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

    RNs can a CNA save an RN's hide?

    VivaLasViejas replied to DesiDani's topic in General Nursing

    A good CNA is worth their weight in gold. They are the ones closest to the patient and they can spot things and report them to us so we can take action. I don’t know what I’d have done without my...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    President Trump and the First Lady Test COVID Positive

    VivaLasViejas replied to NRSKarenRN's topic in U.S. Politics's Talk Politics

    Somehow, I'm not surprised. He won't wear a mask and he holds huge rallies, some of them in enclosed areas, where everyone is in close contact and most don't wear masks either. Still, I don't wish ill...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    What Do You Miss About Nursing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Davey Do's topic in Retired Nurses

    There are a few things I miss, like using my IV skills to get a line in a “hard stick” or an IVDU. I also enjoyed most of my assisted living residents and solving problems. But I do not miss the...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Driving 1.5 hrs (one way) to work. Good idea?

    VivaLasViejas replied to NewRN_SW's topic in General Nursing

    I did a 45-minute commute, five days a week, for three years. I didn’t mind it too much, I used the morning time for prayer and listening to music, and the trip home to decompress and reflect on my...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Went to inactive license

    VivaLasViejas replied to londonflo's topic in General Nursing

    I kept my license active for several years after I left nursing, even though I knew I was done and would never work as a nurse again. Eventually I had none of the required CEs or practice hours for...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Is it wrong to stay in med-surg?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Reds5588's topic in General Nursing

    I was a med/surg nurse for several years and became a CMSRN. I didn't know I was going to have a breakdown six months later which necessitated my departure from acute care. But I'm still proud that I...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Night shift medications

    VivaLasViejas replied to Newnurse23's topic in General Nursing

    Sleep meds, of course. Pain medications at HS and during the night. And antipsychotics...lots of antipsychotics.
  8. VivaLasViejas

    What do nurse managers delegate to RN and UAP?

    VivaLasViejas replied to beccasto01's topic in General Students

    Unlicensed Assistive
  9. VivaLasViejas

    need nightshift sleep/health tips

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

    A couple of things that helped me, in addition to my blackout curtains, fan, sleep mask and a comfortable bed, were baths and blankets. I'd run a tubful of warm, soothing water and soak for about 20...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Can I realistically become a Nurse with my disability?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Guest1144459's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Famous last words...get yourself all the way through nursing school, pay for all those classes, lab fees, student fees and so on, and then have the Board of Nursing tell you that they're putting you...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Now I know what a Incontinence pad feels like LOL

    VivaLasViejas replied to Gratefully2years's topic in Nursing Humor

    I used to have periods when I went through a super-plus tampon, a thick pad, AND a Depends within half an hour sometimes. They were so heavy that I once bled for three weeks and became so anemic that...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Mental health nursing and cover letter

    VivaLasViejas replied to psych nurse in training's topic in General Nursing

    You definitely don't want to disclose your own diagnosis to a potential employer, not even in psychiatry. Hiring managers who work in a mental health environment may not have the slightest...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    HOW DO I GET OUT OF MED SURG??

    VivaLasViejas replied to CaffeineDependentRN's topic in General Nursing

    I was a Med/Surg float nurse who got to cross-train for CCU and postpartum/couplet care. Being versatile made me a better nurse, and I actually came to prefer working those departments over my own. I...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    What's the dumbest thing you've done that you got written up for?

    VivaLasViejas replied to The0Walrus's topic in General Nursing

    I had only one write-up in my entire career, but it was a doozy. I was working at an assisted living facility that had a male resident who was always pestering the ladies for sex. He was harmless...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Thunderstorm Asthma Spikes ED Visits

    VivaLasViejas replied to J.Adderton's topic in Nursing News

    Well, I'll be darned. I had a severe asthma attack the night of my son's high school graduation, and there had been a fierce thunderstorm earlier in the day. I didn't go to the ER because I had a...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Why are so many nurses against unions?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Icunicenurse's topic in Collective Bargaining, Union

    Nailed it.
  17. VivaLasViejas

    What are they teaching?

    VivaLasViejas replied to egglady's topic in General Nursing

    I don’t think ANY of us could have been prepared for what nursing is really like. As one of my instructors told me 25 years ago, “there’s school, there are tests, and then there’s real...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Influenza and COVID-19: The Twindemic

    VivaLasViejas replied to sirI's topic in Disaster Preparation

    I get one every year. The last time I had the flu was in 1992 and the pneumonia and bronchitis that it spawned hung on, literally, for months. Spent the whole Winter and Spring bouncing in and out of...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Old patients unsuccessfully clinging to independent living

    VivaLasViejas replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    This. ^^ I’m getting older too and I have told my kids that if I become ill or demented, to just let me wander off into the woods and allow nature to take its course. I’ve worked in ALFs and LTC...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Now this....the crazy just keeps getting crazier

    VivaLasViejas replied to ladycody's topic in U.S. Politics's Talk Politics

  21. VivaLasViejas

    Trump tweet 7/30/20 --Delay the Election

    VivaLasViejas replied to NRSKarenRN's topic in U.S. Politics's Talk Politics

    We've had all vote-by-mail here in Oregon for some 20 years, and if there's been any major fraud committed I'm sure we'd have heard about it. This is a straw-man argument and it just doesn't
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Depression. Despair. Suicide.

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

    Another excellent resource for people who are thinking about suicide, or just want to talk to someone, is the Crisis Text Line. They have trained volunteer crisis counselors who can be reached by...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    What did you do with your old nursing school textbooks?

    VivaLasViejas replied to coopman712's topic in General Nursing

    I still have mine from the way-back days (1995-97). They are currently living in my storage unit. Another few years and they should be worth something as antiques.
  24. VivaLasViejas

    RN's required to be sitters???

    VivaLasViejas replied to anneRN96's topic in General Nursing

    When I was a hospital CNA I usually drew the sitting jobs. This was on night shift 7P-7A. I didn’t mind for the most part; I had one patient who was on a psych hold for attempted suicide, and we...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    I'm thinking about going back on meds....

    VivaLasViejas replied to Sbhayes09's topic in Health, Stress Management

    Ditto. Do think about seeing a mental healthcare professional, even if what you're experiencing is "normal" considering the circumstances we find ourselves in these days. There's a reason you were on...