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

    We have a long way to go as health care providers

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

    Just saw your
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Question about marijuana use as a nurse

    VivaLasViejas replied to sasha_t's topic in Nursing Professionalism

    Yeah......my SIL and dh sometimes sit out on the back porch and smoke a bowl. I used to go out there and sniff the air when they lit up, just because I do love the smell......at least until my psych...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Question about marijuana use as a nurse

    VivaLasViejas replied to sasha_t's topic in Nursing Professionalism

    In my state, where we have liberal medical marijuana laws and can obtain a card that allows us to purchase and use cannabis, it is still incompatible with a nursing license. In all honesty, I used to...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    What can nurses do to be more happy in their career?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in Nurses Rock

    You're kidding.....nobody knows what Vitamin A is? Vitamin Z is a little harder to guess, but let's just say that it keeps me mellowwwwwwwww,
  5. VivaLasViejas

    I'm tired of looking like a zombie

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in General Students

    Now wait a minute.......that's what I look like now, after 15 years of nursing! (Well, minus the five o'clock shadow.) When I get up in the morning, I look like hammered :poop:......then I primp and...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    What can nurses do to be more happy in their career?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in Nurses Rock

    Vitamins "A" and "Z" for me,
  7. VivaLasViejas

    10th Nursing Caption Contest - Win $100

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in News, Announcements

    "Well, guess we know what happened to that lime Jello mold Mrs. Smith's family snuck in when she was supposed to be
  8. VivaLasViejas

    If you could do it over again, would you still have gone into nursing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to jay65's topic in Health, Stress Management

    When I have days like today---it was so stressful that I had to take half an Ativan tablet to get through it---I wonder how many more years I'll be able to do this. But then I look around at my...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Student in Recovery

    VivaLasViejas replied to jesskidding's topic in Nurses Recovery

    As a recovering alcoholic with 20 years and eight months' sobriety, I congratulate you on your accomplishments and heartily endorse what you've said here. :up: You have described to a T what it takes...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    We have a long way to go as health care providers

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

    I was just having this very same discussion on the mental-health forum I frequent. Many of us, myself included, have no issue with saying "I am bipolar"; it's no different than saying "I'm diabetic"...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    We have a long way to go as health care providers

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

    Yeah. It sure does. My state isn't that bad, but the nursing license renewal application asks directly if you have been diagnosed with a physical or mental disorder that could affect your practice....
  12. VivaLasViejas

    We have a long way to go as health care providers

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

    In fact, NAMI used to stand for "National Alliance for the Mentally Ill". That's progress right there.
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Question on giving a full bed bath

    VivaLasViejas replied to dsf43's topic in General Students

    The only time I don't wear gloves is when I'm visiting with residents, holding their hands, hugging them and so on. Everything else requires gloves.......and I can't even imagine washing a patient...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    We have a long way to go as health care providers

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

    I think you should cite the Americans with Disabilities Act, which states that you cannot be discriminated against solely on the basis of having a mental illness. It is a Federal law, which trumps...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    The Affordable Care Act - Strengthening Medicare

    VivaLasViejas replied to Joe V's topic in Activism, Healthcare

    We're struggling mightily in the LTC world as well, and it's not going to get better anytime soon. Nurses are getting laid off in both hospitals and ECFs, forcing the few who are left to care for more...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Panic Attacks...now due to go back to work(yikes!)

    VivaLasViejas replied to RN1Each's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Welcome to Allnurses, RN1Each! Glad to have you here, and thank you for your service to our country. My 24-year-old son is in a similar position as you, and I wish he were half as sensible and...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    What would you say to this shocking patient statement?

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

    You handled that situation beautifully, OP. As much as we hate to admit it, we're not going to turn a bigot into an open-minded, tolerant individual in the course of a hospital stay. Whatever makes...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    If we had a conservative nurses forum

    VivaLasViejas replied to FLmomof5's topic in Activism, Healthcare

    I agree. Could this thread be moved
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Peg Site unable to heal- what to do?!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Lynx25's topic in Wound, Ostomy, Continence

    See if you can obtain orders for a consult with a Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse (WOCN). They are specially trained and certified RNs who deal exclusively with these issues and are the go-to...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Loose teeth letter - thought I'd share...

    VivaLasViejas replied to Marlene39's topic in School

    It just goes to show that nurses in EVERY setting have to deal with people who think every little bump, lump, or bruise is a Federal case. Just today I had no fewer than three different people (NONE...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    A Prayer For Aging With Dignity

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I found this in my monthly parish nursing newsletter, and while I wish I knew who to credit, I thought I'd share it with my AN family. I don't want to grow old, God. I don't want any part of it. But...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    A Place for Mom: Staffing Concepts and the Role of the Nurse in Assisted Living

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Geriatric, LTC

    "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood" might be the theme song in many assisted living communities, which are often organized into two or more 'neighborhoods' of 10 to 25 residents, depending on...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Tardive Dyskinesia

    VivaLasViejas replied to 84RN's topic in Psychiatric

    As a side note: Sometimes mouth movements such as you've described are just nervous habits. A lot depends on whether your patient takes an antipsychotic for his bipolar d/o; mood stabilizers don't...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    What patients/behaviors/illnesses/injuries do you HATE the most?

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

    These patients usually have a psych component to their abdominal distress, which seems to require massive doses of Dilaudid and Phenergan along with liberal amounts of Ativan. They whine about their...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    What patients/behaviors/illnesses/injuries do you HATE the most?

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

    1) The middle-aged female who presents with abdominal pain and intractable nausea for which no cause is ever found. 2) Patients admitted for detox. I hate DTs and wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy....