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

    What have you found in your pockets at the end of your shift?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Poi Dog's topic in General Nursing

    Butter packets, along with the usual assortment of crap. Don't ask me
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Job posting- "Must not be overweight"

    VivaLasViejas replied to NurseLoveJoy88's topic in General Nursing

    I think the "patient" is looking for a girlfriend, not a
  3. VivaLasViejas

    20 Things Nurses Wish They Never Had to Say

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    And reading that was like a punch to the solar plexus. I've had to tell a lot of people that their loved one had passed away, but when I was asked to be on the organ-requisition team at my hospital...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Doc have right to get upset with me?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jenni811's topic in General Nursing

    The patient should've had a standing order for Tylenol, but lacking one, yes, you should have called for it. One of the things that happens with quads is called autonomic dysreflexia, and fever can...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Alert & Oriented & I want to go home

    VivaLasViejas replied to HannahLeah's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    There is nothing more satisfying to me than the relationships I get to have with people who have something special to offer, no matter how old or confused or debilitated they may be. Just the other...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Should I have implemented Suicide Precautions?

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNdiva505's topic in General Nursing

    Sometimes, wording is everything. I wasn't there, so I have no idea if you overreacted or not. However, I wonder how the patient verbalized his/her suicidal thoughts, e.g., something along the lines...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    "You'll be hearing from my lawyer."

    VivaLasViejas replied to AngelfireRN's topic in General Nursing

    Now THAT'S the smartest thing I've heard in
  8. VivaLasViejas

    back to school in your 30s?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Marilynj28's topic in Psychiatric

    I was 34 and the mother of four young children when I finally got myself together enough to work toward a nursing degree. I graduated at 38 and have never regretted my decision (although on days like...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Can I find a "desk" RN job without experience

    VivaLasViejas replied to SoulSpirit_Rn's topic in Nursing Career

    Yes, it's a much-ballyhooed fact that the current crop of young people "think big", but they need to learn how to wait---and work---for the things they want, just like every previous generation before...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    What's Your Stress Reliever?

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

    Going to the source of the stress and yanking her hair out of her head. Oops, just kidding, wrong website, this isn't the one where I go to vent about witchy little girls who will do just about...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Can I find a "desk" RN job without experience

    VivaLasViejas replied to SoulSpirit_Rn's topic in Nursing Career

    As usual, Flying Scot nails it again. Perhaps nothing irritates working people so much as someone fresh out of school with a sense of entitlement---a person who thinks s/he doesn't have to pay any...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Overnight concern on pt condition.

    VivaLasViejas replied to imintrouble's topic in General Nursing

    I've seen this happen more times than I care to count. Those LOLs will make a liar out of you every chance they
  13. VivaLasViejas

    I turned down a management job

    VivaLasViejas replied to tokmom's topic in General Nursing

    Why would you "have" to get a BSN when this position doesn't appear to require it? Not that it's a bad idea, but there are ADNs (myself included) who hold management positions and have a great deal of...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    My Nursing Career In Six Words

    VivaLasViejas replied to No Stars In My Eyes's topic in Nursing Humor

    My Grandmother Wouldn't Have Recognized
  15. VivaLasViejas

    When an employee is a patient

    VivaLasViejas replied to LaurRN's topic in General Nursing

    This is so different from my experiences and those of my family in the hospital where I worked for several years. To this day, the staff falls all over each other taking care of us, and it's not just...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Contagion?

    VivaLasViejas replied to sweetsleep28's topic in General Nursing

    This reminds me of Stephen King's The Stand, which for my money is the most realistic representation of what COULD happen.....at least, until he brings the Devil into the equation in the form of a...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Amedisys

    VivaLasViejas replied to KateRN1's topic in Home Health

    I don't know or care what it's like working for Amedisys, but as a former "customer" via my assisted-living facility, I'll tell anyone willing to listen that I wouldn't use this company to care for my...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Tell me your experiences with pulmonary fibrosis

    VivaLasViejas replied to Vtachy1's topic in Pulmonary

    The first patient I ever took care of with this disease was a 53-year-old woman who was dying from it in the nursing home where I worked as a new RN. I remember giving her a lot of Tessalon Perles...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Just a Shame!

    VivaLasViejas replied to JJTRN's topic in Government, Military

    My son, who just completed his third year in the Army and had planned to make a career of it, told me on the phone last night that he's seriously thinking of getting out once his enlistment is up...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    20 Things Nurses Wish They Never Had to Say

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    I'm sorry, we can't answer medical questions or offer advice here. Your best bet is to consult with another doctor, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant at the clinic where you got your PPD...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Turns q2h

    VivaLasViejas replied to CBsMommy's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    I have had the unlovely experience of being turned Q 2 hrs., back when I had my first C-section and they didn't let you up until 24 hours after you delivered. I hated it---I usually only lie on my...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    20 Things Nurses Wish They Never Had to Say

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    And there's always this little gem, said to parents who bring toddlers to the ER with a persistent fever that just spiked at 105 degrees: "And you haven't given her any Tylenol
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Narcotic count (why it is off, how to fix it, how do you do it?)

    VivaLasViejas replied to SneakySnake's topic in General Nursing

    "Proof-of-use" sheets.......are you saying that you're using a loose-leaf binder? That's just asking for trouble---it's way too easy to make both a ledger sheet and a card full of narcs go away. Your...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Two-minus-one pregnancy

    VivaLasViejas replied to Elvish's topic in Ob/Gyn

    And I kinda want to smack Octo-mom upside the head for being a boil on the butt of humanity and selfishly giving birth to 14 kids she is neither financially nor emotionally mature enough to
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Two-minus-one pregnancy

    VivaLasViejas replied to Elvish's topic in Ob/Gyn

    This is the sort of scenario that changed me from a lukewarm pro-choicer to a staunch pro-lifer. Sometimes, there are TOO MANY choices, and humans just don't handle them well. 'nuff said (by me...