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

    New Area...

    VivaLasViejas replied to Joe V's topic in Coffee Lounge's Lounge

    Thanks for the invite, Joe. I look forward to participating in this group.
  2. VivaLasViejas

    What to do about DNP and flu shot?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Travelingon's topic in General Nursing

    I wasn't going to read through this entire thread, but I ended up doing so anyway because the different viewpoints are interesting, to say the least. I'll be the first to admit I don't like to be told...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Do you regret leaving bedside nursing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to EDNURSE20's topic in General Nursing

    One of the things I found helpful while I was searching for greener pastures was volunteering in a free clinic for uninsured patients. I was the intake nurse so I got some experience in triage, and...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Show drivers license to patients in home health

    VivaLasViejas replied to guest1074618's topic in Home Health

    Nope, nope, nope. So much nope. I would insist on using name badges
  5. VivaLasViejas

    I need guidance

    VivaLasViejas replied to vanilla_brownie's topic in General Nursing

    Med/Surg is not for a lot of people. I don't think you've been at it long enough to throw your career away, however. You need to get that year + of experience in before you can really tell whether you...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Rehab and hospitalization? Hopeful future nurse

    VivaLasViejas replied to HiddenShadow20's topic in Nurses Recovery

    It is tough being a nurse. It's even tougher being a nurse with a mental illness. But it can be done, and you are motivated enough to do it, I think. Just one pesky little detail: what, if anything,...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Recognition

    VivaLasViejas replied to Davey Do's topic in General Nursing

    I'm so glad you're back! I have missed you and wondered what you've been up to. Truth be told, I thought we'd lost you for good and wouldn't be able to see your great posts and wacky sense of humor...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Finish the Toon!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Joe V's topic in Disaster Preparation

    <SNORT!>
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Nurse asks, 'Did you know I was there?' in touching viral post

    VivaLasViejas replied to NRSKarenRN's topic in Nursing News

    Working with the elderly for most of my career, I saw a lot of death, but I always found it to be a sacred privilege to be there at the moment when the patient took his or her last breath. The last...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Doctors offended by TV show about nurses

    VivaLasViejas replied to FullGlass's topic in General Nursing

    On its surface, I can see why doctors got butt-hurt about the trailer for the new show. Most of the physicians I know don't fit the stereotype, they just do a tough job every day and earn pretty good...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Where do patients go?

    VivaLasViejas replied to NextGen's topic in General Nursing

    This is so true. I was in the same position, doing admissions for both SNF and long-term care, and so many discharge planners outright lied about the patient coming to us that I took everything with a...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Can a visiting nurse from psych sort other meds into pill box

    VivaLasViejas replied to teddy2009's topic in General Nursing

    I did it all the time when I worked in assisted living. Some residents were competent enough to self-administer, but needed help filling their pill minders each week. Never thought about it for a...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Hoyer/ Ceiling Lift Safety?

    VivaLasViejas replied to nursechilespice's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    At the nursing homes where I've worked, we always used two nurses/CNAs for Hoyer lifts. One to operate the machine and the other as a spotter. Also handy when we had to roll the person from side to...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Where do patients go?

    VivaLasViejas replied to NextGen's topic in General Nursing

    I've had to send patients back to the hospital before I even let them in the facility. I'm not kidding: one pt died just as he was being brought in, and another I greeted at the door only to take one...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    What is up with these Sickle Cell Patients?!

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

    This thread is from 2011. Hopefully the "newbie" (who is no longer a newbie) has since learned how to handle these challenging patients and get along well with them. I don't think she lacked...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Support Planned Parenthood Today!

    VivaLasViejas replied to elkpark's topic in Activism, Healthcare

    They do in my state (OR). Our lovely governor, Kate Brown, recently signed into law a bill making taxpayers responsible for abortion on demand and free abortions for illegal immigrants. The Hyde...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Plant-based (vegan) mandate for NY hospitals

    VivaLasViejas replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    Other than New York's tendency to embrace government overreach, I don't see anything wrong with offering vegetarian or vegan food choices to patients. It should have been done voluntarily years ago,...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Why Do Nurses Quit?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Nurse Beth's topic in General Nursing

    All of this serves to remind me that I did the right thing for myself by leaving nursing when I did. It seems that it has only gotten worse over the past six years since I've been out, and it was...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Depressed and Suicidal at work

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

    OP, I'm very concerned about you. This thread was posted on November 16th, it's now December 22nd and we haven't heard from you. Please, if you haven't already, get out of that job, and if you still...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Do charcoal masks work for foul smells?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jaykster's topic in General Nursing

    Something that's a little less embarrassing for the patient: a quick dab of Vick's vapo-rub under the nose from the tiny little jar you carry in your scrub pocket for occasions like these. If you come...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Millennial Nurses Have Issues

    VivaLasViejas replied to Nurse Yoni's topic in General Nursing

    My oldest daughter was born in '82 also, and she doesn't think of herself as a millennial either. She's more like a Gen-X'er in that she acts older because she started her "career" as a mother with...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Did I already screw up my nursing career?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Nursing2019BSN's topic in General Nursing

    All posters have given you good advice so far. But I'm going to attack this from another angle, because you MUST get your "extreme" anxiety under control before you find your next job. Otherwise...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    My Life as a Nurse

    VivaLasViejas replied to CoMoNurse's topic in General Nursing

    You have had an amazing career. You should write a book! I'd buy it.
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Call from Risk Management to speak with Attorney

    VivaLasViejas replied to snickers17's topic in General Nursing

    I have too. I once had an assisted living resident who was on hospice, and she developed a stage II on her outer ankle in 30 minutes. THIRTY MINUTES. Hospice had put her on an air bed and the staff...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Nurse with bipolar disorder having difficulty managing sx

    VivaLasViejas replied to angelsigns's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I empathize with you. I live with bipolar I and had a great deal of trouble with bedside nursing. I never lasted more than 2 1/2 years at any nursing job. I thought it was because I was bored and...