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

    Kidney Stones.......AGAIN!!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thanks for the suggestion about the allopurinol.........when I did my 24-hr. urine some months ago, my uric acid levels were high (along with just about everything else). It's worth a try, anyway; at...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    any other nurses feel workload is too much?!

    VivaLasViejas replied to LPN2RNmommy's topic in First Year After Licensure

    I feel your pain, folks.........it's why I got out of med/surg myself, just a few weeks ago. I figure I've got 20 years minimum before I can retire, and I was using myself up waaaay too quickly...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Kidney Stones.......AGAIN!!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Great description!! :chuckle I used to judge all pain by my first childbirth experience (7 hours of non-stop Pitocin-induced contractions:crying2: ). No more. Now I compare it with my first kidney...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Get a Doctor's Note or 30 Days in Jail

    VivaLasViejas replied to CseMgr1's topic in Pediatric

    High schools are just freakin' unbelievable these days. They'll do just about anything to keep a kid in school when he's not learning anything, when he's being bullied, when he's two-and-a-half...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    WHY are nurses so catty??

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

    MeeeeeOWCH!! Personally, I detest the term 'catty'........it demeans and degrades an entire gender, and I know I'M not that way, nor are most of the women I know. There are a few in every workplace,...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    What is med surg like these days???

    VivaLasViejas replied to johnson0424's topic in Medical-Surgical

    I agree that DNR does NOT mean 'do not treat'. To my mind, however, 'treatment' should be limited only to those things which promote comfort........antibiotics for reversible infectious processes,...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Unemployment Insurance: It CAN Be Done!

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Nursing Career

    ...........if you quit your job, I mean. You have to have a compelling reason for doing so, but it's not an automatic disqualification, as I (and undoubtedly many others) have always believed. I did...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    lost my baby

    VivaLasViejas replied to K205's topic in General Nursing

    ((((((((((KIM)))))))))) I am so very, very sorry this happened to you. There is nothing on earth more painful than the loss of a child, and you must give yourself time to grieve for her before you can...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Threats from Management

    VivaLasViejas replied to kittyrose's topic in Activism, Healthcare

    Where I worked, they usually held the staff meetings at 0730 and 1930, which worked well since both day and night shifts could attend without having to worry about coverage for their teams. The only...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Does working dayshift potentially jeopardize license?

    VivaLasViejas replied to pie123's topic in General Nursing

    Working day shift in med/surg drove me crazy........way too much auditory and visual stimuli what with call lights and phones ringing all the time, people crowding the halls, new orders coming in at...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    For Those that Wear Support Stockings...

    VivaLasViejas replied to Marie_LPN, RN's topic in General Nursing

    If you're going to machine-wash support stockings, I'd suggest that you buy a small cheesecloth bag and put them in there, along with some of your other 'delicates', and throw the whole thing in the...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Sick and Tired of my Job!!!!!

    VivaLasViejas replied to HannasMom's topic in General Nursing

    Your workplace sounds suspiciously like the one that fired ME three years ago. I'd been working 14-hour weeks and they still wanted more.......then I got sick with bronchitis that turned into...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    nursing really a viable option at 40? (just starting out, but tired!)

    VivaLasViejas replied to km05's topic in General Nursing

    I was 38 when I graduated, and even being overweight with some arthritis, I did just fine with floor nursing for several years. A lot depends on what sort of physical condition you're in to start...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    What is med surg like these days???

    VivaLasViejas replied to johnson0424's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Experiences like this were what finally drove me out of Med/Surg. After three years of working hurt, working sick, working too many days in a row, I suddenly lost it one day and quit. The catalyst was...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Where have all the experienced nurses gone?

    VivaLasViejas replied to mharrah's topic in Medical-Surgical

    You too, huh Sharon? Yanno, I had to go back to my 'old' workplace tonight because my dh was admitted for observation (long story, different thread), and it seemed that everyone was telling me I...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    First Day Back at Work......Same ****, Different Day!

    VivaLasViejas replied to DutchgirlRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    You must have posted this while I was posting the above.:wink2: Thank you for your kind words, my friend.:kiss You know, I hadn't thought about the hormonal component of my anxieties........I don't...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    First Day Back at Work......Same ****, Different Day!

    VivaLasViejas replied to DutchgirlRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Yeah, when you have more days that suck than ones that don't, it's time to move on.......~sigh~ I'm beginning to think that the question nurses need to start asking is not why we stay in jobs that...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    First Day Back at Work......Same ****, Different Day!

    VivaLasViejas replied to DutchgirlRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Dutchgirl........thank you for sharing your story. It reinforces the truth that I made the right decision when I quit my hospital job altogether 2 weeks ago. Just reading it made that familiar...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Younger Nurses: Do you find people dont take you seriously? (semi-rant)

    VivaLasViejas replied to TexasPediRN's topic in General Nursing

    Then there's the OTHER side of the coin: the side where you get to be about 45, maybe 50, and you find yourself stymied in your career while younger nurses leapfrog right over you for promotions and...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Question about driver's license suspension

    VivaLasViejas replied to want2help's topic in General Nursing

    I wouldn't be too worried about it. I went through some stuff like that about 20 years ago, and it never caused me any problems. As long as you have only what's called an 'infraction' on your driving...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Where have all the experienced nurses gone?

    VivaLasViejas replied to mharrah's topic in Medical-Surgical

    My feeling is, everyone who cares for patients is responsible for his or her own practice........that includes LPNs and CNAs as well. While we RNs do supervise them after a fashion, it's the state...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Hormone Weight loss injections

    VivaLasViejas replied to DCCCRNn2005's topic in First Year After Licensure

    This tx has actually been around since the 1970s........my own mother tried to get me to go on the 'program' when I was 17 and weighed 130# sopping wet:madface: . It consisted of injections containing...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Where have all the experienced nurses gone?

    VivaLasViejas replied to mharrah's topic in Medical-Surgical

    I was going to say, hopefully we go to Heaven.........because we've already been through
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Where have all the experienced nurses gone?

    VivaLasViejas replied to mharrah's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Folks.........may we please return to the subject of this thread, which is "Where have all the experienced nurses gone?" If you have concerns with how the forum is moderated, feel free to PM me or one...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    I would never recomment Nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to joseph2005's topic in Nursing Career

    I'm sorry the OP has had such a terrible time. However, as unhappy as I was in my last job, I can't imagine being so bitter against the field of nursing........I still love it and can't see myself NOT...