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

    allnurses mentioned in AJN and it ain't flattering

    VivaLasViejas replied to actioncat's topic in General Nursing

    I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, Roland
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Question about criminal record/ability to find job

    VivaLasViejas replied to NurseCard's topic in General Nursing

    Yes, if you went to court, pleaded guilty or no-contest to the charges, and/or paid a fine, you have a traffic conviction. So do most people who've driven a car for any length of time. :chuckle I'm...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Bush Administration Proposes Cut in Veteran Benefits

    VivaLasViejas replied to barefootlady's topic in Activism, Healthcare

    In four words: Is it 2008 yet? :icon_roll
  4. VivaLasViejas

    People Are Big Babies Anymore

    VivaLasViejas replied to DidiRN's topic in General Nursing

    It doesn't matter to them, Sparklplenty.......as far as some family members are concerned, we are no more than pack mules. They don't stop to think that WE have needs too.....in fact, sometimes I...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    My back hurts....

    VivaLasViejas replied to Dinith88's topic in General Nursing

    I thought back and foot pain was normal
  6. VivaLasViejas

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

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    As if I haven't dealt with enough health issues this year already...........I had a CT scan yesterday which showed several areas of calcification, one of which is 12mm, another 10mm and the one in the...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Need Your Opinion: Am I Finished in Med/Surg or Not?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    That is the question still uppermost in my mind today as I chew over the 'conversation' I had Friday with one of the assistant department managers regarding "concerns" that have evidently arisen over...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Preventing infection in post c-section patient

    VivaLasViejas replied to findingmywayRN's topic in Ob/Gyn

    After my second c/sec, I too got a serious infection that went into sepsis; luckily, I was still in the hospital when it hit me, and they got it under control before I became gravely ill, or worse. It...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Do you wear makeup?

    VivaLasViejas replied to FutureNurse2005's topic in General Students

    I always wear some mascara and fill in the blanks in my '70s-tweezed-to-oblivion eyebrows with a little bit of pencil; otherwise I look like the wrath of God. Of course, the signs of aging are...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Cpap?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Yes, the ultimate goal of all this is, honestly, to be eligible for, and to go through, weight-loss surgery. I'm still very, very nervous about it, but I'm just about convinced after 20+ years of...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Boneheaded Nursing: A Cautionary Tale

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thank you all for sharing! It's good to know that my co-worker and I aren't the only ones to allow ourselves to be blindsided like that........BTW, the patient in the original post did make it, he...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Need Your Opinion: Am I Finished in Med/Surg or Not?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    OK, you got me on that one! :chuckle Thank you, Kevin, for your care and concern...........you're absolutely right, I've got to take care of me, there's nobody else to do it. I'm not sure exactly how...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Type of Syringe for Heparin Injections?

    VivaLasViejas replied to hhrhrn41's topic in Patient Medications

    I've always used TB syringes for heparin injections because they are measured in fractions of a mL, NOT 'units' (as are insulin syringes). I don't know if there's much of a difference, but I was...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    What weekends do you work?

    VivaLasViejas replied to TLC RN's topic in General Nursing

    I don't work ANY weekends, believe it or not. I've been working weekdays only for the past six months, and while I never really minded doing weekends, it IS nice to have a normal life of sorts. Of...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Need Your Opinion: Am I Finished in Med/Surg or Not?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    We only have carpet in the halls........the room floors are all linoleum. But yes, this does make a hard task even harder. We often have to rearrange the patients based on admissions and diagnoses...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Need Your Opinion: Am I Finished in Med/Surg or Not?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    That's what I'm thinking too, barefoot.......what I'm really afraid of is hurting myself so seriously that I can't work at all. It wouldn't take much, either........just a couple more bad strains, or...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Need Your Opinion: Am I Finished in Med/Surg or Not?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thanks to all who've responded thus far. Yes, the CNA's do most of the bed-moving chores, but our aides have been cut to the bone---we often have only two on day shift, and after 3 PM we usually have...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Plans Made for You, but Not Discussed with You First

    VivaLasViejas replied to FranEMTnurse's topic in General Nursing

    I've made it exceedingly clear to all my family and friends that I will be ready to die about 5 seconds after my feet cross the nursing-home threshold.
  19. VivaLasViejas

    LTC nurse depression cure

    VivaLasViejas replied to Blackcat99's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    That was my cure too, Blackcat........getting out of LTC altogether and going someplace else. It's too bad LTC sucks the very lifeblood from the nurses and aides who go into it with the best of...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    I heard somewhere that flushing pills

    VivaLasViejas replied to GLORIAmunchkin72's topic in General Nursing

    I suppose you could grind 'em up in the garbage disposal and rinse it all down the drain, but that would probably result in the same problems that flushing them down the john creates, and I think...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Why do so many nurses seem to dislike working in Med/Surg

    VivaLasViejas replied to LovePeaceJoy's topic in General Nursing

    Thank you, Dan. I actually don't see this as age discrimination so much as it is being viewed as a potential liability now that I've been hospitalized (for stress-related chest pain) and have had...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Why do so many nurses seem to dislike working in Med/Surg

    VivaLasViejas replied to LovePeaceJoy's topic in General Nursing

    I hear you, Dutchgirl. In fact, today I was told by one of the assistant department managers that I'm not cutting the mustard because I refuse to move beds around the floor. I can do just about...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Patients You *Know*

    VivaLasViejas replied to goodknight's topic in General Nursing

    I was recently a patient in the hospital where I work (not to mention have a lot of friends), and if that doesn't make for some potentially awkward moments, I don't know what would! However, everyone...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Cpap?

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thanks you guys!! This is really encouraging news, and I hope that it works for me if I have to have it.......it would be wonderful to sleep better and have more
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Why do so many nurses seem to dislike working in Med/Surg

    VivaLasViejas replied to LovePeaceJoy's topic in General Nursing

    I second that emotion..........I enjoy med/surg as well---in fact, I like it enough that I'm certified in that specialty. :) And it IS a specialty: even though we see pretty much everything, we see a...