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

    Funny things they say....

    VivaLasViejas replied to joanna73's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    The food at the last nursing home I worked in was so unappetizing, I used to joke that I should check in for about 6 months and have no access to any other food---I'd lose 100 pounds fast. One male...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    fun: what does this photo say to you?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in General Nursing

    "I've got the med pass from Hell and the state surveyors want to follow ME around all
  3. VivaLasViejas

    What is fecal texture?

    VivaLasViejas replied to kainos's topic in General Nursing

    (tears squirting from eyes as hysterical laughter wakes up everybody in the house)
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Is it like this everywhere?

    VivaLasViejas replied to rnccf2007's topic in General Nursing

    I'm sorry to hear acute-care nursing has gotten so much worse since I left the hospital for good back in 2005. Back then, I didn't see how it could get worse; I'd been treated better in the...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    can patients keep their underpants on for surgery

    VivaLasViejas replied to brownbook's topic in Operating Room

    The visuals on that one are just too funny,
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Changing MDS jobs/advice welcome

    VivaLasViejas replied to susanthomas1954's topic in MDS Coordinator Information

    Your work quality will speak for itself. Don't worry about the NKOTB trashing you---people will soon see her for what she is and dismiss anything she says as BS. I think your reputation will survive...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Vent! Floor v. ED

    VivaLasViejas replied to AggieNurse99's topic in Patient, Colleague Relations

    I'm not an ER nurse, but even I can tell you there was probably a really good reason---trauma pt coming in, someone crashed, visitor/family member out-of-control, etc.---for what happened. I sincerely...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Could I be the only reformed misfit in nursing school?

    VivaLasViejas replied to KatePasa's topic in General Students

    Hi, Kate! I've been on vacation and just saw this a few minutes ago. All I can say is, you are a kindred spirit and I know there is a special place in nursing that is just for you. God bless you, and...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Grunting baby...

    VivaLasViejas replied to winter_green's topic in Ob/Gyn

    The term 'retractions' (spelled 'refraction' in the OP) scares me when it comes to little babies, because it indicates respiratory distress, and the grunting is NOT good. Tiny babies=tiny airways, and...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Customer Service? Maybe on your home planet.

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

    When health care became a
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Customer Service? Maybe on your home planet.

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

    I can usually head the rude ones off at the pass by killing 'em with kindness.....and when that doesn't work, I simply say, "You know, I'm a person too, and I respond much better to 'please' and...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Job-Hopping in Nursing...How detrimental is it?

    VivaLasViejas replied to NurseRoRo's topic in Nursing Career

    There is more than one school of thought on this issue. Personally, I'm an ADN with 14 years under my belt, and I've held 8 different jobs during that time, never staying in one place more than 30...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    No creativity in nursing? Hah!

    VivaLasViejas replied to nurseprnRN's topic in General Nursing

    Now that's a great use for those........I buy 'em for my grandsons to play with every year, and they either just try to eat them or pull them apart. I've seen that done with bed rails, BTW; it's...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    not physically strong enough to be a CNA...

    VivaLasViejas replied to mar12011's topic in Medical Assistant, CNA/MA

    I was 35 when I first tried a CNA job, and it almost ended my dream of becoming a nurse because I physically could not keep up with the younger, fitter, thinner girls, who were hossing around 12...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    No creativity in nursing? Hah!

    VivaLasViejas replied to nurseprnRN's topic in General Nursing

    Whoever thinks nursing isn't creative has never worked in long-term care, where there is an overabundance of problems and a perennial shortage of funding to solve them. We use Foleys as G-tubes. We...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Alcoholism: disease or choice?

    VivaLasViejas replied to HonestRN's topic in Addictions

    OK, you've had your say. Now you get to listen to mine. Try as I might, I just can't wrap my mind around this blanket generalization, because according to you, I don't deserve to be a nurse. I...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Skin tear in Assisted Living

    VivaLasViejas replied to MommaRN86's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Your company should have a wound care protocol and standing orders signed by a doctor or other licensed practitioner. If not, you need to obtain them yourself, because without an order you're...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Things that make you go hmmm...

    VivaLasViejas replied to Art_Vandelay's topic in General Nursing

    I think it means you probably ought to stay where you are.....if they are jerking you around BEFORE you come on board, one can only imagine what they'll do once you've signed on the dotted line. Just...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Hypothetical Question: What happens when the baby boomers retire?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Spikey9001's topic in General Nursing

    boy, do i hear you on that one! i'm fat and sedentary too (although i'm not pale thanks to the teensy drop of hispanic blood running through my veins:lol2:), and i'm sure i'll be right there...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Becoming a nurse at 40?

    VivaLasViejas replied to corinda's topic in General Students

    And how old will you be in that same amount of time if you DON'T become a nurse? I was 38 when I graduated, and while my floor-nursing days were probably numbered from the beginning, I managed to...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    medicaid cutbacks: what changes do you see in ltc

    VivaLasViejas replied to Zen123's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    It's really bad in the assisted living communities now. It's next to impossible to get a Medicaid patient admitted to the hospital unless they're up to both hips in the grave. I've lost track of the...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Noncompliant parents. Do I have any rights to protect my license?

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNC-NIC's topic in General Nursing

    That's a great question, and my answer would be to involve the hospital's ethics committee and CPS. It doesn't make sense that the parents of this child can have it both ways---full code with no...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    night shift supervisor with no oncall back up

    VivaLasViejas replied to fallinnstyle's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    All I have to say is RUN---do not walk---away from this dangerous and unsustainable work situation while you still have a
  24. VivaLasViejas

    HHa's in assisted living

    VivaLasViejas replied to ladybug09's topic in Medical Assistant, CNA/MA

    I'm a DNS in assisted living, and I can tell you that caregiving is hard, hard work: if people think it's "laid-back", they're not doing it right. However, it's also very rewarding in a lot of ways,...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    When should hospice discussion begin?

    VivaLasViejas replied to bsnanat2's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Growing up with a grandmother who had been a nursing student during the First World War, I formed my own attitudes toward death early on, and have never found much reason to alter them in the 40-plus...