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. That is an EXCELLENT perspective. TY
  2. My goodness............did we work at the same hospital?? Please believe me, there is more to life---and nursing---than hospital work. It doesn't have to be like that. It truly doesn't. You may have...
  3. Even my residents, who are like family (and who know I carry a company cell phone 24/7/365), don't have my number!! Work is work and private life is private life, and never the twain should meet....
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Do You Find MDs Often Miss MRSA Diagnosis?

    That's what I think happened. I don't think she had MRSA to start with either, but she's got it now. Orders came in today for ABX and follow-up next
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Greedy Govt

    There are already a substantial number of threads on this subject elsewhere in the forums. It is an old, tired topic that unfortunately tends to get very ugly very quickly, and this thread is no...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Anybody regret leaving the bedside?

    I don't regret leaving the bedside for a minute. In a perfect world, I would be happily tending to three or four surgical patients, all of whom can walk and talk and take themselves to the bathroom....
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Special Support thread for Cariad and her dh

    (((((((((Cariad))))))))) Lifting both you and your husband up in prayer as I type
  8. VivaLasViejas

    So Mad I Could Just SCREAM.......

    Well, what I've long suspected about the hospital in the town where I work is, in fact, true: DNR indeed does mean "Do Not Treat". The EMTs won't even transport someone to the ER if their advanced...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    How committed are you to AN

    :yeahthat:
  10. VivaLasViejas

    So Mad I Could Just SCREAM.......

    Guess what? TODAY we finally got X-rays done on this poor lady, and she has an L-3 compression fracture!! No wonder she's been in so much pain!!! Think I'm going to send a nice little letter to the...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Do you talk about allnurses.com at work?

    I've referred lots of people here.........AN is much too good to keep
  12. I'm the DON for a 42-bed ALF, and although many of my residents need quite a lot of help (we have sliding scale diabetics, wounds, dementia, and all sorts of physical disabilities), I find the load...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    So Mad I Could Just SCREAM.......

    Well said, Gwennie Lee, and thank you. I finally have some good news to report on this resident. After three weeks of her being in constant pain (even with Tylenol#3), deteriorating mentation,...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Really bad at Starting IVs

    It took me SIX YEARS to become comfortable with IV starts. I just couldn't get the knack of it, and was actually beginning to think I never would, when all of a sudden I got one in........and...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Hourly Rounding

    See, that's just it. Most nurses are 'people persons', and we know instinctively that we can save ourselves a lot of time and give the best care by anticipating our patients' needs. It's so much...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Hourly Rounding

    Good grief...........I am SO glad I left acute carel!!! I'd get fired in a New York minute if I were working in a facility that treated professionals like Wal-Mart greeters. I can just see myself...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    DUI suspect gets $15,000 for forced catheterization

    I don't care WHAT the authorities want: no way would I violate a patient's rights in this manner, even those of someone in legal custody. That's a no-brainer,
  18. VivaLasViejas

    do you go to work sick?

    I used to call in under only two conditions: if I couldn't get my head a) OFF the pillow, or b) OUT of the toilet. Now I'm a little more sensible, if only because I'm a DON and have to be a role model...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    RN with ARREST record/NO conviction, in CA, possible?

    This is something that should be discussed with your state board of nursing, not strangers on an Internet message board. It is all too easy for people with a few bucks and a little bit of detective...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Back Injury-may lose career, help !

    I wish we could help you here, furoffire. It must be terrifying to be in the position you are in. However, I think you would be best served by consulting an attorney who specializes in worker's comp...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Start with Med/Surg or Specialty

    I used to believe every nurse should do a year or two in M/S before going on to a specialty, but now I know better. M/S is NOT the place you want to be if your interests lie elsewhere---it's a tough...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Demented Residents & Funny Comments

    In a nursing home where I used to work, we had a sweet LOL who was every bit the genteel Southern lady.........wouldn't have said "poop" if she had a mouthful. She loved to chat, so when I had a bit...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Is this all there is?

    Gee, sounds about like the last year or so I spent on a med/surg floor.:icon_roll I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Life is too short to be this miserable. Get out of there and follow your...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Do you think there will be a nursing "draft" someday?

    Bottom line: I wouldn't want anybody taking care of me who had little or no aptitude or interest in what they were doing. I'm with the poster who said the best way to attract people to the profession...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    does anyone regret becoming a nurse?

    Well said, robinbird! I don't regret for a single minute becoming a nurse. I've questioned my sanity on more than one occasion, but never have I seriously thought "Gee, I shoulda gone to law school"....