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

    I need a job !

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rascal1's topic in General Nursing

    I've done both types of jobs, and it depends on what you want to get out of a job besides pay and benefits. MDS experience is invaluable. You'll need a lot of training, because nobody comes into a...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Writeatermpaper.com

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ms. Nurse Assistant's topic in General Students

    Being a cheat shouldn't be one of them......at least not for someone who literally holds peoples' LIVES in her/his
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Assisted living-RN. manager ?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rascal1's topic in Nurse Management

    Thank you. It's actually on Monday, but I'm starting the festivities a couple of days early since it's one of those milestone birthdays, plus we get a new President the next day........in itself a...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Assisted living-RN. manager ?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rascal1's topic in Nurse Management

    One's a daughter; the other's a son.:wink2: My last job, with a large corporation, started @ $52,000/year, which is pretty decent by Oregon standards. I would imagine they pay considerably more in...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Assisted living-RN. manager ?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rascal1's topic in Nurse Management

    It depends on your location, the company/facility, and the level of responsibility you would carry. My experience as a DON in assisted living was almost as much about being an assistant administrator...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Is it just me or is everyone a little slow when they start out in LTC

    VivaLasViejas replied to atlantagirl's topic in LPN, LVN Corner

    Absolutely! And it won't take long, you just have to be patient with yourself and ask others to be patient with you while you learn the process and develop your own routine. I recently returned to...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    God Bless LTC Staff

    VivaLasViejas replied to Toquay's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Thank you!! And thanks to the OP as well for doing a job (ER) that I could never do in a million
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Writeatermpaper.com

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ms. Nurse Assistant's topic in General Students

    In a word: DON'T. Teachers doen't want to know what someone else knows, they want to know what YOU have learned. Not only is using someone else's work intellectual laziness at its worst, it's...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Is moving around in your career as an RN really all that easy?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ms. Nurse Assistant's topic in General Nursing

    "Less stressful" is also relative. I left a high-pressure management position late last year to become an LTC charge nurse (which is where I started as a new RN 12 years ago) and my stress level is...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Was anyone poor before becoming a nurse?

    VivaLasViejas replied to ohcomeon's topic in General Nursing

    My family and I were poor for much of my kids' lives. I mean the kind of poor where there are six of you living in a two-bedroom apartment and bouncing on and off the welfare rolls. We went from bare...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    nurse with arthritis

    VivaLasViejas replied to iwanna's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I'm finding that plain aspirin works wonders. I take two in the morning and two at bedtime, and use Tylenol or a combination of ibuprofen and Tylenol for breakthrough pain. Of course, I've got to hope...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    My Very First Day on the Floor

    VivaLasViejas replied to chevyv's topic in LPN, LVN Corner

    What's orientation?? Unfortunately, LTC facilities tend to throw new staff off the deep end and tell them to sink or swim. It's tough sledding at first, but most people learn faster when they have to...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Hateful LTC Staff...How Should I deal With It?

    VivaLasViejas replied to tencat's topic in General Nursing

    I'm sorry you're having so much difficulty with this LTC. Please be assured that not all LTC nurses/facilities are like that. There is nothing I, as a charge nurse, appreciate more than a good...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Have you noticed a difference in how various populations treat nurses?

    VivaLasViejas replied to wanderlust99's topic in Travel

    Oh, we have our rude ones out West, too. But then, I've lived here all my life and don't know how it would be to work back East, or in a large city, or where socioeconomic status is more of an issue...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Please date all food items in refrigerator or it will be tossed, after 3 days

    VivaLasViejas replied to FireStarterRN's topic in General Nursing

    I've never had a problem with my food getting tossed as long as I put my name and the date on it. I've had co-workers eat my food when I wasn't there, but never lost a meal to the fridge Nazis....
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Atheists? How do you deal with religious people?

    VivaLasViejas replied to CalicoKitty's topic in General Students

    Beautifully said.
  17. VivaLasViejas

    My father is a kidney cancer pt - I need advice.

    VivaLasViejas replied to Frannasmom's topic in General Nursing

    NurseyBaby is absolutely right: your father needs to be seen ASAP. I'm sorry, but we cannot offer medical help, advice, diagnoses etc. in these forums. We wish you all the best of luck.......it...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    You know you are a CNA when....

    VivaLasViejas replied to ham272's topic in Medical Assistant, CNA/MA

    Your kid falls off the monkey bars, and you immediately start checking ROM before allowing him to stand
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Soon to graduate from RN program (May '09) and scared

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

    I have one piece of advice for you: treat everyone you meet as a human being, with dignity and respect...........no matter how much you may dislike them or disagree with their 'choices'. Judgmentalism...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Absolute No-No's

    VivaLasViejas replied to Drysolong's topic in General Nursing

    Never make a tube feeder laugh while you're giving a gravity bolus
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Would you take this job?

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

    Ten to twelve patients? I have that many DIABETICS on my ICF unit, which means a minimum of 24 fingersticks and insulins to give during my shift.........to say nothing of the other 20 residents, many...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Indian Mascots

    VivaLasViejas replied to Thunderwolf's topic in General Nursing

    This stuff makes me
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Would you have said something?

    VivaLasViejas replied to NewWayofLife's topic in General Nursing

    Yes, I would have raised the HOB and then raised some you-know-what with the DON and the resident care manager. I work in LTC, and when I come on shift I almost always find one or more of my tube...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Mid-Winter temptation to drink

    VivaLasViejas replied to FireStarterRN's topic in Nurses Recovery

    You can do it!!! You've made it this far without drinking....the first year is the hardest....you can keep going, I know you can!! PM me if you like; I can offer you some thoughts and insights from my...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    New to Assisted Living

    VivaLasViejas replied to woundnurseq's topic in General Nursing

    I was an ALF Director of Health Services (which is essentially the same as a DON position in a nursing home) for several years. The job descriptions vary from place to place, but in the buildings I've...