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

    Do you ever have doubts?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jack245's topic in General Students

    I've been a nurse for 15 years, and I still remember the day I almost threw in the towel. It was the first day of clinicals. After two years of taking prerequisites and four weeks of theory classes,...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Hand help please!

    VivaLasViejas replied to HarleyNrs's topic in General Nursing

    Try Hempz. They have several delightful scents as well as unscented. The stuff is kind of spendy at $20 a bottle, but it's got natural hemp seed oils which are the only thing that's ever helped my...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Ten tips for handling job interviews by phone

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

    Excellent advice! A phone interview is definitely NOT the time you want to have the dog barking her head off or the kids fighting over the last peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich in the background....
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Finally did it! Critique my resume & cover letter?

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

    Generally, most healthcare facilities are going to expect applicants to have that basic skill set, so elaborating on them in your CV isn't really necessary. Your cover letter also needs to be a bit...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    New graduate wanting some more success stories and helpful advice

    VivaLasViejas replied to loriwants2banurse's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    I'm glad you're here, Lori! This is a great site for new AND 'used' nurses alike---there's lots of support and good information, as well as something for everyone in the Break Room. I hope you enjoy...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Do nurses have to clean up vomit?

    VivaLasViejas replied to sakiohma's topic in General Students

    Speaking of alcohol wipes....if you want to control the patient's vomiting, try putting one of these little guys over his/her nose. I learned that trick when I worked OB, and have used it successfully...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Can't handle the hospital environment. Need suggestions

    VivaLasViejas replied to sdupnik's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I can sympathize with the OP, as I had to leave the hospital environment for many of the same reasons, although my MH issue was undiagnosed bipolar disorder rather than ADD. I've actually been quite...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Do we need to take drugs.. in order to do our job?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Been there,done that's topic in General Nursing

    I love it that the genie is finally out of the bottle on this one......we HAVE to talk about it now. We can no longer pretend that prolonged high-pressure conditions aren't harmful to our health,...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Student Unethical Behavior

    VivaLasViejas replied to FlopperAnn's topic in Nursing Educators, Faculty

    Flopper Ann, may I remind you that you have come here of your own volition? You have carried on a debate that evidently originated on FB and asked us for our opinions. The fact that you don't like...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Epic (Nursing) FAILS!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nursing Humor

    BWAAAHAHAHAHA!!! Know what you mean about that, Nicki.....funny story! :rotfl: I once cracked a joke when I was halfway through a G/tube bolus feeding. BIG mistake. Ever hear the expression "Thar she...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Student Unethical Behavior

    VivaLasViejas replied to FlopperAnn's topic in Nursing Educators, Faculty

    What is your personal stake in this, I wonder? And how did you come by the student's e-mail in the first place? If you were her professor, I could see a reason why her e-mail was forwarded to you, and...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Newer nurse

    VivaLasViejas replied to tech1000's topic in Emergency

    The first year is the hardest. You'll probably make 80% of the mistakes you'll ever make in your career in that first year after graduation; it gets better pretty quickly thereafter, so hang in there!...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    DON Interview...Advice needed!

    VivaLasViejas replied to nurse.christine's topic in LTC: Directors, Assistant

    Wow......I'm impressed with your experience and would hire you in a heartbeat. Frankly, the only thing I think you're missing here is a working knowledge of the MDS/RAI processes, and that stuff can...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    New graduate wanting some more success stories and helpful advice

    VivaLasViejas replied to loriwants2banurse's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    I can't offer you any legal advice, but I'm reasonably sure that if you made it through LPN school you're going to be able to work as a nurse. :) For one thing, if you haven't been charged with or...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Do we need to take drugs.. in order to do our job?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Been there,done that's topic in General Nursing

    And then there are those of us for whom 'putting on our big girl panties' and learning how to 'cope' aren't enough. We need help getting our brain chemistry straightened out so that we CAN do these...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Cartoon Caption Contest taking a toll on relationships...

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in Nursing Humor

    My hubby calls himself an "allnurses
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Do we need to take drugs.. in order to do our job?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Been there,done that's topic in General Nursing

    I'm with BTDT and several others on this one. What a sad state of affairs it is when so many caregivers have to resort to anxiolytics and other powerful psychoactive medications just to cope with the...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Epic (Nursing) FAILS!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nursing Humor

    Oh good....glad I'm not the only one who's directionally dyslexic!! There are times when I get turned around and can't find my way out of a paper bag. I went to the same OB for six years and got lost...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Charting blooper

    VivaLasViejas replied to NRSKarenRN's topic in Nursing Humor

    Uh.......OOPS!!! :rotfl: Gotta love it when the transcriber doesn't have all their med. terminology down yet....I read an H & P note once on a new ALF admission who'd been hospitalized for CHF...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Stressed made a medication error

    VivaLasViejas replied to Wayzlost's topic in First Year After Licensure

    For what it's worth, my friend, almost everyone feels this way after their first med error.....it's the ones who don't that probably shouldn't be nurses. Now.....take some deep breaths.....feel the...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Recent LVN grad, 1st time working in an assisted living TIPS PLS

    VivaLasViejas replied to angie1368's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Sixty residents are about 25 too many to pass meds to safely on the day or evening shifts, even in assisted living. Some ALF residents take as many pills as those in nursing homes; some even need them...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Recovery and Monitoring Program in NJ

    VivaLasViejas replied to mommybabyRN's topic in Nurses Recovery

    Just remember: with sobriety, everything is possible; without it, nothing is. Wishing you the best in moving forward with your career and your life!
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Obese lady

    VivaLasViejas replied to maelstrom143's topic in General Nursing

    I hope that if I ever need nursing care someday, I'll have someone like you who will make the effort to look past the fat and see the woman inside, who's lived a (hopefully) long and meaningful life,...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Just tattoo DNR on my chest. . . it's been done!

    VivaLasViejas replied to TiffyRN's topic in General Nursing

    I once worked with male nurse who had that done---D.N.R. tattooed in inch-high, dark blue letters right over his heart. Still think the bright pink piece of paper that lives on my Frigidaire and has...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Admissions...who decides?

    VivaLasViejas replied to CapeCodMermaid's topic in LTC: Directors, Assistant

    Wait---doesn't an RN have to do a PASRR before admitting a resident to a nursing facility? Maybe that's just in my state (OR), but it is a requirement for both SNF and custodial care, therefore the...