections' at all, my first piece of advice to you would be to move. I'm only half-kidding. It's a hard world out there, and you don't want to...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Left handed nurses, med personnel

    VivaLasViejas replied to Vanfnp's topic in Emergency

    There are lots of lefties everywhere I've worked, and many of the places I visit (almost ALL of the staff at my psychiatrist's office are southpaws). And of course, there's me, plus my mother, sister,...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Getting into nursing school with a mental illness? Is it going to be possible?

    VivaLasViejas replied to lntm2925's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Yes, a lot of people get hung up on that term. I certainly did at first when my doctor prescribed one for me: "You're putting me on a WHAT??!!" But APs are a tool like any other in the toolbox of...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    After Nursing: Is There Life Out There?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    I knew it was too good to last forever. Today, in a meeting with my company's regional director of operations and the corporate nurse consultant, my Executive Director and I learned that we will both...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Are Assisted Living Facilities required by law to have a nurse on staff?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Lundazi's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    As NRSKaren said, the regulations vary by state, but I believe that ALFs do have to have at least a nurse consultant available, even on a limited basis, if the residents have any nursing needs. And if...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Extremely BAD night...

    VivaLasViejas replied to SweetMelissaRN's topic in Emergency

    Well, I've had some lousy shifts in 18 years in healthcare, but never one that even came close to yours, OP. You have my sympathies. :(And if you can keep going back to work after a night like that,...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Has this ever happened to you?

    VivaLasViejas replied to jchilds's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I. am. DYING. When my gallbladder was in the process of croaking, I had some of THE worst gas imaginable. I was working in a hospital at the time, which meant a lot of cheek-squeezing as I ran back...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    After Nursing: Is There Life Out There?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Well, I got my orifice handed to me again yesterday........emergency staff meeting, then a private discussion with my boss. He spent over an hour and a half on the phone with Corporate before the...