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

    Need advice and reassurance on a bad situation.

    VivaLasViejas replied to midnightRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Good for you, for documenting everything you did! Too many nurses leave out critical details, or neglect to chart at all......and we all were taught from day one in nursing school--- "If it wasn't...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    I Think I've Just About Had It.......

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nursing Career

    Thanks, ladies! I'm feeling better today......antibiotics are kicking in.......but I checked with the infection-control nurse at my workplace today to see what being a R/O C.diff means in terms of...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Need advice and reassurance on a bad situation.

    VivaLasViejas replied to midnightRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    First of all, do NOT beat up on yourself for what happened. You were placed in an unsafe situation in the beginning---8 patients, one of whom was obviously VERY unstable---and then basically left high...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Med surg nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to Tony35NYC's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Med/Surg is probably the greatest proving ground there is for a nurse, and in theory, everyone 'should' work there a year or two before going on to another specialty. That said.......I think that it's...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Who is your Favorite TV or Movie nurse?

    VivaLasViejas replied to sunnyjohn's topic in General Nursing

    I like scrappy Sam of "ER".
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Do you wear some type of support for your legs to prevent leg cramps?

    VivaLasViejas replied to JNT'smom's topic in General Nursing

    I wear knee-high TEDS some of the time, and I'll say they really make a difference in how my feet and legs feel at the end of the day. I should wear them all the time---I have lousy circulation, with...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Stripping Membranes

    VivaLasViejas replied to fusster's topic in Ob/Gyn

    There's always a possibility of infection with any invasive procedure, but when you're 9 1/2 months pregnant and need to get the show on the road, there's nothing more likely to start labor than...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing School and Weight Gain

    VivaLasViejas replied to ladydame's topic in Pediatric

    I gained about 30# during my last year of nursing school, mainly because I was always rushing around and grabbing whatever was quick and fast. I was raising 4 little kids at the time, working nights...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Treatments in LTC

    VivaLasViejas replied to nurseangel78's topic in Nursing Career

    Actually, we hospital nurses write nursing orders all the time........they are usually things like frequent VS, preventive skin care, daily weights (you wouldn't believe how many docs forget to order...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Would you consider this a waste of time?

    VivaLasViejas replied to sleepymom's topic in General Nursing

    Definitely....take the Spanish class. I use Spanish every day at work, and I live in Oregon! We have a large immigrant population, however, and when I started working in the hospital I found myself...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Paxil Doesn't Work Anymore---What's Next?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    I've been on this drug for 4 years, and until recently it's served me well. Now it doesn't seem to be doing its job anymore, and I'm already at close to the maximum dosage (I'm taking 40mg QD, and I...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Paxil Doesn't Work Anymore---What's Next?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Well, I'm glad to hear that this thread has helped you! Thanks for posting! :) You are SO far from being the only student or nurse with depression......in fact, it's such a common affliction among...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    SAD: Just Wondering........

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Yep, you guys sound just like my sister........she loves the gray and damp, and turns into a brass-plated b**** when the temps go over 80. She never did tolerate the heat well, even when we were kids...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Advice needed for coping with death

    VivaLasViejas replied to student_girl's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    It's just like anything else.......you'll get better at dealing with patient deaths with time and experience. In order to answer your question better, I'd need to know a few specifics, e.g., what part...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Question of the Month: Should the Lecture Be Abandoned?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VickyRN's topic in Nursing Educators, Faculty

    Lecture may be the most efficient way of delivering information........but as a one-time nursing student, I must say that it certainly isn't the most efficient way of processing, absorbing and being...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Personal ? re: PCA drugs

    VivaLasViejas replied to KJRN79's topic in General Nursing

    You and me both.......I all but clawed my face off when I had morphine, and I won't go through that again. We very rarely use Demerol PCA anymore unless that's the only drug tolerated; most of the...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    SAD: Just Wondering........

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    If I could afford to live there again, I probably would.......I miss the beach! But there's no way......it's way too expensive, and there's just too danged many people there now. I remember when the...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    SAD: Just Wondering........

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    You sound just like my sister........she THRIVES on the gloomy conditions up here, while I'm the polar opposite (oops, no pun intended). When I lived in the San Diego area, I used to dream of living...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Paxil Doesn't Work Anymore---What's Next?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Aha! I was wondering about that, seeing as how Paxil CR came out around the same time I was switched to the generic form of Paxil. Hmph! :stone Think I'll just try upping my dose to 50mg for the time...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Paxil Doesn't Work Anymore---What's Next?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    You know, I was just thinking about the exercise component........I know from personal experience that it DOES work. Last spring and summer, I worked out almost every day, and I felt better than I had...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Paxil Doesn't Work Anymore---What's Next?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Whew! This is some really great information........thanks to you all!! :bowingpur Now, here's one for those of you on Paxil CR: Is this any better than regular Paxil? I'd like to stick with the same...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    What Is Your Biggest Weakness?

    VivaLasViejas replied to RN2B07's topic in General Nursing

    I used to suffer from 'telephonophobia' myself. Didn't like using the phone, especially when I had to talk to someone I didn't know. Although I still would rather e-mail, or talk face to face, being...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Lingering Bronchitis

    VivaLasViejas replied to Keepstanding's topic in Pulmonary

    You are very welcome........Just follow up on this please, get a diagnosis, and if it turns out you do have asthma, make sure to follow your doctor's instructions, even when you're feeling well and...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Lingering Bronchitis

    VivaLasViejas replied to Keepstanding's topic in Pulmonary

    I wouldn't attempt to diagnose you over the Internet, of course, but you sound so much like me it's not even funny........I have asthma, and everytime I get bronchitis the cough and the voice changes...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Question about med control (volunteer)

    VivaLasViejas replied to justavolunteer's topic in General Nursing

    Where I work, we have closets called 'nurse servers' in all the patient rooms where we keep everything from Attends to straws to medications. (The meds are in a lock-box, of course.) They are...