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

    Aging RN

    VivaLasViejas replied to feeds4's topic in General Nursing

    I would check with your state's bureau of labor and industries, but I fear you may be out of luck if you cannot perform the functions of the job. Employers cannot keep nonproductive people on the...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    ADON pay scale

    VivaLasViejas replied to Schmoo1022's topic in LTC: Directors, Assistant

    Not so tough as I thought........I was headed for an MI last summer just before I left management, I weighed over 350 lbs. and had a BP so high that my meds couldn't even control it. Now both my...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care

    VivaLasViejas replied to herring_RN's topic in Activism, Healthcare

    And that's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg...........I guarantee you, if TPTB would just grow a set of cojones and take the insurance business, with its overpaid CEOs and massive amounts of...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    ADON pay scale

    VivaLasViejas replied to Schmoo1022's topic in LTC: Directors, Assistant

    Answer: Nowhere NEAR enough. Been there, done that, and have the claw-marks on my back to prove it. It's OK if you enjoy working 60-hour weeks and getting paid for 40, and having no time that's truly...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Cheesy Activities in LTC

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jo Dirt's topic in General Nursing

    I think all of us who work in LTC would do well to understand that previous generations did not consider bingo, card games and so on to be demeaning or childish at all. I'm old enough to remember...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    "That girl was just sitting there the whole time, doing nothing!"

    VivaLasViejas replied to FireStarterRN's topic in General Nursing

    Petty complaints like that are what get my aides chased out of the nurse's station even when they are taking a legitimate (and much-needed) break---"it looks bad to the families", management says....
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Patients on the telephone

    VivaLasViejas replied to firstyearstudent's topic in General Nursing

    Oh, don't even get me started on phones---last time I looked, my name badge said "RN Charge Nurse", not "Receptionist". :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire Like most LTCs, all the office folks at mine...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Dogs and nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to rockstarjk's topic in General Nursing

    Mine pees all over the house.:icon_roll But then, he's a mini-pin-Doxie mix with a bladder the size of a navy bean. We're used to
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Help! Constipation Schultz Cocktail Recipe :-)

    VivaLasViejas replied to vyper's topic in General Nursing

    OK, I've never heard of the "hot slider", but that's what I love about allnurses.........I learn something new every day!! And wouldn't you know, I happen to have a resident on my unit who hadn't had...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Plastic surgery etc. to defy age

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jules A's topic in General Nursing

    Leslie said it best, but let me echo her sentiments: There is NOTHING wrong with being one's authentic self, even if it comes with gray hair and wrinkles. The heck with this "50 is the new 30"...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Funny video about catheters

    VivaLasViejas replied to drjrf2000's topic in Nursing Humor

    I know this is an old thread, but I hadn't seen it before...............I'm laughing so hard I'M gonna need a catheter in a
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Toxic Healthcare Personalities

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

    My daddy used to say that people such as you've described would "gripe if they was hung with a new rope". There is a NOC shift CNA at my facility who, to my knowledge, has never said one positive...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Help! Constipation Schultz Cocktail Recipe :-)

    VivaLasViejas replied to vyper's topic in General Nursing

    Oh.........Power
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Mother Ate The Placenta

    VivaLasViejas replied to swimincatz's topic in Ob/Gyn

    I've seen it done, once. Thought I was tough enough to watch after working a lot of postpartum, but the minute Mom began to chow down I knew I was going to yak. So I excused myself and left. Even...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    The "Weigh" Out---A Food Management Support Thread

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

    I was thinking the same thing!
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Overweight nurse unable to physically manage her responsibilties

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

    This is probably not what you want to hear, but I think it would be wise to ask yourselves how you would handle it if Nancy Nurse were in a protected class of workers under the Americans With...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    The "Weigh" Out---A Food Management Support Thread

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

    I'm really beginning to believe that the small changes, accumulated over the course of months or even years, are going to make the difference that finally leads me to success someday. Each day, I look...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Too much sadness this shift...

    VivaLasViejas replied to praying_mantis's topic in General Nursing

    Possibly because as nurses, we have a lot of crap and sadness stored up inside us---like plaque inside an artery, the stress of it all builds up over time---and sometimes the beast has to be let out...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Getting Over Feelings of Regret?

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

    Paco.........please accept this lesson from an old woman: life is way too short to waste in regrets over the "woulda, coulda, shoulda's". I too used to wish I'd pursued nursing when I was younger (I...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    I HATE nursing management

    VivaLasViejas replied to guineachick's topic in General Nursing

    FWIW, the shelf life of the average LTC nurse-manager is generally pretty short. It's a tough and thankless job......when you're doing direct care, the patients and/or families bring you candy or say...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Second Shift CNAs (3-11) I have a question

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ling07's topic in Medical Assistant, CNA/MA

    Come join me and my CNAs on a 3-11 some evening and you'll see how laid-back and calm it is. NOT. 'Nuff
  22. VivaLasViejas

    CNA being asked to go through patient med records

    VivaLasViejas replied to beck_79's topic in Medical Assistant, CNA/MA

    Totally out of the CNA's scope of practice, IMO. You are spot on. Updating resident Kardexes or ADL forms is essentially writing a care plan, which is the job of the resident care manager and/or the...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Are you aware of how you conduct yourself in public?

    VivaLasViejas replied to rkitty198's topic in General Nursing

    In my experience, I've had many more former patients and/or family members approach me in public than vice-versa. People will walk up to me in Gottschalk's or Target and go "Hi! I remember you, you...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Too much sadness this shift...

    VivaLasViejas replied to praying_mantis's topic in General Nursing

    What a beautiful, heart-wrenching, compassionate post!:heartbeat If I'm ever in a position where I need to be cared for, I pray that a nurse like you will be there for me, as you were for this patient...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    I think peri/rectal swabs are a humiliating 'welcome' to the hospital

    VivaLasViejas replied to FireStarterRN's topic in General Nursing

    How absolutely humiliating. I can understand the nasal swab, but if somebody were even to approach my nether regions with a Q-tip, I know where I'd put it.......and it wouldn't be in MY backside, I...